The evolving criteria of effective LED luminaire development and commercial product development practices

This paper offers a review of LED technology, luminaire design and thermal management criteria from a commercial perspective. Its aim is to summarise established development practices in the industry and highlight where improvements can be made. From this stems a very brief review of how the LED is evolving and its effects on luminaire design from a frontline engineers perspective. This is discussed with reference to case studies and experiment to highlight some limitations in established practice as well as how it links into an integrated development cycle. This includes discussion of the market influences driving development and where the future could potentially lead. The outcomes reveal thermal management of the LED can easily be characterised with basic analysis techniques leading to much more powerful development and optimisation of luminaire systems. Future improvements in the LED will be dictated by the market emphasising light output, efficiency and cost followed by improvements in thermal management.