Designed for Zhaga

In reality, there are already modules on the market that are based on Zhaga standards, or more correctly that were the basis for a couple of the completed Zhaga specifications. Remember that Zhaga's process is based on merging proposals from multiple companies. When asked if individual companies were behind any of the Zhaga specifications, Treffers said, "In all cases there were multiple companies involved." Still it's pretty clear that in some cases a single company has provided the majority of the technical input.

For example, photos that Zhaga has published make it clear that the socketable LED light engine with separate control gear is essentially GE's Infusion module. And the LED spotlight engine with separate control gear is Phillips' Fortimo SLM (spot light module) module. While the companies can't yet claim compliance, they have both said that the products are designed to ultimately be compatible with Zhaga specifications.

Given the clear tie between Infusion and one of Zhaga's completed specifications, we asked Steve Briggs, vice president of marketing and product management at GE Lighting Solutions (the LED-focused business within GE Lighting) about the collaboration in the Zhaga process. Briggs said that multiple companies were involved in proposing concepts and added "Our Infusion module has been shaped and changed by the Zhaga process."

As an example Briggs pointed out a design change that happened between the announcement of the second-generation Infusion back at Lightfair in May and the production modules that just commenced shipping in Q3. The mechanical design now includes mechanical mounting tabs on the front of the module that allow easy connection of reflectors or other optics.

So in some cases the multiple parties that participate in the Zhaga proposal-merger process may have interest in different elements of a luminaire design as opposed to being companies with competing module concepts. For example, Posselt said that while Bridgelux is a Zhaga member, that the company's primary goal in the endeavor is to "make sure our core product, the LED array, is not precluded from use in Zhaga-compliant products."

Zhaga's approach is based on defining what it calls the mechanical, thermal, electrical, and photometric interfaces of a light engine. The mechanical elements include shape, dimensions and mounting scheme or socket. The electrical interface includes the connector and AC- or DC-voltage specification.

The thermal interface defines how cooling elements in the luminaire housing mate to a thermal surface on the module. The photometric interface includes elements such as the size of the light emitting surface, lambertian or shaped-beam pattern, and uniformity of light on the task plane.

The Zhaga process includes proposal, merger, specification-development, and published-specification stages. Members of the consortium that are interested in a particular type of module submit proposals based on their own R&D. Elements of the proposals are merged by task forces and then converted into specifications by working groups.

The specifications have not been made available to the public although members of the consortium have free access. At this time no company can claim official Zhaga compliance for a product because the consortium is still working on compliance testing procedures. Treffers says that the first products to carry the official Zhaga logo are months away from the market as opposed to a year, but he can't offer a more specific projection.