Hot LED designs stay cool
Last week’s New York Times looked at LED designs that might allow this technology to be used in place of our domestic incandescent and the new, but, seemingly, soon to be old, CFL bulbs.
…while the bulbs will be praised for their energy-saving characteristics and long lives, most consumers will immediately think, “These things look weird.” And they do. Really weird…
It turns out that the odd aesthetics aren’t strictly a function of artistic license, but are instead a function of function. While many of us believe that LEDs are near-perfect light engines with their extremely long-life and extremely low power requirements, 
this supposed perfection dims markedly when we learn of the issue of heat dissipation.
Because LED light sources generate all their heat through the rear, manufacturers are adding heat sinks to dramatically increase the surface area and let the heat dissipate rapidly. Without them, the LED fixture would lose its color accuracy and have a dramatically shortened life.
Attwood Marine has done a great job of overcoming this heat issue with their new marine LED fixtures. Whether using this technology for docking, underwater, courtesy or navigation lights, Attwood engineers have pulled together designs that are both efficient and elegant.
While some of these new products use a traditional heat-sink, this concession to physics is executed gorgeously - especially in the case of their LED docking light array. This new fixture is already being used by several of the industry’s top builders, including Manitou Pontoons, Forest River Marine, and Starcraft, which speaks well of both its performance and appearance.
A less traditional approach to heat reduction is found in Attwood’s line of underwater lights. In this case, the folks in Lowell use the application itself - lighting below the waterline - to elegantly draw heat away from the best - and most economical - underwater lights available.
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