A new graphite foam cooling system developed at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee may soon allow LED lamps to go much longer between fixture replacements. The graphite foam works by passively wicking heat away from the lamp via its lightly packed, open skeletal structure – and given that a 10-degree decrease in operating temperature can double the lifespan of LED lighting components, the benefits of keeping them cool are clear.
The technology developed at ORNL has been licensed to LED North America, which intends to use the graphite foam to passively cool components in LED lamps, which are increasingly in demand in applications such as street lights and parking garage lighting.
