Light source were offered to manufacturers as a drop-in-ready component, it would simplify luminaire design, fabrication and servicing, accelerating speed to market for new products. To address this need, the market is seeing significant new introductions of components called LED modules-comprehensive LED-based light sources designed for fast and easy integration by lighting manufacturers.
One of the factors inhibiting development and acceptance of LED lighting is there are still no standard for connecting LED light engines and power supplies to luminaries as there are for conventional technologies such as fluorescent and HID. Luminary's manufacturers typically build products around a given light engine, resulting in many customized light engines and light sources that cannot be replaced since LED systems are typically hardwired into the luminaries, with no thought given to how to handle failure or upgrades.
LED modules reduce risk for both manufacturer and user, accelerating adoption of the technology. For luminary's manufacturers, drop-in-ready modules simplify luminaries design, fabrication and servicing, accelerating speed to market for new products and providing additional freedom to innovate and differentiate their product. Users gain the benefits of durable luminaries that can be serviced and also upgraded based on future advances in the technology. The modular approach is likely the future of LED lighting because of these distinct advantages. The alternative is to use materials that make LED luminaries easily disposable products.
Examples include Cree's LED Module LMR4, Sylvania's post top streetlight retrofit module and power supply, Molex and Bridgelux's Helieon, GE's Infusion and Leviton's Transcend. Some modules connect the lamp module to its heat sinking and electrical supply, while others offer light source, driver electronics, optics and thermal management in a single unit.
