Comparison of fiber optic lighting and LED lighting

Nowadays, under the advocacy of the concept of green lighting, various lighting technologies are constantly emerging. Fiber optic lighting and LED lighting, as emerging lighting technologies, have always been at the forefront of green lighting.

Fiber optic illumination is a type of illumination that transmits light from a source generator to a designated area through an optical fiber. It has the following characteristics:

1) Due to the self-characteristics of the fiber and the principle of linear propagation of light, the fiber can theoretically transmit light to any place, satisfying the diversity of practical applications.

2) We can obtain the light of various colors we need through the filter device to meet the needs of light color in different environments.

3) Through the design and installation of fiber tails, lighting has changed from abstraction to visualization. Fiber optic lighting gives light texture, a sense of space, and even gives life and character to light.

4) Optical fiber illumination realizes photoelectric separation, which is a qualitative leap, not only the safety performance is improved, but also the application field is greatly expanded.

5) The plastic fiber optic lighting system is soft in color and has no light pollution. The plastic optical fiber decorative lighting uses the method of filtering the spectrum to change the color of the light source. After the fiber is transmitted, the color is softer and purer, and the visual effect is very prominent.

6) The spectrum of a general light source includes not only visible light but also infrared rays and ultraviolet rays. In some special occasions, infrared and ultraviolet rays are avoided, such as cultural relic lighting. Since the low-loss window of the plastic optical fiber is in the visible spectrum, the transmittance of infrared light and ultraviolet light is very low. With the special treatment of the light source machine, the light emitted from the optical fiber is cold light without infrared rays and ultraviolet rays.

From the characteristics of the understanding of fiber optic lighting, now look at the characteristics of LED

LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a semiconductor capable of converting electrical energy into visible light. It changes the principle of incandescent tungsten filament illumination and energy-saving lamp trichromatic toner illumination, and uses electric field illumination. It has the following characteristics:

1) Voltage: LED uses low voltage power supply, the power supply voltage is between 6-24V, depending on the product, so it is a safer power supply than using high voltage power supply.

2) Performance: Energy consumption is reduced by 80% compared to incandescent lamps with the same efficacy.

3) Applicability: Each unit LED chip is a square of 3-5 mm, so it can be prepared into various shapes of devices and is suitable for a variable environment.

4) Stability: 100,000 hours, the light decay is the initial 50%.

5) Response time: The response time of the incandescent lamp is millisecond, and the response time of the LED lamp is nanosecond.

6) Environmental pollution: no harmful metal mercury.

7) Color: changing the current can change color, and the light-emitting diode can conveniently adjust the energy band structure and band gap of the material through chemical modification method to realize multi-color luminescence of red, yellow, green and blue.

8) Price: The price of LED is relatively expensive. Compared with incandescent lamps, the price of several LEDs can be comparable to the price of an incandescent lamp. Usually, each group of signal lamps needs to consist of 300 to 500 diodes.

Due to the unique advantages of fiber optic lighting and LED lamps, they have been widely used in a variety of applications and are constantly being promoted.

The current domestic application situation and occasions are briefly described as follows:

First, fiber optic lighting

Due to the many characteristics of fiber optic lighting, its application is very extensive, and its typical application is analyzed according to different places of use and effects.

1), video conferencing desktop lighting

Using the end-lighting system, the concentrating lens-type illuminating terminal accessory is vertically illuminated from the top to form a spot-like spot on the tabletop, which is suitable for the participants to read and write without affecting the slide projection explanation (in general lighting fixtures or brightness reduction) In case).

2) Effect lighting placed in a place with a high top, difficult to maintain or unable to bear weight

The end-illumination system is used in the starry shape of the tall dome of the hotel lobby, with dimming lens type crystal tail pieces and rotating glass color plate, which can form the dynamic effect of the stars sparkling, which is comparable to the general lighting system.

3) Guided lighting in public areas outside the building

The floor-standing (line-illuminated) system or the buried-dot-guided (end-illuminated) system is used for sign illumination, which reduces the workload of light source maintenance and has no risk of leakage compared with the general illumination mode.

4), outdoor fountain underwater lighting

The end light-emitting system is adopted, and the underwater terminal is configured for underwater illumination of the outdoor fountain, and the audio signal output by the sound system can synchronously control the bright output and the light color conversion. Its lighting effect and safety are better than ordinary low-pressure underwater lighting systems, and it is easy to maintain and has no risk of electric leakage.

5), building outline lighting and facade lighting

Building line and facade lighting are carried out in a combination of a line illumination system and an end illumination system. The utility model has the advantages of convenient construction, short installation period, strong timeliness, reusability and investment saving.

6), local lighting of buildings and cultural relics

A terminal illumination system is used, and a concentrating lens type or a diverging lens type illuminating terminal accessory is configured for indoor local illumination. For example, in the museum, the local lighting of silk fabrics, paintings or printed cultural relics with special control requirements for temperature and humidity, ultraviolet light and infrared rays are all optical fiber lighting systems.

7), light box, billboard lighting

The line illuminating fiber is soft and easy to fold and not easy to be broken, easy to be processed into different patterns, no danger of electric shock, no need for high voltage transformer, automatic color change, convenient construction and installation, and can be reused. Therefore, it is often used for billboard lighting set on buildings. Compared to traditional neon lights, fiber optic lighting has significant performance advantages.

Second, the application field of LED

1), signal indication application: signal illumination is a field where LED monochromatic light is widely used and is relatively early, accounting for about 4% of the LED application market.

2), display applications: signs, billboards, large-screen display, etc., LEDs for display screen applications account for about 20% -25% of LED applications, display screens can be divided into monochrome and color.

3) Lighting application:

1 portable lamps: flashlights, headlights, miner lights, diving lights, etc.;

2 Automotive lights: high-position brake lights, brake lights, turn signals, backup lights, etc., high-power LED has been widely used in automotive lighting.

3 special lighting: solar garden lights, solar street lights, underwater lights, etc.; because of the small size of the LED, easy to use dynamic brightness and color control, it is more suitable for architectural decorative lighting.

4 Backlighting: General electronic device function display backlight, notebook computer backlight, large size large size LCD display backlight, etc. LED as the backlight of mobile phone display is the most widely used field of LED.

5 projection light source: RGB light source for projector;

6 general lighting: all kinds of general lighting, lighting sources, etc.;

Third, the comparison of fiber lighting and LED lighting effects

Although fiber optic lighting and LEDs have their own characteristics, the application areas overlap, but the effects still have their own characteristics.

With the development and maturity of LEDs of various colors, the technology for producing color-changing effects of monochrome LEDs for recreational use is becoming more and more mature. In order to change colors, the system generally uses red, green, and blue LEDs (RGB) as a monochromatic source, and then uses a technique called "increasing color" to create the final desired color. But in terms of light representation, any other lighting method cannot be compared to fiber optic lighting. Therefore, in the development trend, fiber optic lighting still dominates.

Fourth, the market comparison of fiber optic lighting and LED lighting

Because fiber optic lighting and LED lighting are fundamentally different, and the performance is also different, so the sales market is also biased.

Although fiber optic lighting now accounts for a small share of the lighting industry, it is proportional to accelerated growth. At the annual American Lighting Fair, it continues to attract the attention of visitors, especially in places where it is inconvenient to use ordinary lights. The use of fiber optic illumination systems is most advantageous where it is difficult to access or where photoelectric separation is required. According to the characteristics of fiber optic lighting, the sales market for fiber optic lighting mainly faces decorative lighting, entertainment lighting, art lighting and special lighting.

As a new type of light source, LED has developed more and more types of LED lighting products in recent years and its market share has also increased. However, since the technology of high-power LEDs has not yet matured and the cost of white LEDs cannot be effectively reduced, LED lamps cannot be effectively expanded in the field of lighting.