This Blog is to highlight the high temperature led lights and how they are becoming more reliable and are able to reach temperatures that they could not reach before.  The Maes RT-IL series can operate in 212 degree F temperature. It’s important to understand that high temperatures tend to shorten the life of LED lights. There is a certain threshold that when crossed, will be detrimental to the electronic components.

For the most part, standard LED’s are reliable up to 120 to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Most applications, like warehouses, schools, and gymnasiums, never come close to reaching these temperatures.

But for industrial applications, operating temperatures can exceed 130 degrees Fahrenheit on regular basis. To make matters worse, heat rises, and lights used in these applications are typically installed at the highest points in building ceilings. This only exasperates the problem and can make regular LED’s go out in no time.  Temperatures on the ground floor will be cooler than temperatures at the led fixture mounting heights.

Fortunately, there are LED lighting products that are designed to operate in temperatures above 130 degrees Fahrenheit, but they are not regular specified lights.  They have to be made to the standard to withstand the high temperatures.

Maes Edge Series High Temperature Hi-Bay LED – Dissected view of heat sink.

 LED Lighting and Operating Temperatures

LED Light Fixtures are composed of LEDs, an electronics board that holds the diodes, an LED driver that powers the LEDs, and a heat sink. Most industrial / commercial fixtures combine the heat sink into a fixture’s housing. This makes the housing the heat sink. The heat sink helps keep the diodes and driver cool during operation.  The better the heat dissipation the better the performance of the light.

Most standard fixtures, that work up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, are designed by engineers to maximize efficiencies of design to keep costs Low. They calculate the number of LEDs needed to run near full capacity to produce light within specific operating temperatures. To get this maximum light output, some manufacturers will drive the components to 90-95% capacity. If you add additional heat, these components will degrade quickly.

Additional Capacity for LED Lights for Hot Temperature Environments

You can add more components, and drive the lights less hard, to build in the capacity to handle hot temperatures. It’s up to the engineers to decide which options to use in to achieve this goal.  See the below options.

Maes RT-IL Operates in Tempertures of up to 212 degree F. That is  High Temperature LED Lights.  This light is top of industry for its high temperature capabilities.    Using Cobb Style LED.

Use a Bigger Heat Sink for the Light

You can add more heat sink capacity to help dissipate the heat. By itself, it may not be a reasonable stand-alone option. The fixtures will become heavier and bulkier making them more difficult to install. You could also design a separate heat sink around the driver to aid in keeping it cool.

Create More Physical Distance Between the Driver and the LEDs. Introduction of External Drivers

Creating more physical distance between the driver and LED will prevent the lights from sharing heat. A lot of fixture will mount drivers right above the LEDs. The LEDs radiate their heat onto the driver, thus adding to the driver’s heat issues.  There is a trend in even adding an external driver.  That is outside the fixture housing and in between the fixture and the wiring.  This adds more room but also makes it longer and harder to deal with.  But some environments may require every option you have to achieve performance at the highest heats.

You can add More LEDs –  Drive Them at Far Less than Max Capacity for Maximum life Span

The main goal of the LED is to produce consistent light.  If you reduce the amount of light each LED produces, you have a deficit. To make up for the deficit, you can add more LEDs. An LED running at half capacity is running a lot cooler than running at or near full capacity.

This means, that if you have a hot environment, you are not going to overextend the LEDs.  You can also use the best type of LED Cobb style to achieve the more robust light possible.

Run the Driver at Less than Full Capacity

If you have a 200-watt LED Fixture, it would make sense to drive the fixture with a 200-watt LED driver. If you want to engineer a high temperature fixture, you will use a 150-Watt or 200-Watt LED Driver and dial them down to only produce 100 Watts. The means that the drivers will not be stressed and have the tendency to overheat.

Running the driver and LED’s at less than full capacity provides enough capacity to not overextend themselves in hot temperatures.

Why are High Temperature LED Fixtures More Expensive Than Regular LED’s

The high temperature fixtures have more robust components, and usually more LEDs run at lower capacity than a regular fixture.  They are also engineered differently to include additional heat sinking.  Adding more and uniquely engineered components just adds to the cost of the fixture.