FAQ General

LEDs bring several advantages to the lighting industry, including high efficacy and durability, and, with superior life over other lamp sources, their required maintenance is greatly reduced. This translates into energy savings, maintenance savings, and environmental sustainability. There is also the potential for greater optical control (more controllable source), dimming, instant on/off, and reduced rate of lumen depreciation (potential for long application life).

Compared to conventional technologies, Cree LED Lighting products can deliver the same amount of light using as little as 10 to 15% of the power.  This huge reduction in energy consumption can enable consumers to save hundreds of dollars over the life of each light.

The Value of Cree LED Lighting

A Cree LED Lighting product, like the LR6^TM downlight, can replace a 65 watt light while using only 10.5 watts.  In its 50,000 hour lifetime it will consume about 525 kilowatt-hours, costing about $63.  During that time, it will never need to be replaced.

The Cost of Incandescent Lamps

A typical 65 watt light lasts for 2,000 hours.  To match the light output and longevity of a Cree LED Lighting downlight, traditional lighting would consume 3,250 kilowatt-hours, and need to be replaced about 25 times, costing over $465.  

It's a simple story...saving over $400 in electric and relamping costs, for every downlight you replace.

Government Distributors and Contacts

Graybar

Jeff Winkeler
314-573-5561
government@graybar.com   

Vet Energy

Frank A. Asaro

Tel: 760-987-3900

Fax: 609-698-3728
email: fasaro@vetusa.net
web: vetusa.net
SSDVOB/CVE Certified

TAA Compliant Products

All of our products that have an EnergyStar category are EnergyStar approved.

Cree LED Lighting products are designed to last as long as 50,000 hours.  Incredible longevity means that you might never change another light again.

A Generation of Light

What is 50,000 hours? It is 50 times the life of a typical incandescent bulb and 5 times the lifetime of an average compact fluorescent lamp (CFL).  In fact, if you ran one Cree lamp for 6 hours per day every day, it would last for nearly 23 years. That is five presidential elections, time for a home remodeling, and the expanse of an entire generation.

Reduce Maintenance and Labor 

We all have at least one bulb that is hard to reach and needs a ladder or a pole to replace it. For a home owner, fifty times longer life than incandescent bulbs means 50 fewer chances to fall off a ladder.   For a business owner, it means significantly lower maintenance and labor expenses.

Reduce Your Waste Stream

The production and use of LEDs requires significantly less energy than incandescents or CFLs.  With Cree LED Lighting products, you'll throw away fewer lamps and stop worrying about their mercury content.  All Cree LED Lighting products are free of mercury and other toxic materials, a clear win for the environment.

"Wet" locations are defined as being exposed to non-climate controlled environments, wind driven rain and/or pressurized water, and condensing moisture.  "Damp" locations are defined as being exposed to non-climate controlled environments, minimal water exposure (few droplets), and being at least 7' from any potential standing water.  "Dry" locations are defined as less than 75% humidity and no water exposure. Please refer to the specific Product Spec Sheet to determine suitable operating environments.

Lighting fixture efficiency is the ratio of the total lumens exiting the fixture to the total lumens initially produced by the light source. For example, if a bare 100W incandescent lamp (light bulb) produces 1,000 lumens, and it is put into a lamp fixture that delivers 700 lumens, this would be an example of a 70% efficient fixture. 

Efficacy is a term normally used in cases where the input and output units differ. In lighting, we are concerned with the amount of light (in lumens) produced by a certain amount of electricity (in watts). Efficacy = Lumens Per Watt

An LED does not burn out like a standard lamp, so individual diodes do not need to be replaced. Instead, the diodes gradually produce lower output levels over a very long period of time. If one LED fails, it does not produce a complete fixture outage.

All .ies files of our products  can be found at our information download center: Download Center

All of our products meet FCC part 15 guidelines for radiated and conducted emissions.

No. Unlike incandescent and fluorescent lighting which will fail sooner when switched on and off more often, LED lighting is unaffected by how often it is switched on and off.

Lumen output is only part of the story and can be misleading. To fully evaluate an LED product one needs to review the overall system efficiency, optical control, thermal management of the LEDs, and know at what point in time the fixture will reach 30 percent lumen depreciation. Products with good optical efficiency and thermal management will be able to deliver more lumens, on average, than traditional HID products.

As the Department of Energy concluded in its Solid-State Lighting Commercial Product Testing Program:
"Until the field of SSL technologies and supporting knowledge matures, any claims regarding performance of SSL luminaires should be based on overall luminaire efficacy (i.e., from testing of the entire luminaire, including LEDs, drivers, heat sinks, optical lenses and housing), to avoid misleading buyers and causing long-term damage to the SSL market."

The performance of all of our products is verified by accredited independent 3rd party laboratories.

LED fixtures must be designed with junction temperature thermal management as a key component and use the correct LEDs. These products will then be robust enough to operate in most ambient temperature applications. Unlike fluorescent sources, cold temperatures do not impact the performance of LEDs.

When you average delivered lumens over the course of 60,000 hours, you'll see that LED outperforms a 400-watt MH lamp operated in a horizontal position. (60,000 hours is used for this comparison to show three full life cycles of the HID.)

The MH's lumen depreciation, as well as optical and ballast losses, quickly reduce output of the HID system. Note that there are three relamps over 60,000 hours.

Conversely, LED has significantly better lumen maintenance and a more efficient driver. Also note that the LED fixture typically doesn't need relamping from zero to 60,000 hours.

Combine this with Beta's exclusive NanoOptic and LED outperforms MH over the course of the life of the fixture.

Result: the LED's average delivered lumens is 74% higher than HID over 60,000 hours.

Based on how long a fixture is illuminated per day, here's what 100,000 works out to:

Hours of Operation:  100,000 hours is:
24 hours a day            11.4 years
18 hours per day         14.8 years
12 hours per day         22.8 years
8 hours per day           34.2 years

There are many different types of lighting, housings, trims and accessories, and lamp types available.  Please refer to the Product Spec Sheet for photometry information.

As an ENERGY STAR^® partner, Cree LED Lighting supports the ENERGY STAR program and its efforts to inform consumers and to protect our environment for future generations. Products that earn the ENERGY STAR for Solid-State Lighting meet energy efficiency and performance guidelines set by the US Department of Energy. These guidelines help to protect consumer's interests by ensuring that qualifying products meet certain efficacy, lifetime, color rendering and color quality specifications. Cree LED Lighting is proud to offer a variety of ENERGY STAR qualified products, which meet and exceed these guidelines.

Performance Values for LED Downlights	ENERGY STAR Minimums	Cree LED Lighting
Efficacy	35 LPW	46 to 80 LPW
Color Rendering Index	75	90
Rated Lifetime	25,000 hours	50,000 hours
Minimum Lumen Output ≤4.5" diameter	375 lumens	515 or 540 lumens
Minimum Lumen Output >4.5" diameter	575 lumens	650 or 1000 lumens

Yes, each Cree LED Lighting product is individually tested and tuned to the optimal color point before shipment.

The Illumination Engineering Society (IES) classifies varying light distribution patterns into different categories or “types” (i.e. Type II, Type III, etc.), but within these classifications are a fair amount of variation. For example, two manufacturers may both have products that are classified as a “Type III” distribution, but from a light distribution standpoint both products could vary greatly. Therefore, assuming any two products with the same IES classification will provide identical or even a similar light distribution pattern is a mistake. Only by looking at each product separately at the application level can such comparisons be made.

Unlike previous technologies, LED manufacturers have a much greater impact on the rate of lumen depreciation based on their luminaire designs. Thermal design plays a critical role in the rate of lumen depreciation. Therefore you should see variation in lumen depreciation from manufacturer to manufacturer, as well as within different product families offered by the same manufacturer.

LEDs began to be used in the lighting industry in the late 1990’s typically in aesthetic, effect, or specialty lighting applications, including architectural highlighting. The use of LED luminaires in applications such as street lighting, area lighting, parking structures, security lighting, and even general lighting for interior spaces is viable today both economically and from an illumination performance standpoint.

Yes, with inverter style battery backup systems that produce true sinewave outputs.  When sizing Emergency Backup Systems, multiply the nominal power load by 2.5x to determine the size of system needed.

Our products are all designed to meet ENERGY STAR requirements for spatial uniformity, meaning they must all be within 4 equivalent MacAdam ellipses.

Our products are all designed to meet ENERGY STAR requirements for lifetime color maintenance, meaning they must stay within 7 equivalent MacAdam ellipses over their lifetime. Lifetime, given as L70, is the number of operating hours until the light intensity is reduced to 70% of original.  Refer to the Product Spec Sheet for the L70 of a specific product.

Our lighting fixtures include Cree LED chips.  The precise nature of the LED chips are confidential and proprietary aspects of Cree’s TrueWhite® Technology.

Unlike incandescent and fluorescent light sources, Cree LED Lighting Products produce virtually no light in the Ultraviolet (UV) or Infrared (IR) spectrums.

Gorgeous lighting from LEDs? It's true – an innovation that illuminates people and surroundings in color-rich light. Experience all the benefits of incandescent lighting, without high energy costs or environmental impact.

Colors Fully Revealed

It's not your imagination – it's science. Cree lights do look more natural than CFLs. Cree lights have a higher color rendering, so everything under them looks more vibrant and lifelike. Choose warm or cool lighting. Warm lighting gives a traditional and luxurious feeling that homeowners have come to expect. Cool lighting creates an effective work environment or brings a contemporary look to a home.

Hotspots, No Glare

Cree lights are designed to blend seamlessly with any architecture. The proprietary diffusing lens and reflector system deliver an optimal light distribution that softly washes walls and sufficiently illuminates work surfaces. LEDs are not visible, so you won't be distracted by hotspots or glare. The only thing you'll experience is life under beautiful, glowing light.

Useful life has been defined as the number of hours an LED device can operate until it emits only a certain percentage of its original lumen output. For general illumination applications, vision research suggests that 70 percent of original lumen output is the level where end users begin to notice a drop in light levels. This metric is indicated as L70. The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) published LM-80-08, IES Approved Method for Measuring Lumen Maintenance of LED Light Sources. Cree tested our LED lamps for long-term lumen maintenance consistent with LM-80 methods to demonstrate L70 life after more than 6000 hours of testing and got the number 50,000 hours under normal operating conditions. Also the performance of all of our products is verified by accredited independent 3rd party laboratories. Please note, any initial condition or parameter change will affect the useful life of LEDs in different ways.

Compatibility was determined based on whether the lighting fixtures would fit within the identified can when appropriately modified. Our products should easily fit most standard IC or non-IC housings. Please refer to the Recommended Housing List for the specific product.

Color Rendering Index (CRI) is defined as a light sources ability to render color.  The higher the CRI, the better the light source renders every color in the visible spectrum.  To have what is generally considered good color rendering, a source must be >90 CRI.

Junction temperature is the temperature at the point where an individual diode connects to its base. Maintaining a low junction temperature increases output and slows LED lumen depreciation. Junction temperature is a key metric for evaluating an LED product's quality and ability to deliver long life.

The three things affecting junction temperature are: drive current, thermal path, and ambient temperature. In general, the higher the drive current, the greater the heat generated at the die. Heat must be moved away from the die in order to maintain expected light output, life, and color. The amount of heat that can be removed depends upon the ambient temperature and the design of the thermal path from the die to the surroundings. [Source: DOE]

The Department of Energy advises: "Heat management and an awareness of the operating environment are critical considerations to the design and application of LED luminaires for general illumination. Successful products will use superior heat sink designs to dissipate heat, and minimize junction temperature. Keeping the junction temperature as low as possible and within manufacturer specifications is necessary in order to maximize the performance potential of LEDs."

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) is defined as the color of light given off by a particular light source that most closely represents the light emitted from a perfect blackbody radiator when heated to a certain temperature.  Incandescent lamps have a typical CCT of 2700K (warm white light).  Fluorescent lamps can have CCT's varying from 3000K to 5000K (cool white light).  3500K is generally considered "neutral" white light.

LEDs are environmentally friendly on many fronts. First, unlike HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamps LEDs contain NO mercury. In addition, some LED luminaires are RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant and have been designed to provide more than a decade of near maintenance-free service. That means no re-lamping which means no waste.
Assuming an HID fixture is re-lamped every two years, that’s five re-lamping cycles over a 10 year period.  Just imagine the benefits of choosing LED:
•    No concern over proper disposal (hopefully not simply thrown in a landfill) of old HID lamps containing harmful mercury.
•    No fuel used and the accompanying pollution to service those fixtures.
•    Greatly reduced potential for lane closures and other productivity and inconvenience-related costs associated with maintaining an HID system.
•    No natural resources lost to produce the replacement lamps that contain mercury.
•    No fuel used to move old-technology lamps from the factory (most likely overseas), to the distributor, to the contractor, to the job site.
It’s important to keep in mind all the positive and powerful ripple effects that using LED technology can have on the environment.

The life span of an LED is vastly longer than that of incandescent, fluorescent or HID lamp sources, generally lasting 50,000 hours or longer. Although the LED never really burns out, product life span is measured by lumen depreciation.

The Illuminating Engineering Society's (IES) current standard for calculating the life of an LED as the point at which the LED reaches 30 percent lumen depreciation.

Remember, a 100,000-hour rating is not equivalent to lamp life rating. LED life is rated where it has reached 30 percent lumen depreciation. At 100,000 hours an LED would still be operating, but at a decreased lumen output.