Commercial applications of LED based SSL lamps and fixtures are some of the most important buying decisions a company will make in its quest for energy reduction and advanced lighting technology. Due to this, it is important to understand that the "state of the art" as quoted by many companies on the Web is not the correct representation of the phrase nor is it usually accurate or even possible in many of their claims. Companies that claim their products are the state of the art, should be able to back that up with proper documentation and verifiable test results. Just as we question how a 2 inch computer speaker system produces 1000 watts of sound, we must question the validity of certain lighting claims made by many companies that are "in the business" but are not really knowledgable or perhaps less than honest.
We have seen many examples of this on the Web such as quoting of the lifetime and efficacy of lumenaires which are either made up or just quoted from the very best LED emitter specifications, which are not used in the products nor designed properly to meet both the light output and lumen life expectancies. These companies are most likely simple importers buying from assemblers without any support of engineers or experience as evidenced by their misleading or erroneous claims.
Our intention here is not to scare newcomers away from LED solid state lighting, but to help you navigate this interesting landscape of this industry and hopefully make the journey more rewarding and fruitful. The design of these products is very important as well as the ability to measure and benchmark according the prevailing standards of the profession. With any long term investment, some due diligence should transpire in the early stages in order to realize a true return on your investment.
