LED Lighting, An Overview
Certified LED only

1. Safety & Environment
Make sure LED is safe, contains no hazardous materials, and lives up to industry standards The most important quality aspect of any product is to comply with all relevant safety regulations and environmental & manufacturing standards such as KEMA CE (High voltage, laser, EMC), TüV, UL, RoHS and Energy Star. Suppliers and partners should work in accordance with the guidelines of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

P-PLUS checks compliance with industry standards and certification of products on behalf of all its customers. Compliance with Safety & Environment standards is required to qualify for our financing agreements. We visit production sites of suppliers to ensure that proper working conditions are in place and no child labor is used.

LED Lighting, An Overview
Quality LED only

2. Light output Determine amount and type of light based on functional and design user specifications The next important aspect of any lamp – incandescent, CFL or LED - is whether it provides you with the light you need . The light absolute light output of the lamp measured in lumen (total light output) or Lux (light per surface area).

P-PLUS supports customers in evaluating lumen or lux requirements, beam shape, lenses, design aspects and light colors. We translate these requirements in a limited number of different quality LED lamps that meet these specifications.

3. Color & Warmth Assess and adjust temperature color and color rendering based on user preferences and needs Light can furthermore be experienced as ‘cool’ or ‘warm’ depending on the color temperature, measured in Kelvin, The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a measure for light color rendering relative to daylight colors.

P-PLUS assesses not only CRI and Color temperature, but evaluates the consistency of light colors over multiple lamps. We make sure that suppliers maintain the highest standards for quality of manufacturing and color ‘binning’ processes Professional users value clear and consistent colors in hotel lobbies, office buildings and offices.

4. Durability & lifetime Determine lifetime of LED products based mostly on emperature in de products and component quality Light Emitting Diodes are durable, but only under the right circumstances. LEDs can last more than 50,000 hours depending on the design of the product, and quality of components chosen. The main factors that determine LED lifetime:

• Thermal management of the LED product – temperature
• Quality of packaging and wire bonding process
• Degradation of the LED over time – documented supplier data
• Other components used in the LED power supply (capacitors, transformers, etc)

P-PLUS evaluates the heat dissipation capacity of LED products based on objective data. P-PLUS checks the manufacturer specifications against objective measurements and uses the ASSIST (Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies) definition of LED lifetime. This lifetime definition (L70%) is: L70% = The number of hours for the LED system to reach 70% of its original output

5. Efficacy & Efficiency Quantify real efficiency of LED based on Lumen / Watt efficacy and power factor Light Emitting Diodes are the most efficient light sources currently available. LED manufacturers measure their - constantly increasing - efficiency in Lumen per Watt.

A key aspect of efficiency is the total power that needs to be generated to light up an LED lamp. This can differ substantially from the power used by that lamp. The power factor is expressed as a ratio between 0 and 1. An LED lamp of 5 Watt with a power factor of 0.50 actually needs 10 Watt of power generated on the power grid.

P-PLUS compares all lamps on efficiency, using the ASSIST methodology. ASSIST is endorsed by key industry players such as Cree, Philips, Boeing, Osram, Seoul Semiconductor, Nichia and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Real Efficiency (Lm/Watt) = Lumen/Watt Power Factor

6. Dimmability & Noise Evaluate absence of noises and if required dimmability, with transformers and dimmers used LEDs can be fully dimmable depending on the quality of the power supply (‘driver’). However, LEDs are semi-conductors systems. They will respond and interact differently than incandescent or CFL lamps to transformers and dimmers.

There are numerous types of phase and electronic dimmers available world-wide. Dimmability can be expressed as the percentage down to which a lamp can dim, and whether there is a fluent pattern or a step-dimming function.

P-PLUS compares lamps on dimmability based on objective data. More importantly, we work with our suppliers to list dimmers that function well with their products prevent any surprises during installation. We advise on suitable transformers and dimmers. Additionally, P-PLUS is designing a dimmer specifically designed for LED lamps.

7.Beam, design & fit Ensure proper fit of LED lamps with all retrofit fixtures, and the quality of design and esthetics The Lumen / Watt combined with the beam shape and angle determine the number of photons (‘light’) on a given surface near the LED. Each LED is ’directional’ and has maximum natural beam angle of a 180° by the nature of the diode which is mounted on a flat surface that only allows light to in one direction.

The use of lenses, multiple LEDs mounted in different directions and diffusers can adjust the light according the requirements and design preferences of the user.

P-PLUS ensures that all necessary data and specifications are available. Furthermore, we check for shadows, beam shape and the design and measurements of the external lamp.

We check the fit of ‘retrofit’ LED lamps with existing industry fixture and connector standards, and for our users we check the fit of lamps in its customer specific situation.

LED Lighting, An Overview
Optimal Cash Flows

8. Total lighting cost Determine the current and LED total cost of lighting, including electricity, lamps & installation The Total Cost of Lighting of Traditional versus LED is a function of 3 factors:

• Decrease of electricity costs as a result of
• Costs of renewing traditional lamps versus investment in LED lamps
• Installation (labor) costs of traditional lamps versus one-off change-over costs

The attractiveness of LED depends mainly on the average usage hours per day, and the difference between current (traditional) Wattage and LED Wattage. The electricity costs in a particular country and installation labor costs are other important factors.

P-PLUS developed a LED savings calculator for professional users, with features that enable users to work in different currencies, with a list of traditional lamps that can be replaced by LED. Furthermore, this calculator uses pre-set user profiles to facilitate professional users such as hotels, parking garages, hospitals and office building owners to easily assess their savings potential from LED in detail.

LED Lighting, An Overview
No Capital Expenditure

9. LED Investment & Risk Eliminate investment in LED, off-balance sheet financing. Quality risks transferred to P-PLUS Quality LED lamps are relatively expensive but they have a long lifetime. Lamps therefore become an investment rather than a continuous cost of energy-inefficient renewables. This investment in LED provides a return, but has risks associated also:

• Estimated or ‘promised’ LED lifetimes are between 15,000 and 100,000 hours
• In most cases, warranty periods are significantly shorter than the expected lifetime
• Warranty terms & conditions are not always clear or easy to understand

The P-PLUS concept provides a risk-free opportunity for professional users to adopt a more efficient technology faster. The investment and perceived or real risks are transferred to P-PLUS and its suppliers. We have to make sure that we and our suppliers live up to the promise of a consistent quality and long LED lifetime.