New Light Sources for Tomorrow's Lighting Designs

Abstract

The lighting industry is driven to provide light sources and lighting systems that, when properly applied, will produce a suitable luminous environment in which to perform a specified task. Tasks may include everything from office work, manufacturing and inspection to viewing priceless art objects, selecting the right chair for your living room, and deciding which produce item to select for tonight's dinner. While energy efficiency is a major consideration in any new lighting system design, the sacrifice of lighting quality may cost more in terms of lost productivity and user dissatisfaction than can ever be saved on that monthly energy bill. During the past several years, many new light sources have been developed and introduced. These product introductions have not been limited to anyone lamp type, but instead may be found in filament, fluorescent and high intensity discharge lamp families. Manufacturers of light sources have two basic goals for new product development. These goals are high efficiency lighting and improved color rendering properties. High efficiency lighting may take the form of either increasing lamp efficiency (lumens of light delivered per watt of power consumed) or decreasing lamp size, thus making a more easily controlled light source that places light where it is needed. The manufacturer's second goal is to produce lamps that render colors accurately while maintaining high efficiency. This paper will discuss new introductions in light sources and lighting systems and how they may impact the design of luminous environments of the future.