sector spotlight | BOaT liGhTinG Takeoff for LED …...sector spotlight | BOaT liGhTinG Takeoff for LED light path leD lighting has become almost ubiquitous for unDerwater illumination

58 DECEMBER 2015 | International Boat Industry www.ibi-plus.com

Technicalsector spotlight | BOaT liGhTinG

Takeoff for LED light path

leD lighting has become almost ubiquitous for

unDerwater illumination anD is fast becoming so

for interiors. the technology is evolving quickly

anD the pace of innovation shows no signs of

slowing Down

WOrds: BOB GreenWOOd

as Well as interior, deck and navigation lighting, LEDs have transformed underwater lighting on yachts since Lumishore, a pioneering electronics company in South Wales, with LED and semiconductor engineering know-how, developed what is widely acknowledged to have been the world’s first colour-changing LED lighting array for underwater illumination applications. Launched in 2008, this has already become commonplace lighting up boat hulls beneath the waterline in yacht harbours around the world.

It’s not difficult to see why LED lighting has risen in popularity so quickly. For their light output LED lamps use very little electricity compared with the HID (High Intensity Discharge) and normal halogen lamps currently available. At the same time, their longevity compared with any other form of lighting is immense. A service life of 50,000 hours is often quoted by manufacturers, although that depends very much on the quality of the lamp, the fitting in which it is housed and the array and driver design.

Add to that the easy controllability of sophisticated lighting effects and their integration with existing electronic control and monitoring systems.

As if all of the above qualities were not enough legislation is also putting its weight behind the adoption of LED lighting on energy saving grounds.

In 2016 legislation for electrical appliances will come into force in the European Union that will end the sale of conventional lamps for domestic use, leaving the way clear for LEDs and low-energy sodium-vapour lamps to replace them. Similar legislation is also being enacted in the USA.

When it comes to marine lighting, Eifrion Evans, CEO of the multiple award-winning Lumishore has no doubt that: “the inherent advantages of LED lighting systems for the leisure marine underwater lighting market make LED lighting an absolute shoe-in and a true no-brainer technology of choice for this market sector.” Older, white-only, lighting technologies, he says, “have little place in the future for underwater lighting and we do not expect new installations to continue, although existing installations and fixtures will undoubtedly survive for some time”.

Above the waterline, Eifrion Evans continues: “The LED has until recently had limited application in many interior

marine installations, since the required aesthetic CRI (Colour Rendition Index) lighting units of CRI 90+ were not available at a reasonable price. Now that these higher-level CRI LEDs have become readily available at a reasonable cost, we are set to see LED lighting also taking a greater share of the entire interior lighting sector.”

Trending secTorAs one of the most vibrant sectors of the boating market, LED lighting has attracted a lot of entrepreneurial interest. Dozens of companies are now offering it. The METSTRADE 2015 catalogue alone listed nearly 90 companies offering marine lighting products at the show and it’s a sure bet that most, if not all, will have had LED in their offer. So, in light of a boating market where the numbers of new craft being built has declined since the pre-2008 recession boom, is there a danger that the lighting sector could overheat?

It would seem that this is not the expectation of most of the companies in this sector. Evans, for one, believes that “the LED market still has considerable opportunity and future growth potential ahead of it – not only in terms of its market penetration, but also in terms of its increasing integration into the boating lifestyle. LED is far from ‘mature’ and exciting opportunities remain which will

lumishore

TiX402

59International Boat Industry | DECEMBER 2015www.ibi-plus.com

fuel growth for the foreseeable future.”Growth in the yacht refit business

is benefiting the LED lighting sector. “LED lighting systems are now widely ubiquitously accepted and demanded as the marine lighting technology of choice, especially in underwater applications. Every year we see significantly increasing requests for Lumishore LEDs to replace both older technology underwater lighting systems, as well as competitor LED products,” he says.

On the marketing side, meanwhile, in November Lumishore doubled its distribution strength in the world’s largest boating market, the USA, by appointing IMTRA, an importer and manufacturer of marine products, as its master distributor. IMTRA now joins existing SeaWide Distribution to share exclusive US market coverage.

IMTRA also manufactures is own range of LED lighting, but for interior and exterior applications. “ When it comes to applications such as down lights, indirect/accent, engine room and utility, reading and task, navigation, and underwater for most sizes of vessel there has been almost universal acceptance,” says Colby Chevalier, lighting sales manager at IMTRA.

However, one area still to be converted is very high-output searchlights, Chevalier notes. Here, “We’ve seen bulb-based, metal-halide products continue to flourish,” he says, citing as an example the Colorlight search light platform with proportional control is using 2 x 800W metal halide units putting out 130,000 lumens.

Chevalier notes that particularly in the US market, with its higher leisure marine sales volumes than elsewhere, sourcing individual components such as LED chips, driver boards that make up a completed LED light, consumer purchases can often be a volume numbers game. “LEDs themselves can be challenging to source in the exact spec you have in mind, so buying efficiently while also making sure you are fulfilling orders, have available stock, and are creating commonality where appropriate, will continue to help us remain innovative and competitive,” he adds.

Most of the lighting companies are confident that LED is here for the long term. Lumishore’s Evans, for one, gives it at least 10 years. For IMTRA, Chevalier is confident about the long-term outlook . “For yacht lighting,

we have already exceeded expectations with regard to lumen output, so there is little concern about inconsistencies in the future for this aspect of the lighting,” he says. “Although there continue to be incremental improvements with colour rendering, it’s really a matter of what the consumer is willing to pay. Near-perfect colour rendering is available for those who want to pay for this.”

Technical challengesThere are, however, some technical issues that manufacturers and customers need

to address, particularly when installing LED lighting systems in retrofit situations where conventional lighting is being replaced. Chevalier explains that many LED fixtures being offered today have one or two extra wires in order to run a PWM (pulse width

modulation) dimming signal. This can present some challenges for a boat with traditional two-wire cabling. But more and more LED lighting manufacturers are offering two-wire control for their fixtures. “Other changes are really more to do with additional features and how LED lights can be integrated into shipboard control and monitoring systems. Some LED products now IP (internet protocol) addressable, however, opening up a new level of user control including remote operation via mobile phones and tablets,” he says.

IMTRA’s Chevalier also notes that claims for LED durability can be misleading. The often quoted 50,000-hour longevity benchmark, he points out, is “promoted by the LED chip industry can be measured and confirmed by an industry-wide accepted testing method developed by the Illuminating

THE WORLD’SMOST

ADVANCEDMARINE

LUBRICANTS

iMTra’s

colby chevalier

LED lighting systems are now

widely ubiquitously accepted and demanded as the technology of choice



Engineering Society (IES) called LM-80. For good or bad, this benchmark figure was hastily adopted by luminaire manufactures without regard to other components and how and where the fixture would be used. Chevalier believes that when making longevity claims, LED light manufacturers “should take into account the entire fixture assembly, not just the LEDs. Long life assertions need to be credible and backed up with solid manufacturer warranties”.

endless applicaTionsJohn Kujawa, president and founder of US marine lighting company Lumitec, also questions the credibility of the 50,000-hour service-life claim. His company, which has been developing, testing and manufacturing lighting for marine and other extreme environments since 2006 in Delray Beach, Florida, remains fully dedicated to LED technology as the replacement for conventional lighting technologies and also as a means of enabling designers to create new aesthetic effects with lighting which were not possible before.

In the general rush to LED in the marine lighting sector, Kujawa says: “We definitely expect there to be a bit of a shake-out among suppliers,“ observing that customers are growing more sophisticated and less tolerant of overstated claims, inferior technologies, and less-than-impeccable reliability. “There have been a lot of newcomers to the (marine LED lighting) space and

while some will thrive, many at this point seem to be too far behind the technology curve to be viable,” he says.

Kujawa foresees a period of consolidation in the marine lighting, with fewer but larger and stronger companies emerging. Having spent much of his career

in Silicon Valley, he observes that as the segment becomes

more mature and the products more sophisticated, the need for technical knowledge and sophisticated equipment become a barrier to entry. “I am confident that many of the newcomers to the space are still in the dangerous ‘startup’

period, and that period is becoming longer and

more hazardous for newcomers. As in the Darwinian sense, it’s the fittest that will survive.”

For those companies that can stay the pace, Kujawa believes

that LED technology will continue to offer the best business opportunities. What’s more, as a relatively new field, the possibilities for innovation in marine lighting are seemingly endless. To some extent the

only solution for the consumer is to see these devices for what they are: sophisticated electronics not unlike a chart plotter or a smart-phone. But forward-thinking manufacturers can help as well.

In Europe, Foresti & Suardi, Cantalupi Lghting and Palagi Marine Lights, are also strong players in the marine lighting sector.

Alessandro Palagi, Palagi

Marine Lights CEO, reflects that when LED first appeared “many of our competitors put them immediately on the market. We didn’t do that, as they didn’t provide the same light as an halogen 20watt, and light quality was not good at all.”

This wait-and-see approach giving time for the technology to mature has paid off, he says, “with great growth rates as we have now achieved an excellent quality level of LED. It doesn’t make sense to go back to halogen lights, even when disregarding the energy savings and 30,000/40,000 hours of life for LED against a maximum 1,000/2,000 for halogens. We are now lighting a boat with 4 Watt LED spotlights, and we use to do it with 20 Watt halogens!”

BesT resulTsThe longevity of LED lights, however, is a great attraction, given that previously with conventional technologies, “it could be necessary to change up to 300 lamps

on a 45m yacht”, says Palagi. But, like others in this review, he points out that there are major differences with LED technology that need to be appreciated in order to achieve the best results. He mentions, for example, the need for heat dissipation. “It’s true that LEDs are famous for not producing heat, but although that’s true if you touch the

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John Kujawa

lumitec

Maxillume h120

As a relatively new field, the possibilities

for innovation in marine lighting are seemingly endless

ceO

alessandro Palagi

daMe nominee Palagi iP65 socket



central frontal part of it. However, the back burn, and to guarantee best performance for the longest duration, it must touch an aluminium heat-sink. And then it must be connected with the precise voltage supply to avoid power swings,” he says.

That aside, the most important elements to be taken into consideration are lumen/watt and CRI index. “The higher that is (90 being the benchmark), the closer it gets to natural light,” he says. This, he adds, relies on expertise with digital electronic domotics to best manage capability of LEDs to change from red through to green, blue and white - and also the colour temperatures of the latter, through warm to cold white.

producT innovaTion“Technological evolution is always alluring and challenging,” Palagi observes. “We are very well equipped, but if I need to identify a problem, this might be that every four or five months a new LED with greater brightness is launched, and this means we need to change data sheets and catalogues more often!”

Not all LEDs are of the same high standard, he states. Indeed, “the market is now full of products of low quality,” he cautions. To guarantee quality, Palagi Marine Lighting, he says, always uses the “top brands such as Citizen and Lumiled (Philips).

Unlike long-established Palagi Marine Lighting, compatriot marine equipment manufacturing company Quick Srl is

relative newcomer to the marine lighting sector, having added this speciality to its portfolio of boat equipment including windlasses, bow thrusters, battery chargers and water heaters in 2007.

Even so, Quick Marine Lighting’s business has grown rapidly and Lorenzo Cesari, area sales manager, claims its lights are sold to all major boatbuilders worldwide.

Quick offers a full range of LED boat interior and exterior lighting products as well as underwater luminaries. It still offers halogen products but, Cesari notes that 100% of new

projects are LED.

halogen vs ledCesari believes that such is the rate of growth in the marine lighting sector that there’s room for competition. “The new challenge for LED lighting manufacturers is to improve the efficiency Watt/lumens and the colour rendering index,” he says adding that boat owners just see benefits when they switch the lighting system from halogen to LED. “All shipyards have already understood this benefit a long time ago and, in fact, all new boat projects are designed with LED lighting,” he says.

Looking ahead, Cesari expects the

next major step in LED light technology will be “O-LED applications”, where the metallic coatings that produce the colour variations of today’s LEDs will be replaced by organic carbon compounds.

The case for the wholesale adoption of LED technology, for marine lighting appears overwhelming, but there are still those in the industry who believe that there are still questions about its seemingly universal benefits that need to be asked.

Peter Urquhart, managing director and lighting designer of UK company Underwater Lights Ltd, is one who makes a case for halogen while acknowledging that LED technology has been progressing rapidly.

With halogen, he says, “you can reliably change them and not see any difference, but LED lamp manufactures change output and colour rendering specification so quickly, so when a lamp change is made it may not match the existing one”.

He adds that for interior lighting of cabin and lounge areas, where interior designers have spent considerable time to create something special, LED lights can ruin the look. “Considering the cost to design and build these areas, the halogen is the safest option,” he says, adding “Halogen for atmosphere and LED for cleaning.”

At present, Urquhart sees some mismatches between LEDs and their drivers and control equipment. “Some do and some do not,” says. “There’s too much changing.” However, he points out, “the companies in the LED market are getting together to form a statutory standard that should make life easier for the designer and installers to make a correct installation or project.” That, he says, leaves the question how much technology is required to dim and switch off and on a light and how much will it cost? “The companies that get this correct will be the ones that remain in business,” he says.”

LightGrafix, also based in the UK, has been producing lighting fittings for the yachting industry since mid 1980s and has long experience of working

lorenzo cesari

Quick Marine

Quick Marine secret light

Companies in the LED market

are getting together to form a statutory standard that should make life easier



closely with yacht designers using both halogen and LED lights. Managing director Richard Hargreaves says that its excellent colour rendition makes them ‘ideal for both accent and ambient lighting and perfect for the rich colours and materials used in yacht interiors. “But since we began working with LEDs 11 years ago,” he continues, “We have seen tremendous improvements in their reliability, technology, colour rendition and efficiency. This has resulted in virtually all incandescent light sources being made obsolete (and now) not relevant at all.”

Tough compeTiTionLike others in our survey, he observes that “There are a lot of new LED lighting companies entering the market, quite often from the electronics end of the supply chain,” adding, “At the moment longer-standing lighting companies probably have the upper hand because they understand more about the nature of light and the subtleties of lighting design or ‘painting with light’. However, with the continuously increasing competition, anybody wanting to be at the top of the game needs to be on their toes by maintaining technical advancement, along with excellent style, quality and customer service.

Hargreaves says further barriers to the market exist because of increasing regulation and the tightening of standards with regard to independent compliance testing. “LED lighting technology, while still developing, has stabilised somewhat,” he notes, “partly because the LED chip manufacturers have started to work to some industry standard sizes, so while efficiency, colour rendering and so on might be improving ,the insides of a light fitting are probably replaceable. There are certainly questions to be asked about maintenance, among other things.”

He explains that “At LightGraphix, even if we radically change what is inside

a fitting for our popular ranges, we keep the outside sizes and hole cut outs the same.”

When boats are refitted with LED lighting, Hargreaves points out, there is

a dramatic reduction in the electrical load and heat, “to the extent that

if air conditioning is being fitted, it will change what is

required there too. Also, since the electrical load is less, and therefore the current being carried around the

system, wire sizes can be smaller resulting in weight

savings.”He notes that the key

elements afecting LED life are the temperature at the core of

the LED chip (junction temperature) and the current it is being run at. “The oft-quoted 50,000- hour life expectancy of LEDs will generally require that this temperature is less than 900C. By the time this is translated into the temperature at the outside of the body of the fitting (the heat sink) this will be something like 420C,” he says, adding that “If they are run at currents lower than the maximum, say 350mA rather than 700mA, then the junction temperature will be considerably reduced, ensuring a significantly longer life. This ‘life’ is in fact a measure of the phosphors used on the LED to create white light and the diode itself, such that at 50,000 hours the light output is 70 per cent of what it was when new - it does not however mean that the light fitting stops functioning at this point.”

He concludes: “LEDs do open up the possibilities for thinking about lighting in new ways. There is the potential for small sizes combined with low temperatures, which will not damage surrounding materials. Linear lines of light, small concealed fittings or lighting built into structural features are all made possible by the use of LEDs. They are

both dimmable and controllable, and when combined with other electronics and systems linked to the sort of software which pervades all our lives now, there appears to be very little limit on what can be achieved in the future.”

exTerior and inTerior applicaTionsIan MacDonald, president of Seavision by Underwater Lights USA, agrees that for interior and exterior deck lighting LED has significant advantages which certainly outweigh any disadvantages, therefore older technologies are less relevant. “For high output lighting LEDs are only now comparable to existing sources like HID,” he says.

However, he states that thermal management of high output LEDs “Will continue to challenge manufacturers as we strive to achieve higher light outputs. There is still a place for some of the other technologies as LEDs do have some disadvantages that other lighting sources overcome. For example, Plasma lighting still produces more equivalent lighting

than LED utilising less power.”

Asked if he sees a consolidation of companies in the LED lighting sector, Ian MacDonald says “It would be beneficial for all if this was the case, but it appears that anybody who knows

how to wire up an LED feels obliged to start a marine lighting business. Therefore, as long as controls are minimal, this trend is likely to continue.”

He continues: “The technology nowadays is available to all, but that does little to guarantee that all are capable of utilising the technology. Many start-up companies have the LED knowledge, but lack the required experience to meaningfully use it for the marine market.” He stresses that “It is important for the serious companies to let the clients understand the value of business stability, longevity, integrity and excellent customer service.”

lightGrafix

highangle

There is still a place for other

technologies... Plasma lighting produces more equivalent lighting than LED utilising less power




indusTry challengesHe also points out inconsistencies in certification requirements that could pose problems: “For underwater lighting we had to obtain a new class certification for the LED technology. We retained the same thru-hull fittings, but added the LED technology, so essentially the change was only a lamp. But for interior and exterior applications, a CE or UL certificate would be applicable and would require testing and approval.”

Looking ahead, Ian MacDonald sees new technologies emerging and being taken up. “O-LED and induction lighting (electrode-less gas discharge lamps in which the power required to generate light is transferred from outside the lamp envelope to the gas inside via an electric or magnetic field) are rapidly developing so for some applications they could be ready for the market in a couple of years,” he predicts.

“Today everything can be replaced with LED applications,” says Stefan Wienecke, president of German manufacturer Yachtlite. “We see the LED market as a steadily and annually ever-increasing one. This is facilitated by the diversity of possibilities offered by LED technology.”

Asked whether he foresees consolidation in the expanding LED yacht lighting sector, Wienecke responds: “Here it is necessary to differentiate. In the series products sector (for example simple light sources and replacement products) a consolidation of the market will certainly take place. In the custom-made area (to which Yachtlite belongs) on the other hand, I do not foresee that. This is where the challenges continue to grow. The need for creative solutions will further increase. Any possible consolidation will remain to be seen.”

As for the custom-made area, says Wienecke, “We can only speak for ourselves. We at Yachtlite invest in the

further development of technology and opportunities. We keep our ear to the ground. We readily accept the challenges of implementing the unprecedented to become illuminating reality and thus also expand our credibility.”

QualiTy conTrolWienecke notes that one problem is LED companies shooting out of the ground like fungi. “It’s often all about quick money or

the participation in the market,” he says adding “The question is whether the necessary background for LED technology is existent, or even whether the reputation of LED lighting could suffer because of poor workmanship. The entire image of the lighting industry can be adversely affected by ‘crazy’ or inferior products”.

Yachtlite’s president also notes that the greatest challenge arises from the variety of options and the control, programming, networking and synchronization of light modes and light effects. And that is exactly what the market wants and is searching for. |This

results in also changing the requisites for, for example, the shipyards and also the crews, to adequately master this ‘new’ light. A simple ON/OFF switch is a thing of the past,” he maintains.

Instead, he believes, “It is important to apply intelligent control. Further prerequisites are also the corresponding programming. And not to forget the planner who designed the entire lighting system. If the first mistakes are made here, no amount of programming and control can help. For example, too much or too little light will emerge and the LED lifetime will be

impaired. The use of high quality products as well as a high quality planning service should be absolutely mandatory.”

For custom-lighting companies, says Wienecke, “ultimately, every decision you make depends on what the customer wants at which location on the vessel. That is why lighting consulting and lighting design are imperative in advance. The variety and possibilities are so extensive that the lighting concept must be worked out at an early stage. A missing bus line may later prove to be disaster.

“Also, the structural requirements need to be considered and clarified in good time. All other decisions arise from the lighting design, so there is no general answer. The crucial factor is the planning.”

more To comeFor a final comment on the state of play in the marine lighting sector, Carl Amor, director of Australian manufacturer Aqualuma, one of the three largest players in the international underwater lighting sector, confirms that, beyond question, “The most significant advancement (in marine lighting) has been the rapid growth of LED technology, allowing huge improvements to light output and durability”.

For the boating industry, international regulation to drive producers of all types of lighting towards more efficient technologies, he believes, “will have little effect as most of the smart OEM builders

are already looking at LED, although if they have not already made the switch then I guess it will force them to do so.”

He adds: “While it seems that there has been a slow take-up by OEMs as the cost for a good LED fitting is higher than conventional,

I think they are beginning to see the long-term benefit. The cost has come back to a degree, but this is a fast-moving technology so to have the most efficient and the best fitting is still going to be a little higher.”

Few would seem to disagree.

The use of high quality products

as well as a high quality planning service should be absolutely mandatory

stefan

Wienecke

Yachtlite Xr1

sector spotlight | BOaT liGhTinG Takeoff for LED …...sector spotlight | BOaT liGhTinG Takeoff for LED light path leD lighting has become almost ubiquitous for unDerwater illumination

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