Future Lighting Solutions has enhanced its Lighting Resource Centers (LRCs) for LED lighting designers by investing in state-of-the-art equipment, expanding the workspace, and adding dedicated thermal, optical and electronics engineers. The centers, located in Montreal, Canada, and Shenzhen, China, provide services that help customers reduce the time and expense of implementing LED designs.

Together, the two centers assisted customers in developing more than 275 LED lighting applications in 2007. That number is expected to double by the end of 2008. Projects have ranged from bulb replacements to task, interior, street and parking garage lighting, with support for thermal and optic solution development as well as overall engineering.

"LED application development continues to be a challenge for lighting designers. Our Lighting Resource Centers provide tools and expertise that simplify the process, shorten customers' time to market, and help ensure end product reliability," said Patrick Durand, Worldwide Applications Manager for Future Lighting Solutions. "These latest investments broaden the resources we offer to help designers execute their ideas."

Both LRCs offer system measurement services that aid customers in evaluating LED system performance. New tools added to deliver these services include an integrating sphere and light tunnel for LED light measurements, a thermal imaging camera for heat measurements, and an imaging photometer for producing IES photometric files.

The LRCs also offer thermal and optical design simulation services providing detailed numerical and graphical predictions of heat flow, light distribution and LED lifetime in a given lighting application based on proprietary Future Lighting Solutions software tools, plus a large project database that can be consulted for guidance in developing new applications.

For more information about Future Lighting Solutions' Lighting Resource Centers, visit www.futurelightingsolutions.com/services/lrc.asp

About Future Lighting Solutions

Future Lighting Solutions is a leading provider of LED lighting components and solution support for lighting designers and OEMs interested in taking advantage of solid state lighting technology. Future Lighting Solutions provides LED lighting knowledge, resources, programs, partners, solutions and logistics support to promote the development of LED products and installations. The company is a division of Future Electronics, the third largest electronic components distributor in the world. Both companies operate in 167 locations in 42 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.futurelightingsolutions.com.