Future: OLEDs vs LEDs?
The word future is filled with vast potentialities. When we imagine the future, many of us think about innovation, how our lives will be improved, and where we will be.
Typically, these ideas are filled with hope for us and those we hold closest.
So, what’s could be one of the possible scenarios for lighting?
I still remember the challenges of encourage Clients to switch from Fluorescents to LEDs, on what now became a given, thanks also to the reduced costs for LED fittings.
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics went to three scientists: Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura “for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources.” That’s not a coincidence because LEDs have changed our lives. That’s a fact.
At the same time, back in 2012, another new word was “growing”: OLEDs, Organic LEDs.
In simple terms some of the difference between LEDs & OLEDs are:
– the materials they are made out
– LEDs are tiny, highly concentrated light sources
– OLED light panels are ultra-thin and lightweight. They do not generate heat the way other light sources do eliminating the need for a heat sink.
– OLEDs are more environmentally friendly then LEDs because made entirely of carbon-based organic materials and ultimately biodegradable.
Due to the way OLEDs are manufactured, maily they are a flat and flexible panel that can be bent into nearly any shape. This creates endless opportunities for illumination. Oftentimes you’ll find that OLED panels don’t require the use of reflectors or diffusers.
With an efficiency that ranges from 25 to 50 lumens per watt, it’s currently estimated that OLED lighting will last for 30,000 to 40,000 hours, or roughly 3-5 years of continuous use. Although, OLED hasn’t quite caught up to traditional LED lighting in regard to efficiency.
OLEDS are already widely employed within the Automotive and TV screen industry, following the same pathway of the LEDs few years ago.
How about implementing the use of OLED lighting technology in the built environment?
Architects and interior designers could have their dream of a “clean ceiling” becoming reality, pending other services adapting to the innovative way of lighting.
Windows could be the source of light during the day (daylight) and in the dark, becoming entirely the glowing source of light, in a romantic way to transform natural light into artificial lighting.
Plenty of potential applications and at Light it Design Pty Ltd we will continue investigating the future of lighting, which could already be the present.
Credits sources/readings:
-Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Spin & Excitonic Engineering Group. Prof. Marc Baldo
– Luminescence Technology corp
– Images/Pinterest
