Cree Launches TEMPO Testing Services
Cree, Inc., a leader in LED lighting, is offering TEMPO Services, a comprehensive set of quantitative and qualitative tests and analyses for LED-based lighting fixtures and lamps. TEMPO (Thermal, Electrical, Mechanical, Photometric, and Optical) Services represents Cree’s extensive experience with LED systems combined with the use of calibrated test equipment to give LED lighting manufacturers and end users confidence in LED product designs.
Third-party labs currently provide testing services to standards such as IES LM-79, which is widely regarded as the most comprehensive LED luminaire test in the industry. However, through years of experience Cree has identified many other aspects of end-product quality that are not examined by outside parties. These aspects of quality include chemical compatibility between materials used in the luminaire and the LEDs, the effectiveness of mixing slightly different color LEDs for enhanced color consistency, and TM-21 LED lifetime projections.
“At Cree, we’ve really ‘seen it all’ when it comes to LED components, and successful LED designs don’t just happen—they are methodically constructed,” said Mark McClear, director of applications engineering, Cree. “TEMPO Services can give manufacturers competitive advantages by helping them avoid costly design mistakes and by providing access to a broad range of test environments that are, in many cases, cost-prohibitive for them to build and operate.”
Cree offers a range of TEMPO Services to LED luminaire makers, depending on their product development needs. The flagship service is the TEMPO 21 Service, “the most comprehensive LED luminaire test available,” which measures and analyzes a final product design before submitting it for LM-79 certification. TEMPO 21 examines all the aspects of quality that Cree has identified as critical and produces testing results and performance data reports that can become useful marketing collateral.
“I applaud Cree for recognizing the inherent difficulties faced by both end-users and specifiers when evaluating an LED luminaire,” said Steve Walczak, director of product engineering at Sternberg Lighting. “As a lighting manufacturer, we found the Cree TEMPO testing to be a valuable asset, which helps to shorten our sales cycle by giving customers an added level of confidence in the way our fixtures are designed and built.
“The TEMPO report provides Sternberg with an additional layer of credibility because it identifies that we are not designing solely on the recommendations of the DOE, IES, and other lighting authorities, which are important; but that we’re also working very closely with the chip manufacturer, which we consider key to proper luminaire design,” said Walczak. “It’s a great tool that provides an extremely thorough fixture analysis that confirms our fixtures are engineered to the intended performance criteria and specifications.”
In addition to a TEMPO report, the TEMPO 21 Service includes consultation with a Cree application engineer to review the test results and highlight possible areas for improvement in design.
Cree is currently providing TEMPO Services out of its Cree Technology Centers, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, and Santa Barbara, CA. Future TEMPO Service locations are targeted to include Munich, Shanghai, and Taiwan.