Pioneering progressive LED lighting technology Philips

PIONEERING PROGRESSIVE LED LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY

Philips is a global leader in lighting technology and complete lighting solutions. Philip Yorke takes a closer look at the world’s foremost lighting company and how its latest cutting-edge LED technology is benefiting consumers and retailers worldwide whilst helping to protect the environment.

Philips has led the world in lighting technology since it was founded in 1891 by Anton and Gerard Philips in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company began by manufacturing carbon-filament lamps and by the turn of the century had become one of the largest producers in Europe. Stimulated by the growing industrial revolution in Europe, Philips set up its first research laboratory which was responsible for ground-breaking innovations such as the X-ray and radio technology.

Over the years, Philips has continued to be responsible for many innovative technological breakthroughs that have enriched people’s everyday lives worldwide.

Today Philips is an innovative global leader in its many business disciplines and employs more than 120,000 people in over 60 countries. In 2012 the company recorded sales of around €26 billion and remains a market leader in healthcare, as well as in lifestyle and leisure electronics products. The company is also a global leader in energy-efficient light-

ing solutions in areas such as road lighting, office and industrial applications as well as in hospitality and home environments. Currently Philips employs more than 53,000 people in its lighting sector and remains committed to creating a sustainable future with exciting, new lighting technologies. The company’s lead in LED technology is already offering significant improvements in energy efficiency.

Leading the world in LED Technology

Philips Lighting is the leading provider of lighting solutions and applications for both the professional and consumer markets. The company addresses lighting needs across the full spectrum of living environments from homes, shops, offices, schools factories and hospitals to residential areas, sports arenas and street lighting. In addition Philips Lighting delivers light-inspired visual enhancements through architectural and city beautification projects. The company’s lighting is also used for specific applications, including horticulture, refrigeration lighting and signage, as well as heating, water purification and healthcare applications.

To underscore Philips Lighting’s global lead in providing innovative, sustainable lighting solutions, the company recently announced its creation of the world’s most energy-efficient, warm-white LED lamp in April this year. Philips Lighting researchers have developed a tube lighting (TL) replacement prototype that generates a record 200 lumens per watt compared to 100 lm/W for fluorescent lighting and just 15 lm/W for traditional light bulbs. With lighting accounting for more almost 20 per cent of the world’s total energy consumption, this remarkable innovative advance promises to drive massive energy and cost savings around the globe. These optimised LED lamps are intended to replace fluorescent tube lighting used in offices and industry. They create the benchmark for the next generation of energy-efficient LED lighting technology for general lighting applications.

For example, in the USA alone fluorescent lighting consumes around 200 terawattshours of electricity annually. If all of these lights were replaced with Philips Lighting’s 200 lm/W TLED’s, the USA would use around 100 terawatts-hours less energy, which is equivalent to the output of 50 medium-sized power plants. This would represent a saving of more than US$12 billion and prevent about 60 million metric tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.

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Increasing focus on sustainability

In order to meet the growing global demand for sustainability, the Technology Foundation STW and Philips have taken the initiative to form a new ‘sustainability’ partnership. With eight key research project proposals already approved, the programme was officially launched on 16 April 2013. The aim of these new projects is to develop innovative, efficient lighting that will also be available for entirely new applications. This important five year programme has had three million euros allocated to it and each party will contribute 50 per cent each to the research fund. The results are expected to be published early in 2014.

Global lighting continues to increase significantly worldwide, partly due to the shift to a 24-hour economy and by the year 2050 global lighting consumption is expected to be almost three times higher than it is today. Therefore much more energy efficient lighting needs to be developed. This adds weight to the vital research being carried out by the ‘Advanced Sustainable Lighting Solutions’ partnership, which is working towards high-efficiency, attractive and affordable lighting that is also developed in an environmentally responsible way. Such optimised lighting systems can contribute considerably to the solutions for social change in a variety of key areas such as food production, health and well-being.

Shaping the future

With its new LED lighting technologies, Philips Lighting is addressing the global demand for more energy-efficient lighting solutions. The company is committed to a programme of research that will to shape the future of advanced lighting technology with ground-breaking applications.

For example, in the automotive lighting sector, the Philips Xenon HID product improves the driver’s vision significantly compared to conventional halogen lighting products, thereby increasing safety on the road. The Philips HID light provides twice as much light as a traditional halogen bulb at half the energy consumption with the additional benefit of a much increased lifecycle. The company took another step forward recently by further leveraging its recently acquired consumer – luminaire Ecomoods range in Europe and Asia. n

For further details of Philips Lighting’s advanced LED lighting solutions visit: www.philips.com