Transparency
An important issue for us at LuxLED is the transparency of optics or reflectors. There are various materials used both to make the optics and to create surfaces that protect the lamp. These materials are all transparent, but this is the crux of the matter. What transparency?
The LED placed under the optics and, in some cases the optics is in turn placed behind a glass or polycarbonate screen, inevitably loses brightness.
Unfortunately, many competitors declare, in their data sheets, illumination values (expressed in lumens or micromoles/s) that are specific to native LEDs without taking into account losses due to optics, glass or polycarbonate.
From scientific documentation we find that glass has a transparency of 92%, polycarbonate has a transparency of 86%, PMMA has a transparency of 89% and finally silicone has a transparency of 94%.
It's clear that when using a PMMA optic and additional glass protection, the loss is around 20%. At LuxLED , we use silicone optics in some of our fixtures, which not only protect the LED from heat sources, dust, and dirt, but also eliminate the need for additional glass or other protective materials.
