PureSpectrum, Inc. has taken another step toward moving PureSpectrum Technology out of the laboratory and onto store shelves.
PureSpectrum owns the rights to a family of patents and patent applications related to a technology that could improve the performance of ballast driven lighting applications. During the past year, the company has successfully tested its proprietary circuitry in linear fluorescent and higher wattage Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) applications but recently PureSpectrum commissioned independent testing on a low wattage CFL prototype bulb.
The benefits of applying PureSpectrum Technology to Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) bulbs include instant ignition and rapid illumination without compromising the life of the bulb. An international lighting manufacturer that has been in negotiations with PureSpectrum since May provided the specifications for the prototype, and the results indicate that PureSpectrum Technology could possibly provide the circuitry enhancements, which would enable necessary performance and gains for low wattage CFL bulbs.
While the company does not plan to manufacture light bulbs, PureSpectrum is attempting to license PureSpectrum Technology domestically and internationally. PureSpectrum president and CEO Lee Vanatta says each round of testing is critical to proving that PureSpectrum’s circuitry design for electronic ballasts can produce the performance needed by major lighting manufacturers.
“These test results show positive progress for our first attempt to marry the advances in our technology with a low wattage CFL bulb,” Vanatta notes. “We are pleased with what the results showed, but we are not yet satisfied. We know there is still work to be done, but we now know we are going in the right direction and we know what steps to take to get to our ultimate goal of licensing this technology.”
The potential for the technology was evident in the data collected during the testing, which took place at Intertek, a NVLAP certified lab and a leading facility in the lighting industry. Despite manual assembly and the use of some mismatched components, the prototype performed similarly and in some cases better than bulbs that are commercially available from brand name manufacturers.
The prototype either met or exceeded most standards set forth by Energy Star, a joint program between the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy that establishes guidelines for energy efficiency in a wide range of categories. For a CFL bulb to comply with Energy Star requirements, the minimum light output recommended by Energy Star for CFL bulbs intended to replace a 40W incandescent bulb is 450 lumens, and PureSpectrum’s manually assembled 10.92W prototype generated approximately 572 lumens.
Additionally, the Color Rendering Index (CRI) must be at least 80.0, the Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) must indicate a Kelvin temperature between 2700K and 3000K, the Starting Time cannot exceed one second and the Run-Up Time cannot exceed one minute. The PureSpectrum prototype bulb showed a Starting Time of 40 milliseconds, a Run-Up Time of 31 seconds, a CRI reading of 82.18 and a CCT of 2729K.