Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Why Choose LED Lighting?


It's all well and good to offer such a wide and varied selection of LED related goods, but unless you are already aware of the potential benefits of LED fittings over regular, traditional forms of lighting, you might be a little reluctant to give this concept further thought. So, in order to clear up any potential queries you may have with regard to LED lighting and related products, here are five rather impressive reasons to check out this format in a little more detail and, as a result, reap the benefits.

Safety
Whilst this might not be something you have considered in too great a detail, LED lighting is actually far safer than other, more traditional forms of lighting and the related bulbs. LED fittings manage to provide you with a long lasting and impressive level of lighting whilst also maintaining the unique stance of being able to completely avoid harmful chemicals such as Mercury. Traditionally speaking, many bulbs contained a range of less than wonderful chemicals but with an LED fitting, such issues are avoided.

Efficiency
Now, this is something which will no doubt be on everybody's mind where lighting needs are concerned as, put simply, nobody wants to have to be constantly replacing faulty bulbs or stocking up for exactly this kind of eventuality. Thankfully, an LED fitting is the kind of item which has been proven to possess a much, much greater life span than other types of bulb and the levels of efficiency are certainly worth shouting about. LED fittings are also efficient in another way. Those traditional, incandescent light bulbs which we all remember have a tendency to utilise just 20% of the electric current it uses for production of light. This means that a very sizeable 80% of the energy is wasted as heat. LED fittings on the other hand do not have this problem, which leads us on to point three.


Environmental Benefits
It is perhaps something which you are sick of hearing about, but reducing the amount of energy you use can of course have some rather beneficial repercussions, environmentally speaking. LED fittings use much less energy than traditional bulbs and as such, by making use of such a concept, you can reduce your carbon footprint and make savings at the same time.

Reduced Costs
Pretty self explanatory this one; reduced energy consumption doesn't just benefit mother nature, it can also impress your bank manager to boot as long term savings are guaranteed.

Choice
This might not be something which you have thought about too frequently, but what if you suddenly decide that a room or space of yours needs a brand new edge? Is it really that easy to get hold of different coloured bulbs? Well, in terms of LEDs, it couldn't be easier as there really is magnificent scope out there in terms of colour and style.


How LED lighting could help cut food waste


Changing the light bulbs could help supermarkets reduce the estimated 300,000 tonnes of food waste they produce each year, according to one lighting company.

Welsh firm Sedna LED reckons illuminating fresh produce with light bulbs that emit heat causes food to sweat in its packaging, contributing to the food waste mountain that costs retailers millions of pounds each year.

As a result, the company is arguing that in addition to cutting energy bills, LED lights could also help keep food fresh.

"Unlike conventional lighting, LED lighting does not emit heat or any UV or IR rays, so food stays fresher for longer," the company said in a statement. "LED light sources can be placed in close vicinity to food for an enhanced aesthetic effect, but with no danger of premature food deterioration."

Supermarkets have made strides in tackling the problem through initiatives such as improving storage advice, trialling packaging that keeps food fresher for longer, and using old food for energy rather than sending it to landfill.

But campaigners have continued to highlight a problem that costs the economy billions of pounds and leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions.

In related news, the hospitality sector has this week become the latest industry to announce a new initiative to halve the amount of food waste it sends to landfill each year.

A study by the Hospitality Carbon Reduction Forum blamed a lack of anaerobic digestive (AD) capacity along with inconsistent nationwide waste contractor coverage for the fact that over 50 per cent of the food waste generated by its 12,000 restaurants and pubs is currently going to landfill.

The Forum is now evaluating options to help reduce its impact, which could include building a dedicated new AD plant for Hospitality Forum members or transporting food waste to existing AD plants.

There are currently around 200 AD plants in the UK providing roughly 170MW of capacity, around one per cent of the capacity found in Germany.

Proponents say the technology is a sustainable way of generating both electricity and biogas, which could generate up to 10 per cent of the UK's domestic gas demand as a cheap and secure alternative to natural gas imports.

However, the industry has warned the subsidies available to the technology are not sufficient to drive widespread take up.





Wednesday, 13 March 2013

Romsey Dental Care


Romsey Dental Care, situated on Station Road, is an award-winning, ultra-modern dental practice and cosmetic studio. With an ethos about providing exceptional customer service, the practice gained recognition of their high standards in 2009 with the British Dental Association (BDA) Good Practice Award; and more awards followed.


In keeping with the ultra-modern theme, the practice replaced all of their previous fittings with PhotonStar luminaires. The PhotonStar fixtures not only supported the commitment to minimising the environmental impact of the business but provided the benefit of low glare to increase patient comfort and satisfaction.
The luminaires installed require zero maintenance and provide a reduction in energy usage compared to the previous CFL fittings whilst offering better quality of light.

To visit the Romsey Dental Care website, please click here.




The case study is coming soon and can be viewed here.

Wednesday, 27 February 2013

PhotonStar at Embedded World 2013


PhotonStar's ChromaWhite is a colour tunable LED light source controlled through a mobile module for applications in medical, art, and retail. Built with an ARM Cortex-M3.









Tuesday, 26 February 2013

Ecobuild Seminar Programme 2013

The "Evolution of Light" in association with PhotonStar

Housed inside three giant domes, visitors will enter the feature and experience a journey through the evolution of lighting, learning the new metrics, benefits and possibilities along the way. This educational feature will also provide the knowledge needed to specify, procure and install lighting solutions that truly deliver their aims in a reliable and cost effective way.


6 “Ask the Expert” pods are sited on the feature and visitors may have one-to-one sessions with a rotating list of experts in:

• Dimming
• Sustainable Design
• LED Luminaires
• Installing & Commissioning
• Off Grid & DC systems (Renewables)
• Light & Health
• Lighting Design
• Intelligent Lighting & The Internet of Things
• Controls

• And more.....


SEMINAR PROGRAMME:


TUESDAY:


11:30 - 12:00  Off Grid and Off Peak  Solutions 

12:15 - 12:40  Sustainable Lighting – How do I know?

12:45 - 13:15  Lighting and the Green Deal

13:30 - 14:00  LED Basics – Understanding Equivalence, Efficiency and lifetime claims

14:00 - 14:30  LED Essentials – Colour Quality, Colour Shift and Colour Consistency 

14:30 - 15:00  Turn it off! – Lighting controls for sustainable and creative solutions 

15:00 - 15:45  Light & Health – Lighting for  Human performance, efficiency and lifetime

16:00 - 16:45  LED Installers Bootcamp



WEDNESDAY:


10:30 - 11:00 Off Grid and Off Peak  Solutions 

11:15 - 11:45 LED Basics – Understanding Equivalence, Efficiency and lifetime claims

12:00 - 12:30 How to Specify LEDs

12:30 - 13:00 Lighting and the Internet of Things

13:00 – 13:30 Turn it off! – Lighting controls for sustainable and creative solutions 

13:30 - 14:00 Right Light, Right Place, Right Time

14:00 - 14:45 Light & Health – Lighting for  Human performance, efficiency and lifetime

14:40 - 15:00 Sustainable Lighting – How do I know?

15:00 – 15:30  Lighting and the Green Deal

16:15 - 16:45  Why Use a Lighting Designer?

17:00 – 18:00 VIP Champagne reception – Invite only


THURSDAY:


10:15 - 10:45 Off Grid and Off Peak  Solutions 

11:00 - 12:00 Lighting Solution Forum

12:00 - 12:30 Modern challenges for Heritage Lighting

13:00 - 13:30 LED Installers Bootcamp

14:00 – 14:30 LED Basics – Understanding Equivalence, Efficiency and lifetime claims

14:30 - 15:00 LED Essentials – Colour Quality, Colour Shift and Colour Consistency 

15:00 - 15:30 Lighting and the new UK building regulations

15:30 - 16:00 Turn it off! – Lighting controls for sustainable and creative solutions 










Friday, 15 February 2013

UK LED Lighting Manufacture


PhotonStar LED was founded in 2007.
Our mission is to solve the cost problems and increase the efficiency of current LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) for use in general residential and commercial lighting. LEDs are the environmentally friendly, energy saving replacement technology for less efficient technologies, such as the light bulb and fluorescent tubes. LEDs can last as long as 100,000 hrs and can be up to 20 times as efficient as ordinary light bulbs. PhotonStar LED Ltd is a UK based solid state lighting designer and manufacturer. We use the latest manufacturing approaches coupled with cutting edge optical designs to produce the brightest and the most cost effective LED modules for use in general lighting.



Management and Board of Directors:
Dr James Mckenzie - CEO
Dr Majd Zoorob - Director and CTO
Robert Tuck - Business Development Director
Gethyn William - Sales Director
David Holloway - CFO
Fenella Frost - Marketing Communications Director
Steve Baxter - Operations Director



PhotonStar’s award winning formula includes a commitment to UK manufacture at a time when most LED products are manufactured in Asia. We also recognise that when it comes to reliability, it really matters how you design and assemble a product, and rigorous and complete testing is essential.


UK led manufactureKeeping both R&D and manufacturing in house permits us to ensure quality is maintained. PhotonStar products are modular and designed to be assembled with minimal labour, keeping our products competitive without losing our quality control. We also have a UK based sales support & technical team. The breadth of technical knowledge in our facility and full in house test labs enables us to optimise designs for both performance and reliability.                  


Uk LED manufactureThe assembly stage is key to longevity, and PhotonStar’s production lines include a final test for every unit ensuring that the product performs as expected. A sample of luminaires are put on long term test in our photometric lab, and their performance plotted to determine lifetime of the whole product. We now have some of the longest “in luminaire” test data in the world (20,000 hours). PhotonStar’s UK based R&D team understands that efficiency, control, functionality and local intelligence are key to developing the lowest lifecycle cost, solid state lighting solutions available today.


Wednesday, 13 February 2013

PhotonStar Job Vacancy - Project Engineer – Romsey, Hampshire


Do you want to be part of one of the fastest growing LED lighting brands, fully committed to UK manufacture?

PhotonStar has opportunities to be part of an innovative cutting-edge team providing advanced award-winning LED solutions.

PhotonStar LED Group PLC is a designer and manufacturer of smart LED lighting solutions with a respected reputation worldwide. We are committed to UK manufacture with facilities based in Hampshire and Wales. Winners of many industrial awards including “LA Light Source of the Year” for two consecutive years, success has been as a result of a highly technical and dedicated team.

Due to our continued growth and expansion we are seeking a highly organised and motivated individual with excellent engineering and communication skills, to work as a Project Engineer within our light engines business - PhotonStar Technology Ltd (PST)). Reporting to the Product Line Director, the successful applicant will work in a multi-disciplinary team in our Romsey based production and operations centre. This role is expected to expand and grow giving opportunities for personal promotion and expanded responsibility.

Required Skills

The successful applicant will be a good communicator with a confident manner, and experience of managing complex technical projects, combined with a background in electronic and/or optical engineering, and a demonstrable aptitude for coping with multiple urgent tasks under the pressure of tight deadlines. Essential IT skills include the use of MS Word, Excel and Outlook. Your CV should demonstrate a history of delivering engineering tasks and projects on time to a high standard, dealing directly with both customers and suppliers/sub-contractors. The successful applicant must demonstrate the ability to communicate and interact effectively with all stakeholders – both technical and non-technical and both internal and external to the business – with the appropriate commercial awareness. 
Preference will be given to applicants with a good understanding of LED technology and/or the lighting industry.

Hours and Salary

40 Hours a week (Monday to Friday).
Salary: initially £28-38k dependent on experience, plus performance related bonus and benefits package.

Applications
Send CV with a covering letter stating why you feel that you would be suitable for the role and your salary expectations to careers@photonstarled.com.