About our LED Lighting

• All of our LED products are fully guaranteed and also meet the Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECA) specifications, allowing you to claim back 100% of your capital expenditure in Year One.
• Furthermore, we have linked up with E3 Consulting (Taxation Awards 2011 winners) to provide you with advice and guidance to clarify your understanding and manage your entire ECA claim from inception through to acceptance with HMRC.
• All of our LED products are built with high quality, world known recognised electronic components, including LED as a lighting source but also capacitors, semiconductors, resistors, or high temperature resistant wires.
• Energy Efficiency – the light bulbs burn very cool, while incandescent bulbs emit 98 per cent of their energy as heat!
• Instant and natural bright light.
• Long life – These lights can last well in excess of 50,000 hours. Incandescent light bulbs typically last around 1,000 hours and fluorescents are good for roughly 6,000 hours.
• Rugged durability – LED lights have no fragile filament to contend with, and no fragile tube. They are resistant to heat, cold, and shock.
• Low or No Maintenance.
• No UV or IR emissions.
• No Noise or Flicker.
• Innovatively dimmable.
• All our LED products are robust and physically durable. LED products are therefore built with materials that are robust, shatter-proof but also high luminous efficiency.
• As a base, ArmadilloLED use high quality aluminium for best thermal management, Acrylic PMMA materials for optics to provide best in class light output and increase Luminaire Output Ratio.
• LEDs as a light source are SMD type (Surface Mount) High Brightness/Power LEDs, selected from BBL ANSI bin codes (Black Body Locus) (not blue or pink) to provide premium pure white neutral colour with High CQS (Colour Quality Scale) and CRI (Colour Render Index).

Meeting targets doesn’t mean there has to be a cost! Our products deliver savings on every level and help to meet your Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) targets, reducing energy bills and providing fast return on your investment.

1. LED lighting dramatically reduces your power budget (up to 85%).
2. LED lighting is highly reliable, requires little or no maintenance in comparison to existing lighting solutions and provides the user with up to 40,000 hours of continuous usage.
3. LED lighting offers a wide range of “options” in terms of lighting density, colour tones and light spread, whether the application is to highlight individual vehicles within the showroom or to provide high power “flood” solutions for exterior security.
4. LED lighting conforms to and assists with many of the proposed and implemented government initiatives focused on the eco-budget, the “green economy” and the carbon reduction energy efficient scheme.
5. LED lighting works, we have many examples, testimonials and accreditations listed on our web-site that we encourage you to peruse.
6. LED lighting is not only the future of lighting, it is here now and being implemented throughout the economy throughout domestic and commercial applications

From the days of warmth and illumination around a camp fire, incandescent bulbs have long followed the same rules of wasting 98% of energy in heat, converting only 2% into radiated light. The next step in technology offered Compact Fluorescents, though invariably have a slow start to reach effective working light outputs. Compact fluorescent also significantly drop in light output after only a nominal time compared to instant light and long life spans on LED (Light Emitting Diodes). CFL’s in the main contain substances like Mercury that are harmful to health and the environment. In the workplace or at home, the benefits of instant light from LED, with no slow ‘warm up’, noise or flicker deliver greatly improved ambience to any environment. For individuals with requirements for increased quality of light due to poor eye health, including Glaucoma, LED provides potential benefits for reading and PC work. All of our LED products are RoHS compliant with CE approval, produce no IR or UV.

There is a myth surrounding the world of lighting that LED technology is not quite ready yet. Consequently, colours, brightness, dimming and price exclude them from being a viable option for everyday lighting solutions. Not long ago, early LED products were a little quirky and therefore gained a reputation for emitting strange and inconsistent light.
We have tried and tested hundreds of LED products over the last two years that have been manufactured within the UK and throughout the world. We have also visited many of the designers and manufacturers to further validate their products. It is fair to say that the LED sector is still evolving and is also a potential minefield with new products being introduced on a daily basis. It is also true that there still are a significant number of LED products being sold that still emit inconsistent light, poor lighting output and do not provide genuine energy efficiencies. Beware any LED supplier who provides you with a lifetime guarantee! Our experience clearly demonstrates that many of the cheaper LEDs available to buy that claim a lifetime of 50,000 hours are lasting for only a fraction of that time and furthermore the quality of lighting output is diminishing after a very short period of time. From our experience in testing many types of LEDs from lots of manufacturers, large and small, getting the right bulbs, right light in brightness and kelvin (warmness) and valid energy savings is still a challenge.
This is compounded further by a raft of promises from suppliers and large numbers of low quality imports. More concerning is potential issues around safety as poor quality LED lamps are driven beyond their designed working parameters to achieve required lighting results or where LEDs are used on systems with dimmers or connected to old drivers.
We applied our rigorous Quality Assurance checks on hundreds of LED products and our tests highlight the fact that the range of genuinely reliable, high quality and truly sustainable energy efficient LED solutions is very low indeed.
Using LED technology we can not only achieve the familiar warm light required for residential projects but our LEDs will actually enhance our environment making it more colourful and controllable whilst reducing carbon emissions.
Our LED products and manufacturing processes are RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant and all LED products are covered with WEEE directive supporting your electronic recycling future with ArmadilloLED WEEE Certificate WEE/BD2588SY. Our LED products are also designed and manufactured to ISO14001:2004 Environmental Managements Standards.

We are therefore only partnering innovative organisations that meet our rigorous Quality Assurance procedures meaning that we only ever supply the very best LED products available today. The dynamic range of our ArmadilloLED products have been designed and developed for wide ranging applications using the best and most cutting-edge and innovative technology available.

We are delighted to announce that we have successfully become a Carbon Trust Implementation Services Accredited Supplier. Carbon Trust Implementation Services Accredited Suppliers have to undergo an independent accreditation process to demonstrate their skills and experience in delivering low energy, high performing solutions. We look forward to working closely in partnership with the Carbon Trust in the months and years ahead to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of UK business and public sector organisations.

We are delighted to partner The Carbon Trust and the new Accredited Supplier logo is a mark of quality assurance that demonstrates our track record, our expertise and our ongoing commitment to delivering best practice energy efficiency projects for our customers.

All of our LED products are manufactured and tested within our partner’s own production facilities utilising unique and patented technology ensuring our LED products are reliable, maintenance free, easy to install and affordable. All LED products are built according to IESNA LM-80-08 standards, and tested for period of 6,000hrs with periodical measurements of 1,000hrs. Production, Assembly, and Quality Control Process is with strict norms of ISO9001:2008 – Quality management Standards and ISO14001:2004 – Environmental Management Standards. Further guidelines and review process have also taken place with the Institute of Manufacturing for accelerated management and production control. All LED products are serialised and date-coded. Production control is based on multi-level BOM (Billing of Materials) where control can be traced back to a single electronic component.

Our lighting design team is very experienced and able to offer all of our clients a complete lighting solution. Whether commercial, hotel, hospital, retail or residential, we have extensive experience of working with architects, lighting designers, interior designers and private clients to provide solutions that will enhance the environment whilst significantly reducing energy consumption.

For many years we have relied on inefficient and ineffectual incandescent, halogen and more recently compact fluorescent lighting, which is prone to warm up time and flickering. However, this must change as worldwide legislation dictates that we switch over to energy efficient systems. National media recently reported that low-voltage halogen lamps are to be banned from next year under draft legislation drawn up by the European Commission. 12V MR16 lamps are the workhorses of retail, commercial and, increasingly, residential lighting and millions are sold every year in the EU. However, under Ecodesign legislation, ‘poor performing’ versions are to be phased out from next year. Better-performing versions, such as those with infra-red coatings, will follow by 2016. The law sets out a series of minimum performance measures, including lifetime, output in a 90-degree cone and ef¬ficiency, which will effectively mean that low quality lamps – often Far Eastern imports – will be excluded from sale in the European Union from 2013. The phase-out is part of the Ecodesign legislation, which led to the phase-out of incandescent lamps in recent years.

According to BS EN 12464-1:2011, selected areas have specified standards. All of our LED products have been designed to achieve >80CRI. Light Emitting Diodes (LED) that are used in our Luminaires are specified through design, approval and procurements process. These LEDs have been carefully selected to provide pure white colour render based on Black Body Locus. Our rigorous Quality Assurance (QA) processes ensure our LED products avoid issues with “pink” or “blue” colours hue. Products have selected bin code for LEDs, provided uniformity of CCT across range of products. All products are tested to IESNA LM-79-08 standards.

Working with Armadillo LED we have been able to utilise their extensive semiconductor background to provide further assurance on the quality of all LED products. Many of our LED products are now also offered with innovative dimmable options that have been specifically designed within the bulb with no need for additional drivers or wiring.

WHEN SELECTING LED LIGHTS WE WOULD SUGGEST YOU LOOK FOR AND VERIFY THE FOLLOWING:
1. Use measureable performance data
2. Ask for spec sheets & IES photometric files
3. Case study installs
4. For each bulb ask for LM80 product data sheets
5. Check for ISO Certification
6. Ask about WEEE lifetime recycling
7. Check for CE Certification
8. RoHS Compliance
9. Is the manufacturer BS EN standard compliant
10. Consider watts consumed vs. true light output
11. Check and compare performance Delivery at Application Level
12. Ask for certified Photometric Data
13. Establish Lumen depreciation over time when thinking about pay back
14. Look at Light loss Factors
15. Evaluate Lifetime Luminaire ROI

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Take a total solution approach
As you begin investigating LED lighting for your specific applications, keep in mind that you’re buying an integrated system, not just individual components. An effective LED lighting fixture is only as strong as its weakest link. Look for features that provide the key benefits you expect on every installation – performance, longevity, efficiency, style and reliability.
1. Performance Delivery at Application Level
Do not be led by data only. Many claimed manufacturers supply data from other lighting components and one-time laboratory results. Conduct “in field” application level performance evaluations using IESNA recommended practices and standards. Utilise available design software and application engineering practices to predict application level performance. Evaluate relevant and credible case studies.
2. Ask for Certified Photometric Data
Make sure the LED luminaire manufacturer provides a certified photometric report (per IESNA LM-79) from an approved DOE lab to validate the manufacturer’s photometric performance claims.
3. Establish Lumen Depreciation
Obtain lumen depreciation (life) data for the LED luminaire supported by the LED chip manufacturer’s IESNA LM-80 test data, directly correlated to luminaire level performance. Obtain thermal characteristics to maintain light levels.
4. Look at Light Loss Factors
When a light fixture is activated, it produces light which must leave the lamp, then the fixture, then reach the work plane where it is needed. Along the way, a number of operating and environmental conditions interfere with the transmission of light, resulted in wasted lumens.
Please bear in mind the light loss figure supplied is only as good as the manufacturer’s data, thermal properties and design of the fitting itself. Using the manufacturer’s LED luminaire lumen depreciation data, you can only apply if supported by the correct thermal design for an accurate light loss factor..
As an example, a typical outdoor dusk-to-dawn application may be evaluated at a 50,000 hour (~11 – 12 year) application life. Based on this example, you would conduct an evaluation based on each manufacturer’s 50,000 hour lumen depreciation values.
5. Evaluate Lifetime Luminaire ROI
Analyse initial investment versus lifetime value by considering all LED fixture benefits such as lighting performance, total power consumption, maintenance and warranty. The entire luminaire must be built to last for the length of the application life.

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LEDs vs. INCANDESCENT BULBS

LEDs are solid-state (p-n junction semiconductor) devices that convert electrical energy directly into light (electroluminescence). LED “cold” generation of light leads to high efficiency because most of the energy radiates in the visible spectrum. In comparison, incandescent bulbs convert about 5% of their power into visible light, while LEDs approach 15 to 20%. Incandescent lamps radiate much of their energy in the non-visible spectrum, generating heat as well as light. For example, the package of an LED may be 10° to 25° C hotter than ambient, but under the same conditions, the envelope of an incandescent bulb can be several hundred degrees C hotter.

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CORRECT THERMAL MANAGEMENT AND DESIGN
Having the market leading LED manufacturer involved in the future of our design platforms is only one piece of the quality make up of Armadillo LED’s product range. Correct thermal management and design are both pivotal to the longevity of our LED products to ensure stable lighting characteristics throughout their long life. ArmadilloLED use best in class electronic components, to provide long lasting products with thermal management requirement for LED (IESNA LM-80-08) and quality of Light required for application (IESNA LM-79-08).

Features
• Excellent flux lumen output
• Constant current
• Industry’s lowest thermal resistance in lighting: 8°C/W
• High junction temperature resistant
• Industry-leading JEDEC standard prequalification testing
• Electrically neutral thermal path
• RoHS-compliant
• Lumen maintenance of greater than 70% after 40,000 hours.

OPERATION AT CONSTANT CURRENT

The drive current through an LED must be controlled. High current densities within the junction of the chip cause partial overheating which damages the crystalline structure of the LED die. At these areas are so called dark-line defects, where light ceases to be generated. This should not be confused with the maximum junction temperature of the LED, which is related to the higher temperature at which the optical grade epoxy starts to expand rapidly and increases the risk of catastrophic failures, such as broken wires or lifted LED dies.

To produce light, an LED must be operated in the forward-bias regime. The emitted light is a function of the forward voltage Vf and the forward current If. In the lab, LEDs are usually operated in a forward bias direction from a constant current DC power supply. At low currents, the slope of the radiant power (luminous flux) verses time rises faster than the slope of the electrical power (start-up range) verses time. At high currents, the slope becomes flatter (saturation area), which is mainly caused by heating of the LED chip. Under normal operating conditions (between the start-up range and saturation area), the optical radiation emitted by LEDs is strongly correlated to the electrical current, which is why constant current is recommended for measurements intended to characterize the optical properties of an LED.