UNESCO International Day of Light

The UNESCO International Day of Light is celebrated on 16 May each year, the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman. This day is a call to strengthen scientific cooperation and harness its potential to foster peace, culture, and sustainable development.
 
The IDL (International Day of Light) conceives light as an art, part of culture and an essential factor in science. For 2024, the theme is Light in our Lives.
The relevance of this theme to our readers lies in the applications of architectural, and speciality lighting – the genre in which we work.
Day_Of_Light_IMG1

At the iP office the word sustainability arises at every opportunity and therein lies a chance to align ourselves with the objectives of the IDL.

 
LEDs are efficient but the use of linear direct view lighting integrated into the facades of tall buildings has become pervasive. Efficient maybe, but when thousands of metres are used, the watts add up.
 
Manufacturers may crow about the efficiency of their products. The differences in efficiency from one product of a given type to another are tiny. The lumen output per Watt of an LED has come a long way in 20 years but the improvements are now in tiny increments.
 
No silver bullet here.
 
To make a significant difference to the energy usage, we needed to make a major design change.
Day_Of_Light_IMG2_V2

There are 2 types of lumens:

Initial lumens – this is what comes from the LEDs alone. What we start with.

Delivered Lumens – this is what comes from the complete light fixture, the leftover lumens after all the losses have been taken into account.
 
The diffused pixelated strip has been used in vast quantities to create dynamic facades and immense media walls. The problem with diffused linear products is that they are inherently inefficient because of the huge losses (say 75%) in delivered lumens, caused by the diffuser itself.
 
To preserve as much of the initial lumens as possible the diffuser needed to go, and a new optical approach was needed.
 
The new Illumination Physics Crystal Multiplier Lens is the answer. We have developed a new clear prismatic optical cover for the output side of the light fixture. There is no diffusion to sap the energy of the LEDs and the micro prisms multiply the light from each LED.
 
We have created a direct view linear strip that produces the same visual result as a 32-watt diffused fixture.
 
But the Illumination Physics Crystal Multiplier uses just 8 watts.
 
The International Day of Light has many lofty goals. At least we can tick the sustainability box.
240312 R1 IP Linear Series Media Bar 1000 RED