Arka lights lecture 5 cust relationships

Higher lumen intensity with a longer life enabled by novel thermal dissipation technology.

Direct replacement of current high lumen incandescent bulbs with LEDs without light quality/output compromises.

Offer a PAR 38 LED lamp integrating our novel thermal dissipation technology

ARKA LightsHigh Performance LED Technology

CANVAS FOR ARKA– Week 1


Week 3 Activities – OEM Focus

• Interviewed 9 contacts focusing on value proposition, channel and key partner hypotheses

– Channels (OEM, Suppliers, Manufacturers): Samsung, Acuity, Britelite, Lighting Science Group Corp

– Channels (Architects): Bergmann Associates, Stantech, SWBR, RPI

– End Users (Institution): St John Fisher

Week 3 Activities

• Quantify performance gains that can be achieved. Prepare a “technology fact sheet” for meaningful next level conversations. - Completed

• Engage in discussions with OEMs about collaboration/distribution - 4

• Plan product demo activities to determine projected costs and benefits – In Progress

• Learn more about certifications and standards such as Design Lights Consortium and Energy Star as well as legal drivers like Title 24 in CA. –Ongoing

Key Takeaways • Cost as the most important factor among new interviewees. Cost

should be under $25 price point.• Initial capital expenditure on this technology is a very large barrier. • Other features such as dimmability and color rendering are important. • Markets and channels are waiting to see significant improvements in

the technology before widespread adoption takes place.• Active cooling is being considered as a technology to watch. Consider

integrating active cooling in future design• Choosing the initial market wisely might be extremely important • Certifications from DLC, UL, Energy Star will aid adoption• Lighting organizations are very risk averse and need to see evidence

of reliable product delivery before committing to a new product


Next Steps

• Explore the Customer Relationship Hypothesis– Identify and record relevant trade shows, publications and

websites and set up a calendar– Explore DOE competition for Par 38– Explore websites that sell comparable products

• Continue to talk to OEMs, Consumers and other Channel components.

• Develop a prototype

Schematic of a PAR 38 LED lamp prototype

Appendix

Details of Interview Conversations – Week 3

Feedback: Suppliers/OEMs/Manufacturers VP Research

BriteLite LLC

•Initial purchase cost is critical driver of adoption

•Additional features like dimmability are important for retail and hospitality applications

•In terms of certifications - UL, LM79, LM80, Energy star compliance and Lighting Facts label are all important to make US sales

•Benefit to US manufacturing/assembly in sales to US government and some utilities and ESCOs

Feedback: Suppliers/OEMs/Manufacturers Lead Innovation Engineer

Acuity Brands

•Replacement lamp such as PAR38 is a good choice for a new heat management technology. Heat management is much less of an issue with other types of fixtures

•Believes that the market is still resistant to active cooling as it introduces one more failure mode to the lamp

•Weight is a huge issue for replacement lamps so a low weight solution is highly desirable

•Will be pleased to engage once a demo is developed showing/quantifying the benefits of the enhanced surface heat pipe approach. Can engage relatively early and open to either licensing model or component supplier model

Feedback: Suppliers/OEMs/Manufacturers Technical marketing manager

Samsung

•'Fan' of heat pipe technology. Has looked into applications of heat pipes in LED lighting before. Biggest issue he sees is cost. Array ;Lighting cited as example of company with commercial heat pipe-enabled products.

•PAR38 is a good choice for a first demo as this LED versions of this product are limited on Lumen output primarily due to heat management.

•The rate limiting heat transfer step is not the transfer of heat from the LEDs to the heat sink but from the heat sink to the surroundings, particularly in a typical can installation. Must address this issue to differentiate solution and deliver value

•Active cooling was a non-started a few years back but more companies are considering/using it. Nuventix has done a nice job of showing the potential for a silent, low power-consuming active cooling technology. However, cost is an issue.

•Active cooling, if used, cannot be the weak link in the system i.e. it must be more reliable than the LED and driver circuitry.

•Cost for a commercial PAR38 has to be <$25. Every generation sees improved performance at lower price points.

Feedback: Suppliers/OEMs/Manufacturers Vice President Research

Lighting Science Group Corporation

•Any new technology should be at lower cost than current solutions

•Die cast aluminum should be used for contrast

•The number of LED manufacturers are increasing exponentially: Taiwan and China are seeing great growth

•The price of LEDs and lamps are expected to go down

•Active cooling is being investigated

•Preparing cost and production information is essential at this stage.

•Because producers are risk averse, a way of assuring them that the company will be able to reliably deliver the product is very important

Feedback: Channel/Distributor

Mr. Mark Maddalina (AIA, LEED® AP)

Architect, Manager of Sustainable Design

SWBR Architects

•Architects follow LEED guidelines in deciding the selection criteria for lighting equipment.

•Contractors are chosen based on whoever provides the best rates

•LED's are not preferred due to their low efficacy compared to their CFL counterparts

•Visiting trade shows, viewing lighting catalogs and having lighting vendors meet them are ways to update information about LED advancements.


Mr. Mark Lyons

Regional Business Segment Leader - Higher Education

Bergmann Associates

• Architects are primarily influenced by the space and the requirements of each space in making lighting decisions.

•Energy Consumption and Aesthetics are important factors.

•LEED certifications play an important role.

•Architects aren’t using LED systems yet because of CRI concerns, hard edges and shadows.

•They are keeping up with advances in the system and expect to see improvement in the systems.

•Architects are discerning about their LED suppliers.


Mr. Alex Zulas

Architect

Stantec Inc.

•Environmental friendly, ease of availability and minimum maintainability are some of the key factors that affect their decisions

•Lighting vendors are the people who keep them updated and also advise them on particular fixtures.

•The design is then submitted to the contractors, who then are in charge of executing their design. Contractors may or may not change their design depending on their level of experience

•People still have reservations when it comes to LED's because of the lack of information

•There are already set guidelines in place and no. of people are still reluctant to change since LED being relatively a new technology


Mr. Jean Paul Freyssinier, M.S. Lighting Design Specialist Research Assistant Professor

•Heating is an issue but the relevance depends on the application and the environment. Maintaining junction temperature at a lower temperature will always be helpful

•He recommended to us to target only a selected audience, according to him every individual depending on the application and environment will have his own set of demands

•People will be interested only if we can show considerable amount of improvement from the current technology

Feedback: Customers/Final Consumers

Dave Johnson

Facilities Management

St. John Fisher College, Rochester

•Initial expenses are very high for LEDs

•Price for a Par 38 LED is expected to be around $22

•Willing to wait 5 to 7 years for costs to fall and technology to become widespread

•LEDs are used primarily outdoors in parking lots because of their properties.