Explosion-Proof Solid State Lighting Fixture for Extreme Environments

The project will develop a solid-state alternative to the inefficient, excessively hot and maintenance-intensive incandescent explosion-proof lighting fixtures used by the Navy. Solid-State Lighting using Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) is now technically feasible but several difficult challenges remain to be overcome in order to deploy them in certain Navy applications. To achieve the long lifetimes promised by LED lighting (around 5-10 years of continuous lighting operation) special electronic control and protection systems must be developed. These control systems must be able to protect the LEDs from thermal damage while still meeting the stringent requirements for shipboard interface electronics. The LED lighting must also be able to operate reliably with dimming power systems. Most LED lighting systems today are not compatible with shipboard dimming power controls which constitutes an important energy saving technique. The cost proposal associated with this work is included as the last page of the technical proposal.