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More than 200 years ago, Henry Joseph Round observed that carborundum (SiC) crystals emitted a visible yellowish light when a potential of 10V was applied. He also observed that different crystals would emit green, orange, or blue light. In a letter to the editor of The Electrical World’s February 9, 1907 edition, he requested that any other person investigating this phenomenon contact him. That was unlikely to happen because Round was the first person to document this “ curious phenomenon” as he called it.  His discovery of electroluminescence paved the way for today’s LEDs.   

However, the first LEDs had low luminous efficacies, and as such, they were only useful as control lamps.  They also tended to flicker if not supplied with a constant energy source.  The development of LED drivers to convert mains voltages to match the load requirements for luminaires, meant greater stability, which coupled with increased efficiency and durability, make today’s LEDs real contenders in any lighting application.

At GRE Alpha, we take great pride in developing and manufacturing the best quality LED drivers.   LED driver selection can be confusing to even the most experienced lighting system designer.  The steps below should help guide you in selecting the most appropriate LED driver for your application. 

1. Determine if your application needs a constant voltage or constant current driver. A CV driver supplies a fixed voltage and is suitable for lighting applications where the number of LED strings and current draw are unknown. In these applications, current control is accomplished by additional components at the LED itself. CC drivers supply a fixed current and are suitable for applications that require constant current directly connected to the LED. This type of driver operates within limited voltage ranges, and it is therefore essential to choose a driver with an appropriate voltage rating.
2. Determine your application’s output current (mA) requirements. When using a CC LED driver, note the current requirements of your luminaires. The CC driver should reflect that value output. The data sheets for luminaires state the requirements, with the value given in amps (A) or milliamps (mA). Some variable and selectable output current drivers offer a working current range or stepped values.  Your luminaires must conform to the chosen values.  Lower currents can extend the lifespan of your luminaires.
3. Determine your application’s voltage (V) output needs. CV drivers require the same output as the voltage requirements of the luminaires. For multiple luminaires, each LED voltage requirement is added together for a total value. For CC drivers, the output voltage must be greater than the requirements of the luminaires. 
4. Determine voltage drop. Voltage drop is the amount of voltage loss in a circuit as a result of impedance.  Any component that carries current is subject to resistance or impedance to current flow.  Because LEDs need very low voltages to function, any loss in voltage can alter the color or brightness of illumination and can also cause the LED to flicker.
5. Determine your input voltage (12V or 24V).
6. Determine your wire run length.
7. Determine the material of wire (assume copper in most cases).
8. Determine the proper wire gauge against resistance (AWG value).

Our voltage drop calculator can assist you in selecting the right product for your application. 

5. Determine the necessary ingress protection (IP) rating for your application. If you have an outdoor application, it is crucial to consider IP rating.  If your driver is going to be in contact with water, you may decide on an IP65-rated driver.  Devices with a rating of IP67 can withstand in even harsher  Products with this rating are protected from dust and can withstand water submergence to 1m for up to 30 minutes.  Your selection depends on your application’s environment. 
6. Determine your form factor requirement. Ultra-slim LED drivers can save space and thus money. LED drivers that conform to standardized form factors allow for independent interchangeability of different drivers and modules. 
7. Determine your application’s termination method. In other words, how will you connect the LED driver to the application? While some LED drivers have built-in wiring leads, others do not, which may require you to purchase wires separately. 
8. Determine if you need a dimmable or non-dimmable driver. Not every LED driver on the market today supports dimming.  Moreover, even if they do, many don’t guarantee flicker-free dimming.  GRE Alpha has CC and CV LED drivers for flicker-free dimming applications.  GRE Alpha offers LED drivers and dimming modules that are compatible with TRIAC, DALI, DMX, and EnOcean protocols just to name a few.

GRE Alpha® Electronics, Ltd. specializes in the design and manufacture of solid-state lighting power supplies and lighting control accessories which are the lifeblood of indoor and outdoor LED lighting systems.  Please visit our website https://grealpha.com/ to learn more about our great selection of drivers.

Chicago, Il May 7, 2018–GRE Alpha will highlight their innovative LED drivers at the LIGHTFAIR® International Trade Show May 8-10, 2018. More than 27,000 construction and lighting professionals will gather at the McCormick Place for the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference. The event is sponsored by the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD, www.iald.org) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES, www.ies.org) and produced and managed by AMC, Inc. (www.americasmart.com). LIGHTFAIR® International brings the industry’s newest and most innovative products and technologies to a global attendee population of lighting designers, specifiers, architects, consultants and engineers from around the world.

Partnering for Success

Officials at GRE expect that this year’s LIGHTFAIR® will be even better than the last. While they will display their products alongside ERG at booth 3679, GRE Alpha representatives will be on site to answer questions and attend the LIGHTFAIR® conference. With a wider selection of products to choose from, they are excited to display their adaptable LED power supplies and dimmers like the Signage Architectural Drivers (XLD 75/ XLD 200) the lighting industry’s only UL Listed LED driver.

These drivers and other products like the 0-10V Surge Protector and dimmer drivers attracted a great bit of attention when shown at lighting fairs in Asia and Europe this spring. Working with a highly regarded distributor like ERG Lighting allows GRE Alpha to bring their latest products and technology to the premier North American trade show and introduce the GRE Alpha North American team based just outside Atlanta.

GRE Drivers for Intelligent Buildings

With smart building technology a dominant driver in lighting design, GRE believes their forward-thinking products such as their SLD-DIM DALI will be a leading force in the driver market. The future of lighting design is with smart controls and automated systems, and their adaptable and affordable drivers are integration ready for this new era of lighting technology. With most building projects and new construction moving towards LED lighting strategies, GRE Alpha is leading the market in reliable, quality drivers that are adaptable to sustainable lighting designs.

About GRE Alpha

GRE Alpha® Electronics, Ltd. specializes in the design and manufacture of solid-state lighting power supplies and lighting control accessories which are the lifeblood of indoor and outdoor LED lighting systems. Unlike many in the LED industry, GRE Alpha focuses on a modular approach. Their products can be used either in conjunction with existing systems or with new setups.

With over two decades of power conversion expertise and a commitment to innovation, GRE Alpha engages with industry pioneers to deliver efficient, installation-ready and agency-approved LED power conversion products for a wide variety of industry applications.

 Learn more about GRE Alpha Products, go to www.grealpha.com:

GRE Alpha, North America

3030 McEver Rd. Bldg 1, Suite 140
Gainesville, GA 30504
Tel: (770) 538-0630 
Fax: (770) 538-0640

Hong Kong – April 26, 2018 - More than 220,000 visitors gathered in Frankfurt, Germany, from March 18-23, 2018 to attend Messe Light+Building, the world’s largest trade fair for lighting and building services technology. During the fair, some 2,700 exhibitors displayed the latest products in the fields of lighting and home and building automation. The theme of this year’s event was “Connected-Secure-Convenient”. In this spirit, GRE Alpha presented their latest LED dimming module and driver technology working together with self-powered wireless switches and sensors based on the EnOcean wireless standard for a new era of intelligent building applications. The display was featured at the EnOcean Alliance partner booth in Hall 9.1, stall B60.

The result of a groundbreaking collaboration, GRE Alpha’s ENO-DIM LED dimming modules are compatible with any constant voltage LED driver. They enable smooth, flicker-free dimming of lighting fixtures when paired with any self-powered wireless switches using the EnOcean wireless standard.  These switches use the energy created by the touch of a button to send a wireless signal to the ENO-DIM LED dimming module. There are no batteries and no wiring required, and switches can be mounted anywhere. This enables seamless integration when retrofitting existing LED lighting control systems or when building out new smart LED lighting projects.

Self-powered wireless switches using the EnOcean wireless standard operate at a high-reliability frequency band, and therefore enable interference-free and a wide range of up to 30 meters within buildings compared to other RF wireless technologies such as BLE and Zigbee. The ENO-DIM module is available in three regional power supply versions: 902MHz in North America, 928 MHz in Japan, and 868MHz in Europe and China.

“The importance of flexible and maintenance-free solutions for LED lighting control is increasing. Therefore, we are pleased to see the growing use of our energy harvesting technology in more and more applications for LED lighting control. The combination of GRE Alpha´s lighting solution with self-powered wireless switches is further enhancing the ecosystem of products supporting our energy harvesting wireless solutions,” says Jürgen Baryla, Vice President Sales, EnOcean.

Applications using GRE Alpha’s ENO-DIM modules in combination with EnOcean´s self-powered wireless switches include building and architectural lighting, effect and contour lighting, general commercial illumination, warehouses, signage, strip lighting and more. By combining GRE Alpha’s LED power supply and dimming module technology with EnOcean's self-powered wireless sensors and switches, lighting designers can create sustainable intelligent building, home automation, and architectural lighting control systems that are energy-efficient, easy to install, and maintenance-free.

About GRE Alpha

GRE Alpha® Electronics, Ltd. specializes in the design and manufacture of solid-state lighting power supplies and lighting control accessories which are the lifeblood of indoor and outdoor LED lighting systems. Unlike many in the LED industry, GRE Alpha focuses on a modular approach. Their products can be used either in conjunction with existing systems or with new setups.

With more than two decades of power conversion expertise and a commitment to innovation, GRE Alpha engages with industry pioneers to deliver highly efficient, installation-ready and agency-approved LED power conversion products for a wide variety of industry applications.

www.grealpha.com

LED technology offers many advantages to designers of architectural lighting systems. LEDs are more energy efficient, offer a lower overall cost of operation, and provide the potential for eye-catching aesthetics and innovative design. The features and specifications of LED lighting fixtures themselves are important, but the choice of architectural LED power supplies (or drivers) is also critical. Let’s look at five ways architectural LED drivers affect the design and performance of LED lighting systems.

1. Installation Costs

LED drivers take AC current from the mains and convert it to low-voltage DC current required by the LEDs themselves. Like any complex electrical component, drivers must be installed by qualified technicians, which means that ease of installation is a key factor in reducing the cost of deployment. Devices like GRE Alpha’s Easy Install drivers, for example, incorporate features like integral wiring compartments to reduce installation time and eliminate the need for additional components during the installation process. These drivers are also user configurable to constant-current or constant-voltage output, which offers design flexibility while minimizing tracking of extra SKUs.

2. Reliability and Ruggedness

Reliability is a key factor in reducing down time of LED lighting systems. The LEDs themselves, if used properly, last far longer than incandescent or neon lights, so LED drivers should have a correspondingly long lifetime. The mean time between failure (MTBF), a measure of the reliability of a high-quality LED driver, helps in estimating operating costs of an architectural lighting project at the design stage. Typical MTBFs of LED drivers range from 50,000 hours to 500,000 hours under normal operating conditions.

LED drivers must also exhibit sufficient ruggedness to protect against voltage surges. Like most electronics, LEDs are sensitive to such surges and to accidental electrostatic discharge during handling. Some LED drivers are designed to withstand surges of several thousand volts. In applications such as outdoor signage where lightning strikes are a problem, optional surge protectors that protect the drivers themselves are advisable.

3. Intelligent Control

LED drivers and dimming modules enable fast and flicker-free control of LED intensity from 0-100%. Dimming LEDs with manual switches lends itself to energy efficiency, of course. But modern lighting systems require a greater level of control, especially through integration with smart building systems that can be monitored and controlled over intelligent networks to optimize lighting quality and minimize energy consumption.

For example, intelligent control and monitoring of LED lighting systems can make it possible to collect information about how lighting is used in each room or section of a building to help optimize energy consumption over time. Eventually, lighting might even be optimized for a person based on preferences stored on their smartphone, or for a particular meeting room based on how many people are present.

To enable intelligent lighting control, or to future-proof a lighting system, it’s essential to deploy high-quality LED drivers that can integrate with dimming modules with industry standard DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) or DMX.

4. Scalability

In the hands of a creative designer, LEDs offer the potential for the attractive and dynamic lighting of signage and building exteriors and interiors. Their fast response and controllability offer a relatively inexpensive way to freshen the appearance of both the interior and exterior of older buildings without extensive renovation.

In some cases, architectural lighting systems are deployed in stages with LED strips, so it helps to have power supplies used for LED strips that enable scalability. Constant voltage architectural LED drivers offer the flexibility to add LED lighting strips without replacing the drivers themselves. For example, GRE Alpha’s constant voltage Signage-Pro driver offers maximum flexibility and robustness for exterior architectural lighting. This driver features user-adjustable voltage, output for cooling fan control, and a heavy-duty design for use in exterior applications.

5. Light Quality

Many architectural lighting applications require a high quality of light, over and above brightness, which includes a minimization of flicker and control of the temperature of the light. These are all a function of the LED driver which must take AC line current, sometimes of unpredictable quality and stability, and convert it to steady and clean direct current without ripple to ensure a light that’s pleasing to the eye.

Some drivers can also help LED light appear more natural. The GRE Alpha Tunable White SLD-DimTW, for example, can change light from a warm to cool temperature as a function of brightness. This mimics natural light as it progresses from the soft warm light of sunrise to brighter and cooler mid-day light.

Conclusion

LED technology offers many advantages to designers of architectural lighting systems including energy efficiency, scalability, and light quality. Since they are inherently electronic devices, LEDs require high quality drivers to operate, and the choice of drivers is critical for optimum lighting design and performance. The most important features of architectural LED drivers include installation cost, reliability, and scalability, as well as control of light quality and integration into smart building systems.

Each March the Japan LED Association brings the top manufacturers from all over the world together at the LED NEXT STAGE. Market leaders find themselves with the opportunity to show off the newest LED and OLED lighting products to influential designers, engineers, and buyers. Ready-to-order items, production models, and concepts on display guide the future of the lighting industry. This season’s event placed emphasis on store and city design.

At this year's show, GRE Alpha’s booth featured interactive product displays allowing visitors to experience firsthand the high quality of its products. GRE Alpha showcased its new EnOcean dimming module as well as PSE-certified LED drivers including the SLD-DIM DALI and SLD dimming module (1-10V+PWM). With the global market in mind, the firm provides the same technology in 868MHz and 902MHz modules that Japanese customers can incorporate into their products for overseas markets. This was GRE Alpha’s second year participating in this event. Those in attendance reported a 25 percent increase in product inquiries.

There will be additional opportunities to see live demonstrations. GRE Alpha will also be participating in the Lightfair International 2018 trade show, slated to be held in from May 8 to 10 in Chicago. LFI is the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and is sponsored by the International Association of Lighting Designers and the Illuminating Engineering Society. The main focus of LFI this year will be smart cities.

About GRE Alpha

GRE Alpha® Electronics, Ltd. specializes in the design and manufacture of solid-state lighting power supplies and lighting control accessories which are the lifeblood of indoor and outdoor LED lighting systems. Unlike many in the LED industry, GRE Alpha focuses on a modular approach. Their products can be used either in conjunction with existing systems or with new setups.

With more than two decades of power conversion expertise and a commitment to innovation, GRE Alpha engages with industry pioneers to deliver highly efficient, installation-ready and agency-approved LED power conversion products for a wide variety of industry applications.

www.grealpha.com