Novel flexible LED modules

In recent years, solid-state lighting (SSL) products have been increasingly sold in place of traditional incandescent or halogen lamps. The replacement of linear fluorescent tubes by SSL devices has lagged behind, however, due to a number of challenges. First, the efficacy advantage of SSL linear products compared with fluorescent products is small. Competitive initial costs are therefore required to ensure a return on the investment of an LED upgrade. Second, there are many different types of existing luminaires (electrical devices that create artificial light) that require different-length LED modules. Linear LED modules could thus be built in several lengths for each of these applications, but this is not a cost-effective solution. Finally, upgrading a fluorescent luminaire to an LED usually requires additional wiring and mounting of multiple LED modules during installation, which is time-consuming and also not cost-effective.