CASE STUDY

Illuminated Signs
World’s Thinnest Lighted Signs Fly at San
Jose Airport with LUXEON-Based Noveseo
Light Modules.
Challenge
For a 21st century airport in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, nothing should be
business as usual, including the signage. With that in mind Jacobs Carter Burgess—
the architectural firm overseeing the expansion and renovation of the Mineta San
Jose International Airport—put out a call for a fresh approach to building illuminated
wayfinding signs that would essentially reinvent the category.
The architects were looking for a sleek, modern, eco-friendly sign design that fit the
region’s reputation for technology innovation as well as the overall vision for the
airport facelift. The new signs also had to be illuminated by power LEDs made from
the semiconductors that gave Silicon Valley its name. Those requirements led to a
sign cabinet that is just 4” deep—half the 8” depth of models made with standard
fluorescent, neon or LED backlights—and the slimmest double-faced illuminated sign
ever produced.
The design hinges on a perimeter lighting concept utilizing minimum 100-lumen
LUXEON® Rebel LEDs from Philips Lumileds installed in Noveseo™ LED light modules
engineered specifically for the project by Silicon Constellations Inc. in Santa Clara.
The use of solid-state lighting also provides energy efficiency, longevity and other
benefits that advance San Jose’s ‘Green Vision’ agenda for reducing the city’s energy
consumption as well as establishing the region as a role model for sustainable
development.

Thin Is In
The perimeter lighting scheme driving the new airport signs was cooperatively con-
ceived by engineers at Silicon Constellations and Oakland-based Arrow Sign Company.
The idea proposed to David Mastrandrea, architect at Jacobs Carter Burgess, was to
illuminate the signs from within by placing LED modules along the top and bottom
edge of each sign and use an acrylic dif- fuser panel behind the sign faces, creating

A live demo in early 2008 included side-by-side

comparisons of the Rebellious I and four competing
LED modules. The visible difference in performance
helped seal the deal.

CS114 Illuminated Signs Case Study ©2015 Lumileds Holding B.V. All rights reserved.
 the same effect as a backlight without requiring space in the
cabinet to mount a backlight panel.
This strategy would shrink the standard signage depth by
50% and yield a sleek 4” silhouette barely thicker than a non-
illuminated billboard—precisely what the airport’s architects
were looking for.
The challenge was to find an LED that would emit enough
light to produce sufficient brightness from perimeter lighting
without requiring too many LEDs or generating excess
heat. The LUXEON Rebel product solved the problem with
its minimum 100-lumen part and market-leading thermal
efficiency. It also offered other technical advantages, including
the best lumen maintenance of any power LED driven at high
currents—in this case, 700mA.
“To deliver the brightness levels we needed for perimeter
lighting, we required the best-performing LED we could get
our hands on. We needed a combination of fac- tors that
included high flux, low forward voltage and peak thermal
efficiency,” said Bojan Silic, founder and CTO of Silicon
Constellations. “The minimum 100 lumen LUXEON Rebel was
the only LED on the market that met all of our requirements.”

Noveseo Rebellious I LED Light Engines

The Rebellious I LED light modules used in the new wayfinding signs at the San
Jose International Airport are ideal for applications ranging from illumi- nated signs
to channel letters and cove lighting. Part of the Noveseo family of LED solutions
from Silicon Constellations and built with LUXEON Rebel LEDs, they provide a high-
brightness, high-efficiency lighting solution offering long service lifetime, advanced
thermal manage- ment, minimum 100 lumen/watt performance, and the ability to be
driven up to 1.0A and deliver 195 lumens in constant-current configuration. A 1W/
module constant-voltage configuration is also available.
Each Rebellious I module measures just 1” x 1.5” with 12” wiring between modules
to provide maximum flexibility for lighting designers. The modules are available
in custom wire lengths, in multiple colors, and with a variety of optional optics for
addressing different light distribution applications. The Rebellious I module is UL-
listed Type II, can be used for indoor and outdoor applications in dry, damp and wet
conditions, and has a lifespan of 60,000+ hours even at an ambient temperature of
70 °C (158 °F).

CS114 Illuminated Signs Case Study 20150330 ©2015 Lumileds Holding B.V. All rights reserved. 2
Sign of the Times Lighting the Way
With the basic concept in place, Silicon Constellations built The first Noveseo-powered signs were installed in fall 2008 in
a 1” x 1.5” light module consisting of a single cool white the airport’s outdoor ground transportation island. Like most
LUXEON Rebel LED mounted on a special board assembly of the approximately 300 signs which will ulti- mately be built
that maximizes thermal dissipation and allows the body of the to provide directional signage for airport visitors, the initial
cabinet to be used as a heatsink. The module was named the signs are 7 feet wide and 20 inches high, with two strings of
Rebellious I™ after the LED that made it possible. seven Rebellious I modules running parallel to each other at
Arrow Sign Company then used sample modules to build a the top and bottom edges of the cabinet. In total, then, just
prototype of the sign for evaluation by airport architects. A live 14 LEDs were required to light a single seven-foot sign. Other
demo in early 2008 included side-by-side comparisons of the form factors, both shorter and longer, will utilize the same
Rebellious I and four competing LED modules. The visible dif- parallel configu- ration with proportionately fewer or more
ference in performance helped seal the deal. LED modules based on cabinet size.

“The Rebellious I was twice as bright as the other modules. LUXEON Rebel’s high flux levels coupled with the thermal
That helped assure the architects that our signs would deliver management innova- tions of the Rebellious I module are
brightness levels equivalent to the exist- ing signs,” said allowing 12” placement between modules instead of the 2”,
Charlie Stroud, CEO of Arrow Sign Company. “The lean look of 4” or 6” intervals used in other LED products, both lowering
the box was a critical design element for the airport architects, material costs and simplifying the assembly process. Each
but it wouldn’t have mattered if we couldn’t also show that we sign runs at a constant current drive of up to 700mA, requires
could meet the brightness benchmarks.” just 2.25 watts of power per module, and is designed to be
dimmable by remote control using Mark VII wired or ZigBee™
Additional design and engineering support was provided by
wireless dimming controllers.
Future Lighting Solutions, the exclusive supplier of LUXEON
LEDs. Silicon Constellations uti- lized Future’s proprietary With LUXEON LED technology leading the way, the signs
Usable Light Tool to calculate how many LEDs would be also reduce energy con- sumption by more than 70% over
required to light the signs. The firm also consulted with fluorescent or neon backlight versions, further lower costs by
Future’s engineers to identify appropri- ate dimmable LED lasting at least four times longer between bulb replacements,
drivers and an optic vendor that could provide the elliptical and provide a ROHS-compliant mercury-free and lead-free
optic needed for the airport project as well as a full range light source.
of other optic solutions to suit different applications for the Beyond those ‘green’ advantages that are often associated
Noveseo product. with solid-state light- ing applications, the major achievement
of the San Jose airport wayfinding sign project remains the
ultra-slim cabinet profile and the striking new look it offers for
illuminated signage. Once again, Silicon Valley has given birth
to technology and innovation that promises to spread around
the world.

The idea proposed to David Mastrandrea, architect at Jacobs Carter Burgess was to
illuminate the signs from within by placing LED modules along the top and bottom
edge of each sign and use an acrylic diffuser panel behind the sign faces; creating
the same effect as a backlight without requiring space in the cabinet to mount a
backlight panel.

CS114 Illuminated Signs Case Study 20150330 ©2015 Lumileds Holding B.V. All rights reserved. 3
Benefits About Lumileds
• Minimum 100 lumen flux Lumileds is the light engine leader, delivering innovation,
• Market-leading effi cacy quality and reliability.
• Support for 700mA operation or greater For 100 years, Lumileds commitment to innovation has
• High thermal effi ciency helped customers pioneer breakthrough products in the
• Energy savings over conventional light sources automotive, consumer and illumination markets.
• Binning for color temperature consistency Lumileds is shaping the future of light with our LEDs and
• 70% lumen maintenance >60,000 hours at 700mA automotive lamps, and helping our customers illuminate
• ROHS compliant and mercury-free how people see the world around them.
To learn more about our portfolio of light engines. visit
lumileds.com.

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CS114 Illuminated Signs Case Study 20150330