Q. What is a LED array?
A. LEDs can be single chip based or many LEDs can populate an independent LED chip built as one package called array.

Q. I have a "5 Volt LED" - what does it mean?
A. The 5 Volt Refers to the maximum operating voltage you can put across the LED. As a rule the LED described should operate below that maximum. 5 Volts is its top bearable limit also called the maximum operating point. It is not to be reached or reached only occasionally for very short periods of time.

Q. Adaptor (or converter) - What is it and Why I need it with my LED?
A. Adaptors are also called converters or power adapters. For low voltage LED lights, 5V, 12V, 24V versions, you would use an adaptor. It transforms your high voltage 120VAC or 240VAC to the low voltage DC at which your LED can operate.

Q. Driver - what is it and what type should I use with my LED?
A. A LED driver is the circuitry (a self-contained supply of power) that powers your LED light source with the needed drive current. But this current is still quite lumpy so we need to fine-tune the output that reaches the LED. For this to be accomplished we also need a resistor built in the driver circuitry. Drivers should be current regulated, so they deliver a consistent current over a range of load voltages. Actually, your LED can be overdriven past their continuous operating currents and generate higher peak light outputs (within some limits) by operating them at a reduced duty cycle. This will hold the average current and therefore chip heating within the continuous operating limits.

Q. Can I use a dimmer with my LED Lamp?
A. Only if the lamp is designed with an internal dimmer circuit in to allow it. The lamp should be rated for use with a wall dimmer.

Q. LED internal dimmer - what is it and how does it work?
A. A LED fixture with an internal dimmer that operates the LED by sending a pulse width modulation voltage to the LED. This is an electronic circuit that sends thousands of on/off pulses of electrical energy to control how much the LED is turned on in any one second. The more pulses, the brighter the LED light. The dimmer is controlled by a remote wall control that sends a DMX signal to the dimmer.

Q. Resistor - what type should I use with my LED diode?
A. Resistors are necessary to limit the electrical current going through an individual LED. Without it the LED would burn out. The best resistance is a current limiting not voltage limiting resistance. This requires more than just a simple carbon resistor to achieve.

Q. What is Ohm's Law?
A. It was a formula derived by a fellow called Mr. Ohm. Ohms Law is a simple powerful formula for calculating electrical flow and pressure and resistance of a circuit. If you know any two, you can quickly calculate the third. It uses three letters I, E, R and the formula is I=E/R, E=IXR R= E/I. The letters are I=current, E=Voltage R= Resistance.

Q. How does Ohms Law Work?
A. The relationship of electrical current flowing caused by a voltage pressure pushing through a resistance blocking the flow of electricity in a “complete electrical circuit” .All three are measured with:

• Current measured in amps “I” (or milliamps for smaller quantities),
• Voltage measured in Volts “E” (“E” stands for electro motive force a fancy way of saying electrical pressure)
• Resistance measured in Ohms “R”

The relationship is such that if you increase the voltage pressure across a resistance in a complete circuit, the current flow in the complete circuit will increase. If you then increase the resistance in a complete circuit, the current flow will decrease an inverse relationship.

Q How does Power Work?
A. There is one more piece to Ohms Law and that is Power which we measure in watts “P”. This formula establishes a relationship between

• Power measured in watts (P)
• Voltage measured in volts (E)
• Current measured in amps (I)
• Resistance measured in ohms (R)

This relationship is such that in a complete circuit the amount of current flowing multiplied by the amount of voltage pushing gives you the amount of power being used by the circuit. So that would be P=IxE. Increase either voltage or current in a complete circuit and more power is being used.

Resistance shows up in the power formula since it can “impede” the flow of current and “drop the voltage” in a complete circuit. So that would be P = I2xR. or I = (P / R)2 . LEDs use both less current and less voltage than incandescent lights to create the same light output. They really save power.

Q. What is a Kwh and how much does it cost?
A. “Kwh” stands for Kilowatt hour and it means the amount of thousands of watts per hour. Watts being the measurement of Power is very important because you pay for Power. If you look at your electric bill and find your Kwh usage, simply divide the Kwh total into the total $ amount and get the cost for one Kwh. It is amazing what taxes, demand charges, etc. etc. add to the cost of a Kwh. See the IMI calculator to determine your energy costs and usages.

Q. Do Low voltage or High voltage LED light save more energy?
A. It doesn’t make any difference what voltage pressure a LED uses. If two different LED lamps use the same amount of watts and produce the same lumens of light, no matter what the driving voltage, they are both the using the same amount of energy. So if you had a 120 Volt lamp or a 12 volt lamp and both used 6 watts and both put out the same lumens, their power consumption would be identical.

Q. AC LED - What is it?
A. It is a LED with a converter that converts AC to DC, the type of voltage the led needs to operate. LEDs only allow voltage to flow in one direction. AC refers to current flowing alternately in both directions caused by voltage first pushing electrical flow in one direction and then pulling current in the other direction. If the reverse voltage (voltage is a pressure) threshold is reached on a LED, it will burn out.

Q. LEDs resistance - what is it and how it behaves.
A. Unlike conductor materials, LEDs are semiconductors and don't have one fixed resistance, they have varying resistances. The current flowing in an LED is an exponential function of voltage across the LED. This means that a small change in extra voltage can result in large change of current

Q. LED meltdown - what is it and how it "works"?
A. LEDs don’t like heat. The thermal runaway effect that will kill your LED is popularly called LED meltdown. A LED has a single Junction. The current through the junction will tend to increase as the temperature rises. This in turn will heat you junction further. Beyond a certain maximum point this cannot be reversed. Your LED will melt down and die. Current-regulated drivers can counter this tendency whereas voltage-regulated drivers tend not to.

Q What is an LED?
A. LED is the abbreviation for a light-emitting diode. A LED consists of a semiconductor diode that emits light when a voltage is applied to it.

Q. How Long Have LEDs been Used?
A. The electronics industry has used LED technology for many decades as indicator lights in electronic devices. In recent years, LED technology has progressed to the point where it is viable for general lighting applications.

Q. What is a Lumen?
A. Lumen the unit light measurement. It is used to describe how much light is contained in a certain area. Q. What are LED advantages?
A. High efficiency , Durability, Superior life over other lamp sources, Reduced Maintenance, Energy Saving, Cool operating, Safe Non Polluting, Profitable to Retrofit

Q. What differs between LED Lighting and Traditional Lighting?
A. LED uses only a fraction of the energy of any other light source. Most of the energy used by halogen and incandescent (80-90%) is lost in heat, not light production.

• LED beat fluorescent bulbs in energy efficiency, using only half the energy.
• LED lights outlast CFLs by at least 8 times.
• LED lights do not contain mercury that is found in fluorescent lighting.
• LEDs also offer a color rendering better than fluorescent lighting.

Q. How are LEDs able to outperform HID?
A. Super-bright white LEDs have the advantage of minimal lumen depreciation, better optical efficiency and high lumens per watt. LEDs also have a vastly longer life span than traditional lamp sources. The luminaire must be designed to leverage these inherent advantages of LEDs. A Total Systems Approach is needed for an LED product to bring all these features together. Also have an environmental advantage in that they contain no mercury, are RoHS compliant, last longer and produce less waste.

Q. How does ambient temperature affect LED efficiency?
A. LED fixtures must be designed with junction temperature thermal management as a key component and use the correct LEDs. These products will then be robust enough to operate in most ambient temperature applications. Unlike fluorescent sources, cold temperatures do not impact the performance of LEDs.

Q. Do I have to replace LED diodes?
A. An LED does not burn out like a standard lamp, so individual diodes do not need to be replaced. Instead, the diodes gradually produce lower output levels over a very long period of time. If one LED fails, it does not produce a complete fixture outage.

Q. Why is the life span of an LED measured as lumen depreciation?
A. The life span of an LED is vastly longer than that of incandescent, fluorescent or HID lamp sources, generally lasting 50,000 hours or longer. Although the LED never really burns out, product life span is measured by lumen depreciation.

The Illuminating Engineering Society's (IES) current standard for calculating the life of a LED as the point at which the LED reaches 30 percent lumen depreciation.

Remember, a 100,000-hour rating is not equivalent to lamp life rating. LED life is rated where it has reached 30 percent lumen depreciation. At 100,000 hours an LED would still be operating, but at a decreased lumen output.

Q. How long is 100,000 hours?
A. Based on how long a fixture is illuminated per day, here's what 100,000 works out to:

• Hours of Operation: 100,000 hours is:
• 24 hours a day 11.4 years
• 18 hours per day 14.8 years
• 12 hours per day 22.8 years
• 8 hours per day 34.2 years

Q. Is there any investment you can make that will GUARANTEE 100% rate of return?
A. YES, Our LEDS have a long enough warranty that will guarantee your money back within a year and in most cases your return on investment is up to 10 times. Invest in LED Lights and make sure you are not ONLY GREEN but also can make sure you get every dime of your investment back. The cost-savings LED provides over its lifetime ultimately makes it the least expensive lighting option.

Q. What is a DMX controlled LED Fixture?
A. This is a LED fixture with a built in power converter and built in DMX electronic circuit that receives the digital control signals from a DMX remote control, (can be wired or wireless) and based on the coded “Digital Level” sent, it will operate the power converter feeding the LED. DMX controls also send a “Digital Address” along with the digital level to identify which LED fixture in a string to operate. So a DMX controlled LED fixture will contain an adjustable address as well, typically a number from 0 to 512.

Q. How are DMX controlled LED fixtures installed?
A. The fixtures are connected to AC power in the same manner as any other lighting fixture. Additionally a DMX control wire (Belden 9729) is strung from fixture to fixture from a DMX control. The last fixture also has a terminating resistor tied to it usually 120 ohm ¼ watt. It is advisable to also tie LED fixtures into relay panels so that there is absolutely no AC power feeding them when they are off. This will conserve every bit of energy and extended the life of the electronics.

Q. How do I select a DMX control?
A. If all of your DMX controlled fixtures are going to operated together, a single dial DMX control will function perfectly. Every fixture is set at a single address, any number form 0 to 512, and the control is set to send out that number. If you are going to have a few different lighting looks, colors or levels, the 10 button or larger panel will work fine. If you have a complex multicolor lighting system with many operations, the control options become extensive and you should contact IMI to provide the best option. Be as creative as you desire. There are plenty of control options available for anything you can dream of.

Q. Can DMX be used to control other things?
A. YES. DMX control has been around for decades in all sorts of entertainment, theatrical and TV installations. It is being used for controlling everything from fountains to smoke machines, lights to bubble machines. You name it, somebody has used DMX to control it. Contact IMI with your DMX control questions. We will probably have the answer and a working solution.