LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a two-terminal Light source for most of the modern Lighting products. It works on the principle of Electro-luminescence. LED`s are fabricated using Direct bandgap semiconductor materials only. It has basically two terminals Anode (+Ve) and Cathode (-Ve). It operates as a light source only in Forward bias and emits light when recombination of electron takes place at junction. LED Lighting is also known as solid-state lighting (SSL).

LED Module & Luminaires

Independent LED modules are unit supplied as light source which can be mounted or placed separately from a luminaire. It will be covered under CRS scheme of BIS as per IS 16103-1 the international standard of the same is (IEC / EN 62031). Whereas LED luminaires is a combination of LED module (as a Light source), Mechanical, electrical, optical accessories and control-gear. Sometimes LED module and drivers are integrated with Luminaire. In such case luminaire is tested as per applicable standard to that luminaire. In some cases, LED ballast/driver circuit are integrated with LED module and such modules are classified as class 1 or class 2 type. And other type of LED module operating at SELV voltage are classified as class 3 type.

LED luminaires are already covered in CRS scheme of BIS are-

o IS 10322-5-1(Fixed General-Purpose LED Luminaire)

o IS 10322-5-2(Recessed LED Luminaire)

o IS 10322-5-3(LED Luminaires for Road and Street Light)

o IS 10322-5-5(LED Flood Lights)

o IS 10322-5-6(LED Hand Lamps)

o IS 10322-5-7(LED Lighting Chain)

o IS 10322-5-8(Emergency LED Luminaire)

o IS 10322-5-9(LED Rope Lights)

o IS 16103-1(LED Module)

o IS 16102-1(LED Bulb)

Note: Under IS 10322-5-1 there are two types of luminaires covered, the manufacturer needs to take separate Registration number for both types (Fancy & Non-Fancy)

(a) Non- Fancy Type: i.e., Bay lights, Well glass, Bulkhead, Batten etc.

(b) Fancy Type: Chandeliers and similar Decorative LED Luminaires etc.

According to IS 16103-1 LED module are categorised into 3 parts as per method of installation-

1. Independent LED module: Those are sold in market as product or replacement part of luminaire.

2. Built-In LED module: Replaceable part of luminaire

3. Integral LED module: Non-Replaceable part of the luminaire which is defined in IS 10322-1. Will be treated as part of Luminaire.

In the market we may find a variety of LED module like Ambient LED module for indoor luminaires, Downlight LED modules for spotlights and downlights, outdoor LED modules they come with some IP protection and some provision of heat dissipation, Industrial LED modules usually come with higher Luminous efficacy and operating voltage. Depending upon availability, LED modules manufacturers to make their luminaires. A LED module may have a single LED package in the form of a COB LED to multiple LED packages depending upon the desired rating and LED technology.

IS 16103-1 mostly refers to IS 15885-1, IS 15885-2-13 & IS 10322-1 for the requirements of safety testing.

Impacted Products due to LED module.

The LED module can transform itself into a luminaire rapidly with lesser R&D and manufacturing time. Many standards LED products like Modular Lighting, Liner light, Cleanroom, spotlight, Downlight fittings etc. uses LED module which is normally being imported as a complete product. So, mandating LED module under CRO Phase 4 will impact such products.

The proliferation of LED fixtures with LED module is very easy and time saving for the manufacturer. They need to take care of only series-parallel connections of modules, Heat management, enclosure design, assuring suitable power to LED module by means of control gear & using suitable lens/diffuser for the desired optical requirement as per application. So, the module becomes important to regulate to ensure a quality product.

As of now most of the LED manufacturers are importing LED Package integrated with MCPCB (i.e., as LED module) by which they are saving import duty on PCB as importing LED is duty-free. The government was losing revenue at one hand and cheap quality goods are being imported without any regulatory requirement at other hand. So, mandating this product (LED Module) certainly will improve product quality and government revenue.

On 1^st April 2020 MEITY has released notification for CRS scheme (CRO Phase 4) in which “Standalone LED Module for General Lighting” which is changed to “Independent LED Module for General Lighting” later and date of implementation of the order is 1^st April 2021.

The meaning of Standalone (the products being imported /sold/manufactured as independent product) is already clarified by MEITY through FAQ at official website. This gazette will not have any additional meaning specific to this product (LED Module).

DGFT’s Import Policy

With the approval of Ministry of Commerce & Industry Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has released a notification dated 17^th Sep 2020 which added new import policy condition in ITC(HS) 2017 Schedule-1 for import of LED Products and DC, or AC supplied electronic control gear for LED module.

1. LED Products and DC, or AC supplied electronic control gear for LED module Notified under CRS scheme of BIS will be picked up on random basis from randomly selected consignments and will be sent to BIS recognized Labs for limited non-destruction safety parameter testing as per applicable IS of that product.
2. Clearance of such consignment would be given only if product complied to respective IS.
3. If product fails in non-destructive testing for defined parameters consignment will be sent back or destroyed at the cost of importer.

Under this provision BIS recognized lab may do short duration compliance test which are normally related to classification of Luminaire, marking label durability testing, construction, external and internal wiring & Stability, Provision of earthing, Input test (ratings measurement) & photometry (if applicable) etc.

LED Products which NOT covered in CRS-BIS

It is evident that at present no Indian Standard is available for the Ground Recessed LED Luminaires (IEC 60598-2-13) & Swimming Pool Luminaires (IEC 60598-2-18). Many of the overseas brand has market of those products in India. Such importers/stakeholders find themselves difficult while importing such products at customs if all relevant technical document including IEC reports are not available to justify it as an Exempted product. There are many instances where such consignments are held at customs, seeking BIS certificate. But on other hand as per BIS officials “the subject is under consideration with concerned technical committee and in future standards may be available on the subject”. To end this deadlock, this became the onus of BIS/MeitY that for the time being they must clarify it through official public notification.

MeitY, kept a provision for applying an exemption certificates for any product covered in CRS order, where importer must provide technical details of product with model numbers, and other legal documents.  after evaluation of it MeitY may provide exemption for a particular period for selected models.

Further certain other product categories like Stage Luminaire, Photo and film Luminaires, Hospital Luminaires etc. are special purpose LED luminaire which are not covered in CRS-BIS.

BIS has already clarified in official FAQ regarding Portable Luminaire, Luminaires under IS 10322 with battery (except Emergency Luminaire) that they are exempted from the order. However there is no clarity on LED Lamp(Bulb) with battery as it is not under IS 10322, OEM’s of LED Emergency bulb can approach BIS for technical clarity on the subject.

During COVID 19 many types of UV LED based Luminaires were launched in market and most common type was hybrid luminaires (with Normal LED and UV-C LED which can function as a normal luminaire as well as an upper room UV luminaire. so far, a standard test methodology is not available in India, so such products are not covered by BIS. Though use of UV light as disinfectant is not new but use of LED in this segment is at nascent stage. Low efficacy is most common issue with such products. Since this is a new and dynamic technology, so there is a requirement of standard for LED products. Further Lighting product with Non-LED technology (Halogen lamp, Fluorescent lamp, candescent lamp etc.) are also not covered in CRS.

There are solar based LED products available in market i.e., solar streetlight. The integral parts of such luminaires are SPV module (IS/IEC 61730-1, IS 61730-2), Charge controller (IEC 62093), Battery (IS 16270/IS 16046), LED Module (IS 16103-1) etc. certification required in BIS as per their respective standards. However, a Solar LED luminaire with integrated SPV module is not covered.

Further certain modular lighting products with abnormal shape and size and rating may be exempted due to test fiscality limitation or HSE criteria defined by MeitY.

The post LED Lighting (CRS-BIS Regulatory updates) first appeared on CrownInfoteck.

Whenever we try to validate our exorbitant electricity bill, large appliances like AC, Refrigerator, and Washing machines or heating appliances are always under suspicion. We always overlook one of the most widely used appliances i.e., the Ceiling Fan, which is an all-weather appliance running non-stop day and night and cumulatively consumes more electricity than we assume to be. Given its huge popularity almost everywhere – be it houses, offices, or shops and secretly consuming large amounts of energy factor, the Government of India under the Ministry of Power introduced Ceiling Fans under its beautifully designed Star Labeling Program (S&L) program under the Voluntary scheme on 1 August 2019. This was done with an aim to encourage the manufacturers to work in direction of making the advancements in the product so that it can save electricity leading to the discovery of BLDC motors being widely used in Ceiling fans.

Let’s take a deep drive on the technical aspect on the previously used induction motors and newly introduced BLDC motors.

Initially, we used to have Single Phase Induction Motors installed in Ceiling fans. The induction motors are small, lightweight, and require less maintenance. However, these motors are poorly efficient.
Therefore, to eradicate this, another technological innovation and revolution took place in the ceiling fan industry with which the same output can be obtained with less power consumption i.e., the introduction of

BLDC or Brushless Direct Current Motors. The BLDC motor uses a combination of permanent magnets and electronic circuits to achieve the kind of efficiency and performance it delivers. The use of electronic circuits is an added advantage to these motors making them highly efficient. BLDC fans generate the same amount of airflow as ordinary induction motor-based fans with lesser energy consumption, help consumers cut down on their utility bills significantly and save the environment

image source: https://www.superfan.in/blog/2020/03/30/brief-note-bldc-fans-and-application/

GOVERNMENT SCHEME TO ENCOURAGE BLDC CEILING FANS

As mentioned in the beginning, the S&L labeling scheme was a beautifully designed scheme looking after the introduction of more and more energy-efficient products. As of now, Ceiling Fans having sweeps sizes 900 mm, 1050 mm, 1200 mm, 1400 mm, 1500 mm are eligible to procure star rating under Voluntary S& L scheme. Service value is considered as the parameter to evaluate the energy conservation rating of the product. The Service Value is calculated by dividing the Air Delivery (in cubic meter/minute) by Power consumption. Higher the service value more energy-efficient the fan is.

The table determining the number of stars to be given to any Ceiling fan as per its performance is as below:

Valid from 1st September, 2019 to 30th June, 2022

The government of India has taken such great initiative towards energy conservation that ultimately aims at the welfare of the people, the nation, and hence the world. 

Now, it becomes the prime responsibility of the consumers, to opt for star-labeled equipment only and make this scheme a success. Please remember that going for the non-star labeled Ceiling Fans (or any product) might found cheap at the time of purchase but can burn your pocket by exorbitant electricity bill, and also makes your contribution in wasting energy and hence, the degradation of the environment.

The post MAKING CEILING FANS ENERGY EFFICIENT first appeared on CrownInfoteck.

What is STARLINK:

STARLINK is a Satellite Internet Constellation being constructed by SpaceX to provide satellite internet access. The constellation will consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which can communicate with designated ground transceivers.

Journey of Starlink:

The development of the constellation network began in 2015, with the first prototype satellites launched into orbit in 2018. In November 2016, SpaceX filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a “non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite system in the Fixed-Satellite Service using the  Ku (12-18 GHz) and Ka (27-40 GHz) frequency bands. Since then, SpaceX has been updating, modifying and clearing all the regulatory requirement with FCC and ITU (International Telecommunication Unit). They started with a mission of deploying 42000 satellite in the near-earth orbit. Finally in January, after about three years’ worth of successful launches, the project surpassed to deliver 1,000 satellites into orbit

How Starlink works:

To be a part of Starlink community, one must connect to the constellation. The set up consist of a WiFi Router, Power Supply, Cables and Mounting Tripod. This has to be aligned to the Antenna which will connect to the nearest Star link satellite in the constellation. The constellation of satellite processes the data with each other through a laser beam and takes the data from the earth-based ground station.  For now the top speed is around 150 Mbps with latency of 20-40 ms, which will improve with increase in number of satellites. In the future, Starlink has a plan of launching total 12000 satellite by the end of 2024.

Problem with the fibre optics and how Starlink is solving it:

Fibre optics or ground-laid fibre-optic cable, which we all use for internet connectivity is still the fastest means of communication. But when it comes to providing the service to a rural user, one must deploy a cable connection from the nearest service provider centre. This is a very tedious, time taking and slow method to connect with the whole world. Further all the telecom giant looks for profitability, so if the net user base is not giving them profit, they will not provide the service to that location, as to save that cost.

Though Satellite constellation has its own disadvantages, but in the long run, we expect that it might take over fibre optics in the race to connect the globe. SpaceX agreement with Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure to provide on-ground computer and networking services for Starlink, backs this fact that tech giants are welcoming this idea.

The brightness issue (Light pollution):

Astronomers claim that the number of visible satellites will overwhelm the visible stars and their brightness in both optical and radio wavelengths will severely impact scientific observations. As the Starlink satellites can randomly change their orbits, it wouldn’t be practical to schedule observations to avoid their effect. The International Astronomical Union (IAU), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), and Square Kilometre Array Organization (SKAO) have released official statements expressing concern on the same.

On 17 April 2020, SpaceX wrote in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing that it would test new methods of mitigating light pollution, and also provide access to satellite tracking data for astronomers to “better coordinate their observations with our satellites”

Can Indians use Starlink beta program?

In order to offer satellite services over any nation state, ITU regulations and long-standing international treaties require the landing rights to be granted by each country jurisdiction. As a result, even though the SpaceX Starlink network has near global reach, broadband services to rural and underserved areas can only be provided in a few countries to date.

According to the Statistical study, India has approximately 700 million internet subscribers in 2020 and is on track to achieve 974 million users by 2025. In addition, by 2022, our rural population is estimated to reach approximately 506 million, and cable connectivity may not always be available. As a result, satellite technology seems to be the only option to connect the remote areas with internet.

In response to Starlink, the BIF, which represents companies such as Qualcomm, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Nokia, AT&T, and Facebook, as well as a few government agencies such as C-DOT, BSNL, and India’s top technology institutes IIT Madras, Roorkee, and Hyderabad, stated that Starlink does not have ground or earth stations in India, nor does it have satellite frequency authorization from the Indian Space Research Organization. The BIF requested the intervention of the TRAI and ISRO in the matter.

View of the DOT:

Department of telecommunication has indicated that they have no issues with Starlink if they follow the rule of the land. Therefore, satellite internet service provider will require authorisation or license which comes within the unified license which can be ISP license or/and VSAT license. Here the, ISP license is required for providing internet services and VSAT is for clearing satellite regulations. It is expected that Starlink might provide its services in India by mid-2022.

Other players in the market:

• Amazon’s Kuiper Systems hasn’t deployed any satellite yet, but the company said it plans to launch more than 3,200 satellites.
• Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Group’s OneWeb is also on the same path. In the month of April 2021, OneWeb a satellite communications company backed by the Bharti Group, had launched 36 satellites. These satellites will provide high speed internet service. Going forward, OneWeb intends to launch global services by 2022.
• It is expected that China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation will be launching a smaller number of satellites to provide high-speed internet on earth.

Can I afford Starlink?

Currently the pre order costs around 99 dollars. The initial set up is 499 dollars, and the monthly subscription is 99 dollars. For now, prices are skyrocketing, so it is not affordable with respect to the middle class Indian customer, also the competition in Indian market is very high. In urban areas service providers like Jio, Airtel, VI are providing 1gbps broadband connection near the same price.

It is expected that the Starlink’s price may increase in India. Because, the bandwidth fee in India is very high compared to other countries. But with time and more advancement in technology and more player in the market, the cost will come down in future.

Conclusion:

Starlink will likely change the arena of internet distribution forever. In the year 2020, nearly 40% of the world still does not have a stable access to the internet. Starlink will add this non-connected mass as a new surge in the Internet traffic which will affect economies in various ways. New business opportunities will arise and it will positively affect all the sectors such as education, B2B, Logistics, Defence and Disaster management.

The post STARLINK (Connect the Unconnected) first appeared on CrownInfoteck.