New Bridgelux Helieon fixture

[blasterman]

I knew Bridgelux was working on something since they revamped their emitter line, and they've been waiting to jump into the fixed lighting arena. Boy, have they - guns blazing. Sit back - get popcorn.

Press Release on their Helieon fixture (Helieon site isn't as interesting)

I've been screwing around with these emitters for awhile, and baffled why they aren't more popular for fixed lighting. Price to lumen ratio is ridiculous. I just finished my 4x 402 light bars, and cranking them up to 1,800 warm-white lumens is impressive to say the least.

Curious to see what the actual retail price point is. This also might get Cree more interested in array type emitters rather than the rather after-thought attitude of the MC-E.

 

[RobertK]

I've been impressed by Bridgelux for awhile now. Their BXRA-W0402 model puts out (warm white) 460lm/6.3W for only $9.95, already on a star, which I've been seriously considering for making directional lights. The equivalent Helieon should be priced around $30 for a competitive edge, as most of the "cheap" bulbs are $30. This would disrupt the market, and make things great for us enthusiasts.

I'd love to handle and analyze the Helieon reflectors though. After all, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!"

 

[blasterman]

The price point is really going to be interesting if big box chains start selling them, and $30 isn't that unreasonable a price at their margins.

If you can't find optics for your 402s, I can tell you how I did it really cheap and gets down to about 60degrees.

 

[jason 77]

I love the bridgelux line of LEDs... I am converting a bathroom vanity light to use them in right now.

However, it looks like on the helieon site that they are offering the leds in a enclosure only. Looks like you are still on your own to provide a constant current DC voltage?

 

[blasterman]

Hmm, doesn't look like the power supply is included.

While this is easy to address technically, it will make it a PITA for installers and is a big drawback from a competition standpoint.

 

[jason 77]

Hmm, doesn't look like the power supply is included.

While this is easy to address technically, it will make it a PITA for installers and is a big drawback from a competition standpoint.

Yeah that is what I was thinking.. by the way do you have any pictures of your light bars using the 402 brigelux's? Those are the same ones I am using for my bathroom vanity lights.

 

[blasterman]

Anyways, the Bridgelux bars came out way better than expected, and it was absurdly easy to do. Basically it's the same basica idea as our alu bars, but I used C-channel for structural strength. I found a metal shop downtown that cuts it on the spot and sells it for cheap.

I then took some scrap floor trim, cut some holes with a Forstner bit, and stained it. Bolted together, it looks pretty darn good (the picture is before the second coat of stain). You could obviously use better wood and stain to taste. I flipped the picture upside down because I can't get a good shot of their final location.

I then drilled some 1/8" bolts horizontally through the back, and use two nuts in the middle to center the suspension wire where it hangs. This part I thought would be tough, but ended up using regular steel fishing leaders about 20" long to hang them. They work utterly perfect, and by turning the two centering nuts on the hanging bolts you can fine tune the angle of the rail. Simple, cheap, and it works perfectly. Strung from the ceiling in a large dark sports bar the rails look like they are floating in space, and the LEDs add to the illusion. During the day the wood finish blends in.

I was WAY over-kill on the light requirements, and only needed the 402's at half power to get the light requirements. This meant I could downscale the C-channel, because at full 400lumen power the 402's require C-channel about 3 inches wide to remove heat. 2" would work if you bolted some heat-sinks over the LED mounting points. A 36volt Mean Well powers two of these rails with no problems with four LEDs in series each. The entire project with two light bars and power supply only cost a couple hundred bucks. At full 1,800 lumens the bars are intimidating.

Or, this would work perfect with 3-watt Crees. If you wanted neutral white the new XPGs would be perfect with their outstanding efficiency, and they don't have the heat mitigation issues of the Bridgelux. My next step is to come up with a way to better diffuse the light so I can mix LEDs, but materials that do this well are rare and tough to find.

 

[jason 77]

WOW! looks like that light bar turned out great. Are those some kind of optics on top of the leds in that picture? I also am trying to find a cheap optic solution for using these bridgelux's in fixed lighting...

 

[blasterman]

Because Bridgelux optics are tough to find, I figured out a cheap solution.

I have a pile of these cheap acrylic domes from Satistronics, and they work great with the Bridgelux.

I use plastic or wood button shims about 1/4 of an inch high glued on either side of the emitter, and epoxy the dome over the shims. Plus, some extra shims run down the length of the c-channel, and the wood molding fits over the top. This way there's some breathing space over the aluminum. The wood unbolts if you need to work on the emitters.

The domes give a perfectly smooth spread about 60-70 degrees.

Rather than wood, some brushed stainless or even chrome would look rather bad-***.

 

[RobertK]

blasterman, that rail looks amazing. Well done! I assume those domes you mentioned were the cheap option you mentioned earlier?

I can't wait until I have enough disposable income to start messing around with these.