Cree launches highest-efficacy 90 CRI chip-on-board LEDs

LED chip, lamp and lighting maker Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA has launched XLamp eTone LEDs, a set of chip-on-board (COB) LEDs that delivers 90 color rendering index (CRI) light quality at the same efficacy as standard 80 CRI LEDs.

Delivering up to 155 lumens per watt (LPW) at a correclated color temperature (CCT) of 3000K (at 85°C), the new eTone COB LEDs are claimed to provide the highest efficacy available compared with competing COB LEDs of the same size and color. The firm adds that the enhanced performance can transform the output, efficacy and size of LED luminaires in applications that need high-quality light, including retail, museum, high-end commercial and medical.

“Cree is enabling us to create 80 CRI and 90 CRI lights that share the same intensity, beam angle and power consumption with just one product design,” comments Massimo Parravicini, R&D director of Reggiani Lighting. “This no-compromise COB solution gives us the industry’s top performance, the excellent light quality that our customers require and the LED form factors that will drop right into our existing designs,” he adds.

For many indoor lighting applications, the typical guideline for light quality is a minimum CRI of 80. Lower CRI values tend to distort colors and are generally unpleasing, while higher CRI values of 90 mean higher fidelity or accuracy, indicating better light quality, says Cree. LEDs with 90 CRI values are primarily used in settings where color quality is critical, such as retail and museum lighting. LEDs have been available in 90 CRI versions for many years but, until now, this light quality has come at a significant penalty to light output and efficacy compared with lower-light-quality 70 or 80 CRI versions. Cree says that its new eTone LEDs overcome this penalty by delivering an upgrade in LED efficacy of up to 17% over existing 90 CRI LEDs without sacrificing color quality.

“Two years ago, Cree achieved an LED industry first with our lab demonstration of a single high-power LED that hit an extraordinary 134LPW at 1587lm, 85°C and 90 CRI,” says Dave Emerson, Cree LEDs executive VP & general manager. “Cree is committed to turning our industry-first R&D results into viable commercial products that offer customer-ready LED solutions where others do not,” he adds. “Today’s release of our eTone LEDs that deliver 90 CRI at the same efficacy as 80 CRI means that lighting manufacturers no longer have to sacrifice top-tier efficacy to achieve excellent color quality for indoor lighting applications.”

Available in both the ceramic-based XLamp CXA2 Standard Density and the metal-based XLamp CMA & CMT High Current chip-on-board (COB) LED families, all eTone LEDs share the same mechanical and electrical characteristics as the standard versions, so lighting designers will be able to quickly upgrade their designs with minimal redesign effort. Additionally, LM-80 data coverage is available immediately to reduce the time for lighting manufacturers to receive DesignLights Consortium qualifications on their products.

The eTone LEDs will be available in 4000–2700K CCTs at minimum 90 CRI. Product samples of eTone LEDs are available now and production quantities are available with standard lead times.

See related items:

Cree adds CMT LEDs to XLamp High Current LED Array family

Cree expands chip-on-board LED portfolio with high-current XLamp LED arrays

Cree launches high-density class of XLamp CXA LED arrays

Tags: Cree LEDs

Visit: www.cree.com/xlamp-etone