Cooper product breaks ground in world count

Published 11:00 pm Saturday, June 9, 2012

One of Cooper Lighting’s top product lines has become the first in the world to be certified under a key industry standard.

The IRiS Lighting Systems P3LED Directional Series is now a Zhaga-certified luminaire, the company announced Monday.

Developed for lighting applications in homes and businesses, the P3LED 3-inch aperture LED recessed series combines the flexibility of interchangeable optics with energy savings, long life and the sustainability of LED, a company release said.

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LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are semiconductor light sources used increasingly as ongoing development has produced versions that use less energy.

Designed to last 50,000 hours, the P3LED is built to allow light distribution to be modified during construction or years later by changing optical elements, the release said. It’s also compatible with Cooper Controls’ Fifth Light advanced lighting management control system, which allows energy consumption to be monitored from a central point, the release said.

Zhaga, a consortium of more than 190 companies from the lighting industry, develops mechanical, photometric, thermal and electronic specifications for interchangeability of LED light sources.

Cooper is a founding member of the group, whose goal is to achieve interchangeability to reduce cost and risk and maintain design freedom and creativity, the release said.

In March, the IRiS P3LED was recognized in the recessed accent lighting category for indoor systems in the 2012 Next Generation Luminaires Solid-State Lighting Design Competition.

Cooper employs nearly 26,000 worldwide and about 350 at its plant on U.S. 61 South.

In May, Ohio-based Eaton Corp. announced plans to purchase Cooper’s parent company for $11.46 billion.

The deal is expected to close this year, pending shareholder approval on both ends, with the impact on each plant to be announced later.