LEDs get a color binning standard

NEMA’s Solid State Lighting Section has developed a standard called SSL 3-2010, High-Power White LED Binning for General Illumination, which provides standardized categorization areas (bins) for the colors of “white” LEDs used for general lighting. LED manufacturers use binning to manage variations in LED performance during mass production. When manufacturers use different binning structures and labeling, LED system integrators and assemblers face unnecessary testing, verification, qualification, and validation processes.

NEMA says the bin structures established by SSL 3 promote continuity among suppliers. The standard also sets a level of expectation for color characterization that results in a reasonable number of bins for stocking purposes. The bin structures are based on ANSI color standards for fluorescent lamps as specific in ANSI_NEMA_ANSLG C78.377-2008.

SSL 3 is expected to alleviate stock and consistency issues for LED integrators. Upcoming revisions of the standard will address additional characteristics for binning.

The new standard can be viewed here: http://www.nema.org/stds/ssl3.cfm