High-temp-high-power LEDs may enable lower solution costs for lamps & light engines

Cree's XLamp MH-B LED series reflects an interesting strategy for helping manufacturers control their total component costs without having to slash too deeply into Cree's part of the BOM. Besides making it easy for manufacturers to cut assembly costs by moving from large arrays of mid-power LEDs to fewer, higher-powered LEDs, Cree says that their MH-B devices' higher operating temperatures enable designers to use smaller, lighter heat sinks which dramatically reduce product's total BOM cost. While this is a very practical and viable approach for some products, it's not exactly novel and, as we'll see, the savings do come with a price.