White goods in a new design – thanks to LEDs

Is it possible to offer enormous freedom of design yet keep energy costs to a minimum? It certainly is in the modern kitchens. Innovative refrigerator lighting and attractive display designs combine to give household appliances a new brilliant look.

Source: OSRAM

A major contribution to these new designs for white goods is provided by the entire LED portfolio of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors – in all areas of application. The two most interesting sectors are the interior lighting for the appliances, such as refrigerators, and overhead lighting integrated in extractor hoods.

Refrigerators have traditionally been illuminated by a conventional incandescent lamp – a single point light source that comes on when the refrigerator door is opened. LEDs now enable completely new lighting concepts to be devised.

Depending on the illuminance required, LED boards can be bundled as spot lighting, for example shining down inside from the top of the refrigerator. The glass shelving can also be illuminated from the back panel as a separate highlight. Apart from giving the refrigerator a visual boost it has a highly practical purpose in that none of the food is ever in shadow so it is easier to see what is there and identify out-of-date produce.

LED solutions are also being used more and more in new designs for extractor hoods.
Stainless steel and glass are being used increasingly here, and LEDs blend perfectly with these materials, creating further design accents in the kitchen.
Hob lighting is also being provided by LED systems. One of the basic requirements here is to provide realistic color rendering. Warm white LED light is ideal as it makes the food look natural so it is easy to see when it is properly cooked.
This special look for the kitchen is rounded off by colored LEDs as decorative elements. 

The OSRAM portfolio is extremely varied, with the right LED product for every design requirement, every application and every price segment. The smallest components such as CHIPLED and PointLED and LED in the mid-range performance class are used in white goods predominantly for injecting light into light guides and for status displays, whereas components in the 1 W range such as Golden DRAGON Plus are being used increasingly for illumination purposes.

See related product information:

• Golden DRAGON Plus
• CHIPLED
• PointLED