In this blog post, we will go over the light-emitting diode (LED). LED technology has been around for decades, but only recently has the costs for producing LEDs gone down enough for it to be a practical alternative to traditional incandescent lighting. LED technology has a lot of benefits.
First and foremost, LED bulbs require less energy (wattage) than traditional gas bulbs; this equates to money saved on electricity. Residential LEDs use at least 75% less energy than incandescent lighting.
Secondly, LED bulbs last up to 25 times longer than incandescent lighting, making the money saved even greater.
Thirdly, LED bulbs can emit a range of color temperature – typically, incandescent and halogen bulbs have a Kelvin of around 2700K, which is a yellow tinted white light. LED bulbs, in contrast, are usually around 4200K for an almost pure white light. While xenon gas lights and fluorescent lights can also emit higher color temperatures, they come at the expense of much higher power compared to LEDs.
Fourthly, LED bulbs do not get hot. You will never grab a lit LED bulb and feel extreme heat, as you would with traditional bulbs.
Fifthly, LED bulbs are practically instant on and instant off, whereas traditional bulbs take a split second to turn and off. This is a big reason why you see LED brake lights on newer cars now.
Lastly, the packaging for LEDs is much smaller, allowing for many different designs and opportunities. Consider that the actual diode (which can be as small as a couple millimeters) combines red, blue, and green to create white; this is why a single diode can change colors. LEDs emit light in a specific direction, reducing the need for reflectors and diffusers that can trap light. This feature makes LEDs more efficient for many uses such as recessed downlight.
LEDs can be used in almost any application, and are becoming more common for industrial and commercial use. The brightness of LEDs for the amount of power used compared to other lighting is astoundingly more efficient. LEDs have a luminous efficiency of 150 lumens per watt, compared to 60 lumens per watt for fluorescent bulbs and 16 lumens per watt for incandescent bulbs. LED technology, becoming cheaper, is the future of lighting for the United States.
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