May 9 2007
OPTILED announces its latest, most powerful MR-16 halogen replacement yet, the 6-watt "Six Star." Producing more than 150 lumens of light via an array of pointlight LEDs, the Six Star is the latest example of OPTILED's continued success in bringing innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace. "One of the main hurdles you have to overcome in LED lamp development is the heat generated within the device," says Anthony Wong, head of product development at OPTILED. "The ingenious leap our engineers made with the Six Star was to create multiple layers of LEDs rather than place all of the LEDs in a single plane. This has allowed us to pack more individual LEDs into one form factor without the problem of overheating. This is a major step in our effort to allow our customers to enjoy the benefits of energy saving LEDs without having to give up performance."
The Six Star's features include a GU5.3 base, an overall power of approximately 6 watts, and a projected life of more than 35,000 hours. Light output is more than 150 lumens of homogenous light at a 60-degree beam angle. The SixStar is engineered to handle the variations in voltages that "noisy" power supplies can produce. Warm white and cool white are the first colors available for the SixStar. The remainder of the LED color spectrum (red, amber, green, and blue) are soon to follow. OPTILED projects a dimmable version of the SixStar will be available in Q4 of 2007.
OPTILED projects that lighting designers and architects will use the SixStar extensively for accent or display lighting in museum, retail, residence, and entertainment applications. While OPTILED's other MR-16 halogen replacement lamps have filled niches where conventional lighting were impractical (where the LED's compactness, low heat-emittance, and vibration resistance made them the better alternative), the SixStar's relatively high lumen output will allow it to compete with conventional lights on performance alone.