Tyco Electronics' Nevalo solution aids lighting suppliers

Posting revenue of $12.1 billion in 2010, Tyco Electronics opened on January 31 its freshly minted lighting business, a solid-state lighting solution called "Nevalo." The solution is expected to help lighting fixture manufacturers shift to the new solid-state lighting fixture business.

Included in the Nevalo system are: a host of LED light module options; optics; drivers; new wiring systems; heat sinks and others.

Tyco Electronics' engineering team developed the Nevalo system "to take the technical complexity out of the equation" in the LED design and manufacturing process, according to Holly Miller, marketing project management at Tyco Electronics.

While capitalizing on global regulatory trends (where many countries are moving toward banning the sale of incandescent bulbs), Tyco Electronics is focusing on the needs of lighting fixture suppliers, who generally lack adequate electronics experience or expertise to design new LED-based lighting systems.

"The barrier to entry in the solid-state lighting market still remains high," noted Miller. The problem is that lighting fixture suppliers—historically involved in mechanical and industrial design expertise—are now required to learn, in addition, the electronics technology. "In essence, it is a total technology change for many lighting designers," added Miller.

Further, designers also face unproven new components, as LED technology continues to advance. Consequently, it's no easy task for lighting designers to match the right LED modules with the right optics and driver module, pair it with correct wiring and thermal management systems.

To be sure, lighting fixture suppliers today are not just building LED light bulbs, but a variety of solid-state lighting fixtures—in all shapes and forms—featuring digital control capabilities.

Designers of such future lighting systems cannot rely on knowing just one of the key building blocks [LED light modules, drivers, optics, wiring system to thermal and control systems], since each covers distinctly disparate technical expertise. They need to bring together knowledge at the system level, taking into account any interaction between the different technology building blocks used in solid-state lighting systems.

Hence, simplifying the design process is the first order of business before expanding the solid-state lighting market.

Tyco Electronics will provide lighting designers, or small to medium-size lighting fixture suppliers, with a color-coded table that lists all the necessary components [made available in the Nevalo System] for solid-state lighting. Such a holistic, system-level approach is designed to ease the pain, and help the lighting fixture suppliers to "safely and confidently mix and match" the right components necessary to create new LED lightings, said Tyco Electronics' Miller. Further, Tyco Electronics hopes to assist them with products that can meet with constantly changing lighting standards and regulations on the global market.

Meanwhile, Tyco Electronics' entry into the lighting business couldn't have been timed better.

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