Thanks to a very high luminous efficacy of LED lamps (over 160 lm/W) they are the most preferred light sources in lighting applications today. The useful lifetime of LED modules exceeds 50,000 hours. Chromatic parameters of lamps making use of SSL (Solid State Lighting) have already equalled classic solutions, although they were noticeably worse not so long ago. High values of the Colour Rendering Index (CRI) and ease of control over the luminous flux cause that lamps with LEDs have become very attractive solutions. Today, the most important problem concerns LED drivers supplied from the 230 VAC mains. The lifetime of switched-mode converters, including electrolytic capacitors, is considerably shorter than that of LEDs. This paper discusses the features of alternative drivers for LED modules which are supplied directly from the 230 VAC mains and do not contain any electrolytic capacitors. In particular, power factor and efficiency of lamps with one or two LED strings are analysed and some hints concerning optimal design of such lamps are given. A unique feature of this work is a detailed analysis of harmonics contents in the supply current of such drivers, proving their conformity with the relevant standard. Finally, some problems associated with flicker resulting from the considered type of supply are mentioned.
The development of technology and design of light management systems remains dynamic. Among all the benefits offered by these systems, the most valuable might definitely be the possibility of saving energy consumption. Knowing the value of energy savings is the key factor that users need to know before deciding to use a lighting management system (the type of light management system). For this purpose, it is useful to simulate the operation of the lighting control system, for example in the DIALux program. Such simulation helps evaluate potential savings in electricity consumption using the proposed lighting control system. In the DIALux program, it is possible to change the luminous flux value of luminaires. In such a case, it becomes possible to semi-simulate the light management system’s operation as we don’t receive actual information on reducing installed power of the lighting system during reduction of the luminous flux value of luminaires. This article shows what type of technical data are important to use for the DIALux program to properly and accurately simulate light management systems and to receive accurate data on energy saving. It also presents the results of photometrical and electric parameter measurements (Φ – luminous flux, P – power, PF – power factor, THDi – total harmonic distortion of current). The article discusses the power control characteristics obtained on the basis of these measurements and explores the source of differences between simulation of energy saving calculations and real measured energy savings. An existing lighting control system installed in an office reception area was used to compare calculations with the real value of energy consumption reduction. The impact of electronic power and control systems on electrical network parameters is also an important problem mentioned in this article. It also explores the effect of power regulation of LED luminaires and LED modules on the value of the power factor and total harmonic distortion (current) value (THDi).
In recent years, GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) has been widely used in various applications, such as RGB lighting system, full-colour display and visible-light communication. However, the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of green LEDs is significantly lower than that of other visible spectrum LED. This phenomenon is called “green gap”. This paper briefly describes the physical mechanism of the low IQE for InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) green LED at first. The IQE of green LED is limited by the defects and the internal electric field in MQW. Subsequently, we discuss the recent progress in improving the IQE of green LED in detail. These strategies can be divided into two categories. Some of these methods were proposed to enhance crystal quality of InGaN/GaN MQW with high In composition and low density of defects by modifying the growth conditions. Other methods focused on increasing electron-hole wave function overlap by eliminating the polarization effect.
The article proves that common LEDs may act as photodetectors with limited sensitivity, if they are polarized with an appropriate reverse voltage. The measured responsivities are ranged between 0.002 and 0.156 A/W and they depend on the LED type. The only one exception are white (phosphorescent) LEDs which do not exhibit any photosensitivity. There have also shown that a bandwidth of LEDs, which were examined in a role of photodetectors, is of a few tens of MHz, which is an order of magnitude greater than their modulation bandwidth as transmitters. The reasons of the observed LEDs behaviour are explained theoretically. The obtained results are indicated that some of them may be used as both transmitters and receivers in the VLC links working in a bi-directional half-duplex mode.
In literature, it is known that a Light Emitting Diode (LED) could be used as a light sensor. It is also known that its emitted light spectrum and sensitivity spectrum can be partially overlapped. This work presents how commercial LEDs can be used as light emitters and simultaneously as sensors of the reflected portion of the light emitted by themselves. The realized devices present a unique characteristic: the transmitter and the receiver coincide spatially as they are the same device. This ensures the perfect overlapping between transmission and reception radiation lobes that could provide many benefits in several applications like as distance measurements or image sensors. Some simple electronic configurations that use LEDs as detectors of their own emitted light are presented. It has been also demonstrated how these LEDsTx-Rx can work as image sensors by acquiring an image of a simple test object, and how they can realize distance sensors with respect to other known techniques. Further advantages can be obtained by realizing LEDTx-Rx array in single integrated devices. With the realization of such devices, it will be also possible to experiment new constructive solutions for commonly used applications, without the need of using separate emitter and receiver.
We aimed to investigate whether educational activities in the form of guided tours through an exhibition change the appreciation of art when young experts (i.e. first-years students of artistic faculties) view contemporary art in a gallery. Participants viewed and assessed the artworks presented at the gallery twice – before and after taking part in a guided tour led by a gallery educator. The guide-led tour increased both understanding and ratings (the hedonic value) of the artworks, which is consistent with the “effort after meaning” hypothesis and also with the model of aesthetic appreciation and aesthetic judgments. Our results suggest that the reception of works of art by young experts is changed when they are under the influence of extensive contextual information.