The Home of High Efficiency Plasma Lighting

The EU is committed to cutting 2005 greenhouse gas emission levels by one fifth by 2020

Lighting accounts for 20 per cent of all electrical power worldwide and commercial lights are responsible for one third of all demand. It has brought the industry to the attention of politicians as they continue to debate climate change and search for ways to save energy. Yet while the politicians have deliberated, the lighting technology companies have not stood still. They know it is the traditional use of electrodes which has caused lighting's inefficient energy use and shortened the lives of all filament, discharge and fluorescent lamps.

Ceravision, based in Milton Keynes, has responded to this issue by introducing the first range of High Efficiency Plasma lamps. These lamps reduce energy use by at least 50 per cent but still provide full brightness, as well as dimming, fast turn-on and hot re-strike capabilities. The energy savings offered by this technology could make a significant contribution towards the European Union's and global efforts to cut carbon dioxide output. The EU is committed to cutting 2005 greenhouse gas emission levels by one fifth by 2020.

Chief executive officer at Ceravision, Timothy Reynolds, says the commercial launch of High Efficiency Plasma electrode-less lighting systems brings a new gold standard to the industry. The lamps produce 90-plus lumens (the measure of the power of light) per watt of power drawn from the plug socket. This compares to just 35-40 lumens per watt at low power for LED lighting and 12 lumens per watt for a typical 100W incandescent lamp.

"Current commercial lighting almost always uses lamps with electrodes but such systems are electrically inefficient, have short lifetimes and poor functionality," says Reynolds. "In fact a typical 400W high intensity discharge (HID) system will draw an additional 60-80W over the stated wattage, adding an extra 15 – 20 per cent to the energy bill."

Reynolds says that because Ceravision have significantly reduced the size of the light source, more useable light can be captured and the number of fittings reduced. This has halved the total cost of ownership of a typical ceramic metal halide system. "The system draws from the socket precisely the number of watts stated, saving a further 15-20 per cent. The absence of electrodes increases the lamp's lifetime up to 40,000 hours, dependant on application," adds Reynolds. "There is also an integrated, intelligent control system which provides further opportunities for saving energy and each individually monitored lamp can be pre-programmed for different lighting conditions and requirements."

High Efficiency Plasma technology uses radio frequency to create a high intensity plasma discharge. This technology has four integrated elements: a quartz radio frequency resonator and integral plasma burner - the lamp, a system which couples the radio frequency energy from the source to the resonator, a radio frequency microwave source in the form of a magnetron similar to those found in microwave ovens, and an (AC) power supply. Ceravision's first High Efficiency Plasma product, the AlvaraTM 400, will be available shortly.

For more information, visit: www.ceravision.com