Led Light Bulbs – Use Them To Save Energy And Money!
Jeff King asked:
Light Emitting Diodes, more often pronounced as LED light bulbs, are small size, solid light bulbs that are highly energy efficient and are vastly replacing standard Incandescent bulbs. They are very energy efficient and consume, relatively, less energy than traditional bulbs. They are very simple in use and have a long rated life.
As Led light bulbs are expensive they were not in frequent use until recently or were used as a single bulb application in lighting pens, remotes, electronic items etc. But as technology is getting improved day by day, the cost of led light bulbs is also getting lower and resulting in their use in applications where clusters of bulbs are used like battery items, flashlights and headlamps etc. Their applications are getting expanded day by day and the day is not far away when they become an inseparable part of everyday consumer electronics and would be used in a bunch without much thought required.
Traditional bulbs have a housing of glass to avoid oxygen around the flammable tungsten filament but led light bulbs have a housing of plastic that makes them easier to maintain and much more efficient. As Led light bulbs are energy saving bulbs, they consume less electricity and this results in higher cost savings. Also, as they generate less heat, they never get that hot and are far cooler.
Led light bulbs are used in applications indoors or outdoors and are vastly used in Modern Electronic Items, Traffic Lights, and Digital Clocks etc. They are also used in commercial and industrial works where maintenance and replacement cost are more important factors than operative cost. But, although led lights are replacing the other lighting technologies by leaps and bounds and revolutionizing the way the world uses lighting systems, they are still expensive and this factor cannot be avoided.
Led Light Bulb vs. Incandescent and halogen Bulb
Led light bulbs have a longer rated life than fluorescent and Incandescent bulbs. They last around 130 times longer than Incandescent bulbs and 10 times longer than compact fluorescent bulbs. Also as they are made up of plastic, they do not get damaged as easily as Incandescent bulbs. Due to the plastic surface, they sustain grating and bumping.
As they last longer, the maintenance and replacement cost is reduced. Their batteries also have a longer life. They consume far less energy and do not get heated up as traditional bulbs, making them easy to maintain.
The only negative factor they have is their cost. They are still expensive but that can definitely be offset against low electricity bills and longer life of batteries.
12v DC led light bulbs
12v DC led light bulbs are normally not used to light up the house or in any household item or fixture. They are used in porch lights, accent and reading lights, solar or battery powered systems and other 12 voltage setups and equipments.
6 volt Led Light Bulbs for Vintage Cars
6 volt led light Bulbs are much brighter than incandescent bulbs and are used in Automobiles like cars, trucks etc. They have an easier charging system and are polarity sensitive.
Led Tail Light Bulbs
LED Tail Light bulbs are the wonderful after market tribute to any car. The LED tail light bulbs are custom built units. Their prices must be standardized in order to make them more popular as they have custom built prices in the market depending on the type of assemblies.
12 Volt Led Light Bulbs
These led light bulbs are high energy saving, energy efficient and are small in size. They offer a brighter light than any incandescent bulb and have a low replacement and maintenance cost. They can be installed in any household lighting fixture due to their compact size.
Light Emitting Diodes, more often pronounced as LED light bulbs, are small size, solid light bulbs that are highly energy efficient and are vastly replacing standard Incandescent bulbs. They are very energy efficient and consume, relatively, less energy than traditional bulbs. They are very simple in use and have a long rated life.
As Led light bulbs are expensive they were not in frequent use until recently or were used as a single bulb application in lighting pens, remotes, electronic items etc. But as technology is getting improved day by day, the cost of led light bulbs is also getting lower and resulting in their use in applications where clusters of bulbs are used like battery items, flashlights and headlamps etc. Their applications are getting expanded day by day and the day is not far away when they become an inseparable part of everyday consumer electronics and would be used in a bunch without much thought required.
Traditional bulbs have a housing of glass to avoid oxygen around the flammable tungsten filament but led light bulbs have a housing of plastic that makes them easier to maintain and much more efficient. As Led light bulbs are energy saving bulbs, they consume less electricity and this results in higher cost savings. Also, as they generate less heat, they never get that hot and are far cooler.
Led light bulbs are used in applications indoors or outdoors and are vastly used in Modern Electronic Items, Traffic Lights, and Digital Clocks etc. They are also used in commercial and industrial works where maintenance and replacement cost are more important factors than operative cost. But, although led lights are replacing the other lighting technologies by leaps and bounds and revolutionizing the way the world uses lighting systems, they are still expensive and this factor cannot be avoided.
Led Light Bulb vs. Incandescent and halogen Bulb
Led light bulbs have a longer rated life than fluorescent and Incandescent bulbs. They last around 130 times longer than Incandescent bulbs and 10 times longer than compact fluorescent bulbs. Also as they are made up of plastic, they do not get damaged as easily as Incandescent bulbs. Due to the plastic surface, they sustain grating and bumping.
As they last longer, the maintenance and replacement cost is reduced. Their batteries also have a longer life. They consume far less energy and do not get heated up as traditional bulbs, making them easy to maintain.
The only negative factor they have is their cost. They are still expensive but that can definitely be offset against low electricity bills and longer life of batteries.
12v DC led light bulbs
12v DC led light bulbs are normally not used to light up the house or in any household item or fixture. They are used in porch lights, accent and reading lights, solar or battery powered systems and other 12 voltage setups and equipments.
6 volt Led Light Bulbs for Vintage Cars
6 volt led light Bulbs are much brighter than incandescent bulbs and are used in Automobiles like cars, trucks etc. They have an easier charging system and are polarity sensitive.
Led Tail Light Bulbs
LED Tail Light bulbs are the wonderful after market tribute to any car. The LED tail light bulbs are custom built units. Their prices must be standardized in order to make them more popular as they have custom built prices in the market depending on the type of assemblies.
12 Volt Led Light Bulbs
These led light bulbs are high energy saving, energy efficient and are small in size. They offer a brighter light than any incandescent bulb and have a low replacement and maintenance cost. They can be installed in any household lighting fixture due to their compact size.
LED Cabinet Lighting
Russell Neal asked:
LED Cabinet lighting continues to increase in popularity as more people realize the cost saving benefits and superior performance that diode-based illumination provides them. When one considers the extremely low power requirements of led lamps (only 20% of other lamps) and their extremely long lamp life (50,000 hours), their value becomes readily apparent to the decorator who holds both quality and efficiency foremost in mind. LED cabinet lights can last up to ten years and negate the annoyance and cost of frequent replacements. Because of this, LED cabinet lighting strips provide a highly sophisticated illumination for both decorative and functional applications. They produce none of the UV light emitted by fluorescent lamps and only trace amounts of heat. This makes them the safest form of lighting, not only for cabinets, but displays and shelves of any kind that house sensitive materials.
While in some cases it may be true that LED’s of the past were not as bright as incandescents and fluorescents, Phantom Lighting has changed all of this with revolutionary, new lamping technology that produces up to 50 lumens of safe, brilliant light. Phantom Lighting also offers the only adjustable cabinet lighting strips with a patented adjustable shelf wiring method. This delivers low-voltage current safely and allows for shelf adjustment without the risk of short circuit or shock.
Phantom LED cabinet lighting strips provide a full spectrum of color temperatures in order to accommodate both functional and aesthetic lighting demands. Warm white (our incandescent equivalent) begins at 2950K and ranges upward to a more bluish, daylight white at 6500K. The mainstay colors that defined the earliest LED’s—green, red, and blue—are also available in similar temperature colors. This wide range of color temperatures makes Phantom LED cabinet lighting strips the most versatile linear strip lights that can fully accommodate the broad spectrum of needs found in both the commercial and residential marketplaces.
As we have already noted, diodes produce only a negligible fraction of heat, even after hours of prolonged use. Works of art, exquisitely tailored clothing accessories, and even rare documents in museum displays can be illuminated safely and impeccably with Phantom LED cabinet lighting strips. The added benefit of adjustability offers curators and merchandisers the freedom to periodically change displays without altering the intensity of the light or damaging electrical components. This in turn frees the technical designer from the routine, technical aspects of repeat maintenance and allows for a proposal that focuses more on the creative and functional than upon the mundane.
Phantom distribution agents work throughout North, Central, and South America to provide lighting design companies with as many as six different LED cabinet lighting strip series in order to anticipate every scenario they will encounter. With the growing push for LEEDS certification, and California’s recent ban on incandescent lamps, the demand for LED cabinet lights specifically engineered for retrofitting has increased proportionally. Two important considerations have to be taken into account when retrofitting cabinet lighting strips. The first of these is the type of current used to power the strip.
Generally speaking, LED lamps are DC-powered lamps. This presents a problem for some users when it comes time to replace an incandescent or Xenon strip powered by an AC circuit. The extra costs of AC to DC conversion equipment, plus additional labor fees, are a needless expense for the client and a nuisance for consultants to justify. Phantom led cabinet lighting strips; however, solve this problem with AC low voltage transformers that power the lamps along existing circuitry.
The second consideration critical to properly retrofitting linear strips is their physical compatibility with the display housing itself. Phantom linear strips such as the AE Series (Adjustable Exposed) are manufactured to custom fit exposed metal tracks and to use them as power conductors in a complete circuit. This provides the seamless equivalent of a tailor-made product in spite of its function as a retrofit component! New construction projects benefit equally as much from Phantom LED cabinet lighting strips. Contractors who include lighting design as a key component to winning an important bid can line item our AC Series (Adjustable Concealed) in their proposals to give them a leading technical and decorative edge over the competition. These led shelf strip lights offer a low profile, near-invisible source of light that enables the new homeowner or commercial tenant to see the light, not the fixture. This is because the AC series employs custom buss bars that conduct power to each adjustable shelf, resulting in complete concealment of the wiring. It has become a fast favorite among custom homeowners who prefer pins and drilled holes to exposed metal supports.
The AC series can also be special-ordered with either solid metal trims for horizontal applications that require additional decorative highlighting, or it can be custom cut with a variety of specialty trims for custom under cabinet lighting or applications above eye level.
Regardless of the specific LED cabinet lighting strip ultimately selected for a task, please keep in mind that all Phantom cabinet strip lighting products, including the LED models, are engineered to minimize glare and hide the light source from normal viewing angles. All that the average viewer ever sees is the cabinet itself filled with an even wash of bright, glare-free light that shrouds contents in a warm, ambient glow. With a generous 120-degree beam spread from each light emitting diode, the resulting illumination easily homogenizes or converges to achieve a continuous linear light source. Ultimately, therefore, LED cabinet lighting strips with LED Lamps offer not only an equivalent luminosity to linear incandescent strips, but also a superior distribution system that minimizes the fixture and emphasizes the light.
LED Cabinet lighting continues to increase in popularity as more people realize the cost saving benefits and superior performance that diode-based illumination provides them. When one considers the extremely low power requirements of led lamps (only 20% of other lamps) and their extremely long lamp life (50,000 hours), their value becomes readily apparent to the decorator who holds both quality and efficiency foremost in mind. LED cabinet lights can last up to ten years and negate the annoyance and cost of frequent replacements. Because of this, LED cabinet lighting strips provide a highly sophisticated illumination for both decorative and functional applications. They produce none of the UV light emitted by fluorescent lamps and only trace amounts of heat. This makes them the safest form of lighting, not only for cabinets, but displays and shelves of any kind that house sensitive materials.
While in some cases it may be true that LED’s of the past were not as bright as incandescents and fluorescents, Phantom Lighting has changed all of this with revolutionary, new lamping technology that produces up to 50 lumens of safe, brilliant light. Phantom Lighting also offers the only adjustable cabinet lighting strips with a patented adjustable shelf wiring method. This delivers low-voltage current safely and allows for shelf adjustment without the risk of short circuit or shock.
Phantom LED cabinet lighting strips provide a full spectrum of color temperatures in order to accommodate both functional and aesthetic lighting demands. Warm white (our incandescent equivalent) begins at 2950K and ranges upward to a more bluish, daylight white at 6500K. The mainstay colors that defined the earliest LED’s—green, red, and blue—are also available in similar temperature colors. This wide range of color temperatures makes Phantom LED cabinet lighting strips the most versatile linear strip lights that can fully accommodate the broad spectrum of needs found in both the commercial and residential marketplaces.
As we have already noted, diodes produce only a negligible fraction of heat, even after hours of prolonged use. Works of art, exquisitely tailored clothing accessories, and even rare documents in museum displays can be illuminated safely and impeccably with Phantom LED cabinet lighting strips. The added benefit of adjustability offers curators and merchandisers the freedom to periodically change displays without altering the intensity of the light or damaging electrical components. This in turn frees the technical designer from the routine, technical aspects of repeat maintenance and allows for a proposal that focuses more on the creative and functional than upon the mundane.
Phantom distribution agents work throughout North, Central, and South America to provide lighting design companies with as many as six different LED cabinet lighting strip series in order to anticipate every scenario they will encounter. With the growing push for LEEDS certification, and California’s recent ban on incandescent lamps, the demand for LED cabinet lights specifically engineered for retrofitting has increased proportionally. Two important considerations have to be taken into account when retrofitting cabinet lighting strips. The first of these is the type of current used to power the strip.
Generally speaking, LED lamps are DC-powered lamps. This presents a problem for some users when it comes time to replace an incandescent or Xenon strip powered by an AC circuit. The extra costs of AC to DC conversion equipment, plus additional labor fees, are a needless expense for the client and a nuisance for consultants to justify. Phantom led cabinet lighting strips; however, solve this problem with AC low voltage transformers that power the lamps along existing circuitry.
The second consideration critical to properly retrofitting linear strips is their physical compatibility with the display housing itself. Phantom linear strips such as the AE Series (Adjustable Exposed) are manufactured to custom fit exposed metal tracks and to use them as power conductors in a complete circuit. This provides the seamless equivalent of a tailor-made product in spite of its function as a retrofit component! New construction projects benefit equally as much from Phantom LED cabinet lighting strips. Contractors who include lighting design as a key component to winning an important bid can line item our AC Series (Adjustable Concealed) in their proposals to give them a leading technical and decorative edge over the competition. These led shelf strip lights offer a low profile, near-invisible source of light that enables the new homeowner or commercial tenant to see the light, not the fixture. This is because the AC series employs custom buss bars that conduct power to each adjustable shelf, resulting in complete concealment of the wiring. It has become a fast favorite among custom homeowners who prefer pins and drilled holes to exposed metal supports.
The AC series can also be special-ordered with either solid metal trims for horizontal applications that require additional decorative highlighting, or it can be custom cut with a variety of specialty trims for custom under cabinet lighting or applications above eye level.
Regardless of the specific LED cabinet lighting strip ultimately selected for a task, please keep in mind that all Phantom cabinet strip lighting products, including the LED models, are engineered to minimize glare and hide the light source from normal viewing angles. All that the average viewer ever sees is the cabinet itself filled with an even wash of bright, glare-free light that shrouds contents in a warm, ambient glow. With a generous 120-degree beam spread from each light emitting diode, the resulting illumination easily homogenizes or converges to achieve a continuous linear light source. Ultimately, therefore, LED cabinet lighting strips with LED Lamps offer not only an equivalent luminosity to linear incandescent strips, but also a superior distribution system that minimizes the fixture and emphasizes the light.
Commercial Outdoor Lighting Versus Residential Outdoor Lighting
Ann Marier asked:
Commercial outdoor lighting requirements are a lot different from those required in the home where the purpose of outdoor lighting is to set the mood so that you can relax and entertain guests. The commercial scenario is different as the aim is to make people want to buy things and spend money. Thus, you will find commercial outdoor lighting makes use of different colors some of which have been proven to be instrumental into enticing people to spend money as well as shop more.
Mostly, home outdoor lighting is all in the same color and incandescent lighting is the norm. The positioning acts in a way so as to dictate the final appearance of the outdoor home. On the other hand, commercial outdoor lighting generally means using different colors, designs as well as intensities. Such a difference is meant to keep the customers in a happier state of mind and be more excited about being present on the commercial property.
Red and Green Lighting
When choosing different colors for commercial outdoor lighting it has been found that green and red combine well and cause most people to spend more money. This may be the reason why most of the casinos in Las Vegas use such a combination to light up the outside of their commercial premises.
Blue Lighting
And, it has also been found that blue combined with other colors helps to create the right mood which makes people generally spend less money than otherwise. In fact, you won’t find casinos using blue outside their premises and a lot of study has been undertaken on getting the right combination of commercial outdoor lighting since a wrong combination can cause potentially huge financial losses.
Nevertheless, the commercial outdoor lighting should complement the lighting indoor, and this may best be achieved by balancing ambience of commercial outdoor lighting at a number of different angles and points.
Commercial outdoor lighting in places such as malls, hotels, and schools as well as clubs is not only decorative, but also often is artistic as well as utilitarian. It would be nice to have compact fluorescent lighting as well as ground level moon lamps to add to the ambience.
In addition, there are various designs to choose from including diamond shapes, opal as well as antique and lights with frosted exteriors. The placement of the commercial outdoor lighting should be just right so that customers, guests and visitors are not inconvenienced.
Commercial outdoor lighting requirements are a lot different from those required in the home where the purpose of outdoor lighting is to set the mood so that you can relax and entertain guests. The commercial scenario is different as the aim is to make people want to buy things and spend money. Thus, you will find commercial outdoor lighting makes use of different colors some of which have been proven to be instrumental into enticing people to spend money as well as shop more.
Mostly, home outdoor lighting is all in the same color and incandescent lighting is the norm. The positioning acts in a way so as to dictate the final appearance of the outdoor home. On the other hand, commercial outdoor lighting generally means using different colors, designs as well as intensities. Such a difference is meant to keep the customers in a happier state of mind and be more excited about being present on the commercial property.
Red and Green Lighting
When choosing different colors for commercial outdoor lighting it has been found that green and red combine well and cause most people to spend more money. This may be the reason why most of the casinos in Las Vegas use such a combination to light up the outside of their commercial premises.
Blue Lighting
And, it has also been found that blue combined with other colors helps to create the right mood which makes people generally spend less money than otherwise. In fact, you won’t find casinos using blue outside their premises and a lot of study has been undertaken on getting the right combination of commercial outdoor lighting since a wrong combination can cause potentially huge financial losses.
Nevertheless, the commercial outdoor lighting should complement the lighting indoor, and this may best be achieved by balancing ambience of commercial outdoor lighting at a number of different angles and points.
Commercial outdoor lighting in places such as malls, hotels, and schools as well as clubs is not only decorative, but also often is artistic as well as utilitarian. It would be nice to have compact fluorescent lighting as well as ground level moon lamps to add to the ambience.
In addition, there are various designs to choose from including diamond shapes, opal as well as antique and lights with frosted exteriors. The placement of the commercial outdoor lighting should be just right so that customers, guests and visitors are not inconvenienced.
Questions About LED Lights
Joe Willmeth asked:
What Are LED Lights?
Light Emitting Diode is the actual words for the short term LED. An LED light is a solid-state object that controls electrical current without wire filaments. LEDs are not lamps or light bulbs as we are used to using today. An LED light is a semiconductor that allows a narrow-spectrum of light to flow through it. The new LED lights are very reliable and have a long life. It takes a lot of work to make an LED light ready for the store shelves. To produce a light color the LED needs to be placed on a circuit board that allows an exact amount of electrical current and voltage to pass through the structure.
The LED lights produce different colors when a specific voltage passes through it. The color of the light depends on the condition and composition of the semi conducting material used. The wavelength of the light emitted produces its true color. Only a true clear light has been difficult to produce. The early so called clear LED lights emitted a soft blue hue but recent advances in semiconductors have produced a true clear or no color light. LED lights usually have a constant illumination when an electrical current pass through them. The more advanced flashing LED bulbs are also available. When a small micro chip was placed inside the standard LED bulb it causes the bulb to flash. The most common type of LED bulbs comes in green, red or yellow. The most common flashing LED bulbs emit light in a single wavelength of light. Through advances in technology they can now produce multicolored flashing LED bulbs. Today’s semiconductor is so precise that they can produce light wavelengths with many hues of a single color thus creating an infinite number of beautiful pure colors.
How do LED lights work?
The positive electrical power is applied to one side of the LED semiconductor through a lead wire that enters the LED bulb. The lead wire attaches to a whisker that allows the electricity to flow into the semiconductor. A negative electrical wire also enters the LED bulb and is attached to the Anvil. The top of the anvil that is the negative power lead is attached to the other side of the semiconductor. This connection is want produces the light. It is the chemical makeup of the LED semiconductor that determines the color of the LED light.
The resin lens is designed to allow most of the light to escape from the semiconductor and it also protects the LED semiconductor from the elements. The resin lens can be clear or dyed in a verity of different translucent colors to create different effects. The entire LED unit is totally embedded in epoxy resin. This is what makes LEDs virtually indestructible. There are no loose or moving parts within the solid epoxy enclosure of an LED light. An LED light source is a very bright and may cause injury to your eyes. DO NOT look directly into the LED light source without certified dark protective eyewear.
How long will LED lights last?
The research and development of the LED lights are making it possible to conserve electricity now and in the future. The LED lights that we as consumers will buy are rated for 1,000 or more hours of run time. The more expensive commercial Cree and Luxeon LEDs are rated for 50,000 hours of run time. Even though the price of the LED bulbs is higher the overall operating cost is much lower. A new LED bulb uses 1/4 the electricity of a conventional tungsten light bulb. The overall savings is substantial over the life of the 1,000 hour LED bulb.
What Are LED Lights?
Light Emitting Diode is the actual words for the short term LED. An LED light is a solid-state object that controls electrical current without wire filaments. LEDs are not lamps or light bulbs as we are used to using today. An LED light is a semiconductor that allows a narrow-spectrum of light to flow through it. The new LED lights are very reliable and have a long life. It takes a lot of work to make an LED light ready for the store shelves. To produce a light color the LED needs to be placed on a circuit board that allows an exact amount of electrical current and voltage to pass through the structure.
The LED lights produce different colors when a specific voltage passes through it. The color of the light depends on the condition and composition of the semi conducting material used. The wavelength of the light emitted produces its true color. Only a true clear light has been difficult to produce. The early so called clear LED lights emitted a soft blue hue but recent advances in semiconductors have produced a true clear or no color light. LED lights usually have a constant illumination when an electrical current pass through them. The more advanced flashing LED bulbs are also available. When a small micro chip was placed inside the standard LED bulb it causes the bulb to flash. The most common type of LED bulbs comes in green, red or yellow. The most common flashing LED bulbs emit light in a single wavelength of light. Through advances in technology they can now produce multicolored flashing LED bulbs. Today’s semiconductor is so precise that they can produce light wavelengths with many hues of a single color thus creating an infinite number of beautiful pure colors.
How do LED lights work?
The positive electrical power is applied to one side of the LED semiconductor through a lead wire that enters the LED bulb. The lead wire attaches to a whisker that allows the electricity to flow into the semiconductor. A negative electrical wire also enters the LED bulb and is attached to the Anvil. The top of the anvil that is the negative power lead is attached to the other side of the semiconductor. This connection is want produces the light. It is the chemical makeup of the LED semiconductor that determines the color of the LED light.
The resin lens is designed to allow most of the light to escape from the semiconductor and it also protects the LED semiconductor from the elements. The resin lens can be clear or dyed in a verity of different translucent colors to create different effects. The entire LED unit is totally embedded in epoxy resin. This is what makes LEDs virtually indestructible. There are no loose or moving parts within the solid epoxy enclosure of an LED light. An LED light source is a very bright and may cause injury to your eyes. DO NOT look directly into the LED light source without certified dark protective eyewear.
How long will LED lights last?
The research and development of the LED lights are making it possible to conserve electricity now and in the future. The LED lights that we as consumers will buy are rated for 1,000 or more hours of run time. The more expensive commercial Cree and Luxeon LEDs are rated for 50,000 hours of run time. Even though the price of the LED bulbs is higher the overall operating cost is much lower. A new LED bulb uses 1/4 the electricity of a conventional tungsten light bulb. The overall savings is substantial over the life of the 1,000 hour LED bulb.
The LED Home Lighting Revolution
Jim Hirschman asked:
The Las Vegas Strip may not be converting to them just yet, but LED lights have quickly become a popular home lighting method. These energy efficient light fixtures have been used for decades in a variety of applications, from alarm clock displays to Christmas tree ornaments; technology advances in recent years have enabled them to be used as regular light bulbs for domestic use, instead of incandescent or fluorescent lights. Home owners using LED lights can reduce their power consumption considerably, save big on electricity bills, and help protect natural resources.
The technology for LED, which stands for light emitting diode, was developed in the 1920s by the Russian scientist Oleg Vladimirovich Losev, and largely ignored for the next 30 years. American scientists began reporting on the technology in the mid 1950s, and by the 1960s LED lights were being refined for consumer electronics. This method of lighting was modified over the next few decades, and saw its biggest breakthrough in recent years with the development of white LED, which enabled the technology to be used in home lighting.
LEDs work by carrying a charge across semi conducting material that has been impregnated with impurities. The impurities cause the charge to fall to a lower energy level as it travels, and emit light in the process. The color of LED light can be controlled by the materials used as impurities in the semi conducting material. The most common LED colors are red, blue, white, and yellow.
Beyond home use, LEDs have many applications, including exit signs, railroad and traffic lights, sensor lights, machine vision light sources, flashlights, and photo therapy for skin conditions. LED is so versatile partially because its spectrum of light can be controlled more accurately than other types of light.
The main disadvantage of LED lighting compared to other light sources is that it is hard to direct. While high directivity isn’t usually required for home use, it’s often needed for industrial or commercial applications like laser technology.
The advantages of LED technology far outweigh the drawbacks, especially when energy efficiency is considered. For home owners, LED is too good an option to ignore.
The Las Vegas Strip may not be converting to them just yet, but LED lights have quickly become a popular home lighting method. These energy efficient light fixtures have been used for decades in a variety of applications, from alarm clock displays to Christmas tree ornaments; technology advances in recent years have enabled them to be used as regular light bulbs for domestic use, instead of incandescent or fluorescent lights. Home owners using LED lights can reduce their power consumption considerably, save big on electricity bills, and help protect natural resources.
The technology for LED, which stands for light emitting diode, was developed in the 1920s by the Russian scientist Oleg Vladimirovich Losev, and largely ignored for the next 30 years. American scientists began reporting on the technology in the mid 1950s, and by the 1960s LED lights were being refined for consumer electronics. This method of lighting was modified over the next few decades, and saw its biggest breakthrough in recent years with the development of white LED, which enabled the technology to be used in home lighting.
LEDs work by carrying a charge across semi conducting material that has been impregnated with impurities. The impurities cause the charge to fall to a lower energy level as it travels, and emit light in the process. The color of LED light can be controlled by the materials used as impurities in the semi conducting material. The most common LED colors are red, blue, white, and yellow.
Beyond home use, LEDs have many applications, including exit signs, railroad and traffic lights, sensor lights, machine vision light sources, flashlights, and photo therapy for skin conditions. LED is so versatile partially because its spectrum of light can be controlled more accurately than other types of light.
The main disadvantage of LED lighting compared to other light sources is that it is hard to direct. While high directivity isn’t usually required for home use, it’s often needed for industrial or commercial applications like laser technology.
The advantages of LED technology far outweigh the drawbacks, especially when energy efficiency is considered. For home owners, LED is too good an option to ignore.
Lighting Up Your Home With Leds: is it Time to Upgrade?
Robin Green asked:
Increasingly consumers are turning their eyes towards LED house lights as a way to conserve electricity. But will you really achieve the greatest savings by buying this still expensive lighting now? Or would you be better off to save your money for the time being, or to buy other energy-efficient light bulbs, and use the money you save in electricity to buy LED house lights down the road?
You have most likely seen LEDs before: camping headlamps, LED Christmas tree lights, wind-up emergency torches. How about LED house lights? If LEDs are so efficient, why aren’t manufacturers lining up to sell LED lights for the home, and why aren’t we lining up to buy them?
I wouldn’t try to sell you on LED lights as a solution to high utility bills or as the most ecologically beneficial lighting solution around. Frankly, I think LEDs have a ways to go yet, in terms of function, durability, and economy. There are some LED products you should consider over the next year, such as LED Christmas lights. And you might enjoy trying out a couple of LED light bulbs, if you’re the energy-saving type. But you are going to save more money by keeping with your current lighting, and migrating to fluorescent lights in the next year or so. Compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs, have a payback so short that they’ll pay for themselves before LEDs have matured enough to make CFLs out of date.
LED light bulbs are more efficient than incandescent or fluorescent lighting. The problem is that LEDs have very directed light. An incandescent light shines over a wide area fairly evenly, while LED lights are very focused, so that the area they directly illuminate is very bright, while the further you go from the direct beam, the less light there is. For LED Christmas lights, that isn’t a problem; you just want some shining points of light, which LEDs do very efficiently. But an incandescent or CFL will do a much better job of brightening up your living room than an LED bulb in the same application. The light will be more evenly and broadly spread, and with a warmer color.
When you see LED packaging claims of LED light output, you should be doubtful. A number in Lumens, which indicates light brightness, is misleading for LEDs, because of their focused beam. Lumens levels are read from a sensor placed right underneath the light source. A household LED light bulb at 2 watts may have the same lumens rating as a 50 watt halogen bulb, or as a 15 watt CFL, but the LED lamp may only send a focused light directly under it to the photo sensor, while the incandescent light and CFL will light up a much broader area, and still give that same lumens rating for the area immediately beneath the bulb. This may be the source of a frequent negative comment among LED owners, such as: “The packaging claims this 2-watt LED bulb has the same light output as a 50-watt incandescent bulb but it feels more like a 25-watt incandescent if you ask me.”
When it comes to halogen lights, they are only as efficient as incandescent lights, so the same efficiency considerations apply here. But since halogen lights are typically much more direct than incandescent bulbs, LED lights that are designed to replace halogen lights are both more efficient than the halogens they replace, and work well for the direct light that halogen bulbs provide. You can find LED replacement bulbs for the most common halogen fixtures such as GU10 and MR13, and this may be a good place to start the switchover.
LED house light designers work around the issue of the narrow beam of a single LED, by building household LED light bulbs that are a collection of individual LEDs, with each diode aimed at a different angle, so that a wider area is highly illuminated. This increases the area of full light coverage of an LED light. However very few such bulbs provide the breadth of area coverage of existing incandescent bulbs or CFLs and at the same time are bright enough.
Where LED lights outshine existing bulbs is as replacements for lighting that is (or should be) highly directed. For example, a light in a narrow hallway, where the chief point of the light is to show people their way down the hall, would be a good application for LEDs.
Task lighting is another example of an application where LEDs shine. Why light up your entire work room if all you need to see is the tools on the work bench right before your eyes? A couple of LED bulbs hanging above the work area will do the trick nicely. But you can only cost-justify this in energy savings if you live half your life in the workroom.
LED light bulbs are, in theory at least, very durable, when compared to incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent bulbs. LED bulb life ranges from 35,000 to 200,000 hours, compared to 1,000 hours for a good incandescent light, and 8,000 hours for a CFL. But I have seen many consumer ratings of LED bulbs that report burn-out within a few days of being switched on. Clearly there are some quality problems still to be worked on – yet another good reason for holding off a couple of years before switching wholesale to LEDs.
Whether LEDs will really live up to their long lasting billing remains to be seen – even the 35,000 hour ones would need to be on 24×7 for 4 years before they come close to reaching their advertised range. And LED lights do dim with age – so while a bulb might have a lifetime of 35,000 hours, it won’t emit its starting light level for the full 35,000 hours – the older it gets, the less light it will emit. LED lights do decline progressively in light intensity and therefore in efficiency, although they will still be more efficient than either CFLs or incandescent bulbs throughout their life.
The “color temperature” of a light bulb, measured in ‘degrees Kelvin’, determines human visual response to its light. You are probably comfortable with the yellowish glow of incandescents at around 2800 Kelvin (2800K), even though fluorescent lighting is closer to the natural daylight temperature of 6000K. Any LED with a temperature of 6000K or higher will seem bluish, and any LED with a color temperature above 4000K will appear whiter than an incandescent bulb.
While homeowners are typically worried about how fluorescent or LED lights can make their rooms look blinding white instead of the comforting yellow glow provided by incandescent bulbs, you should remember that a little sacrifice in color temperature will put a big dent in your electricity bill. Be a trend-setter, not a trend-follower – start converting your home lighting to true daylight colors, whether with CFL lights or LED light bulbs. You will be helping your family and friends to switch over, when they find out they won’t be the only ones with a slightly bluer light hue in their homes.
Whether you switch a few of your lights to LED lights now, or let the technology and reliability improve, you can count on the fact that LEDs will play an increasing role in lighting our houses in the years ahead. I personally think it makes sense to wait, except in certain special lighting situations where the direct, high-color-temperature light of LEDs is what you’re after, and where money is no object. If you just want to save money – or to cut your energy use for environmental reasons – an equal amount of money spent on CFLs, or most other energy efficiency upgrades, will cut your energy bills and carbon footprint more than buying the LED lights now available.
Increasingly consumers are turning their eyes towards LED house lights as a way to conserve electricity. But will you really achieve the greatest savings by buying this still expensive lighting now? Or would you be better off to save your money for the time being, or to buy other energy-efficient light bulbs, and use the money you save in electricity to buy LED house lights down the road?
You have most likely seen LEDs before: camping headlamps, LED Christmas tree lights, wind-up emergency torches. How about LED house lights? If LEDs are so efficient, why aren’t manufacturers lining up to sell LED lights for the home, and why aren’t we lining up to buy them?
I wouldn’t try to sell you on LED lights as a solution to high utility bills or as the most ecologically beneficial lighting solution around. Frankly, I think LEDs have a ways to go yet, in terms of function, durability, and economy. There are some LED products you should consider over the next year, such as LED Christmas lights. And you might enjoy trying out a couple of LED light bulbs, if you’re the energy-saving type. But you are going to save more money by keeping with your current lighting, and migrating to fluorescent lights in the next year or so. Compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs, have a payback so short that they’ll pay for themselves before LEDs have matured enough to make CFLs out of date.
LED light bulbs are more efficient than incandescent or fluorescent lighting. The problem is that LEDs have very directed light. An incandescent light shines over a wide area fairly evenly, while LED lights are very focused, so that the area they directly illuminate is very bright, while the further you go from the direct beam, the less light there is. For LED Christmas lights, that isn’t a problem; you just want some shining points of light, which LEDs do very efficiently. But an incandescent or CFL will do a much better job of brightening up your living room than an LED bulb in the same application. The light will be more evenly and broadly spread, and with a warmer color.
When you see LED packaging claims of LED light output, you should be doubtful. A number in Lumens, which indicates light brightness, is misleading for LEDs, because of their focused beam. Lumens levels are read from a sensor placed right underneath the light source. A household LED light bulb at 2 watts may have the same lumens rating as a 50 watt halogen bulb, or as a 15 watt CFL, but the LED lamp may only send a focused light directly under it to the photo sensor, while the incandescent light and CFL will light up a much broader area, and still give that same lumens rating for the area immediately beneath the bulb. This may be the source of a frequent negative comment among LED owners, such as: “The packaging claims this 2-watt LED bulb has the same light output as a 50-watt incandescent bulb but it feels more like a 25-watt incandescent if you ask me.”
When it comes to halogen lights, they are only as efficient as incandescent lights, so the same efficiency considerations apply here. But since halogen lights are typically much more direct than incandescent bulbs, LED lights that are designed to replace halogen lights are both more efficient than the halogens they replace, and work well for the direct light that halogen bulbs provide. You can find LED replacement bulbs for the most common halogen fixtures such as GU10 and MR13, and this may be a good place to start the switchover.
LED house light designers work around the issue of the narrow beam of a single LED, by building household LED light bulbs that are a collection of individual LEDs, with each diode aimed at a different angle, so that a wider area is highly illuminated. This increases the area of full light coverage of an LED light. However very few such bulbs provide the breadth of area coverage of existing incandescent bulbs or CFLs and at the same time are bright enough.
Where LED lights outshine existing bulbs is as replacements for lighting that is (or should be) highly directed. For example, a light in a narrow hallway, where the chief point of the light is to show people their way down the hall, would be a good application for LEDs.
Task lighting is another example of an application where LEDs shine. Why light up your entire work room if all you need to see is the tools on the work bench right before your eyes? A couple of LED bulbs hanging above the work area will do the trick nicely. But you can only cost-justify this in energy savings if you live half your life in the workroom.
LED light bulbs are, in theory at least, very durable, when compared to incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent bulbs. LED bulb life ranges from 35,000 to 200,000 hours, compared to 1,000 hours for a good incandescent light, and 8,000 hours for a CFL. But I have seen many consumer ratings of LED bulbs that report burn-out within a few days of being switched on. Clearly there are some quality problems still to be worked on – yet another good reason for holding off a couple of years before switching wholesale to LEDs.
Whether LEDs will really live up to their long lasting billing remains to be seen – even the 35,000 hour ones would need to be on 24×7 for 4 years before they come close to reaching their advertised range. And LED lights do dim with age – so while a bulb might have a lifetime of 35,000 hours, it won’t emit its starting light level for the full 35,000 hours – the older it gets, the less light it will emit. LED lights do decline progressively in light intensity and therefore in efficiency, although they will still be more efficient than either CFLs or incandescent bulbs throughout their life.
The “color temperature” of a light bulb, measured in ‘degrees Kelvin’, determines human visual response to its light. You are probably comfortable with the yellowish glow of incandescents at around 2800 Kelvin (2800K), even though fluorescent lighting is closer to the natural daylight temperature of 6000K. Any LED with a temperature of 6000K or higher will seem bluish, and any LED with a color temperature above 4000K will appear whiter than an incandescent bulb.
While homeowners are typically worried about how fluorescent or LED lights can make their rooms look blinding white instead of the comforting yellow glow provided by incandescent bulbs, you should remember that a little sacrifice in color temperature will put a big dent in your electricity bill. Be a trend-setter, not a trend-follower – start converting your home lighting to true daylight colors, whether with CFL lights or LED light bulbs. You will be helping your family and friends to switch over, when they find out they won’t be the only ones with a slightly bluer light hue in their homes.
Whether you switch a few of your lights to LED lights now, or let the technology and reliability improve, you can count on the fact that LEDs will play an increasing role in lighting our houses in the years ahead. I personally think it makes sense to wait, except in certain special lighting situations where the direct, high-color-temperature light of LEDs is what you’re after, and where money is no object. If you just want to save money – or to cut your energy use for environmental reasons – an equal amount of money spent on CFLs, or most other energy efficiency upgrades, will cut your energy bills and carbon footprint more than buying the LED lights now available.
"green" Lighting Gets the Green Light
Jane Anderson asked:
Trying to enhance your home without harming the environment at the same time? Today, lighting retailers have many clever ways to be kind to the Earth without sacrificing your sense of style. Energy Star qualified, energy efficient, Title 24 compliant, and dark sky lighting all contribute to a “greener” world without breaking the bank.
Energy Star was set up by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy to help Americans save money and reduce their impact on the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Products that earn the Energy Star qualification must meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set forth by these two departments. But don’t think that Energy Star equals unattractive.
That full-size chandelier you’ve been eyeing for your foyer may be Energy Star qualified. How about those lanterns for your deck? The cabinet lighting for your kitchen? And what about the ceiling fan for your children’s playroom? Yes, yes and yes. You’ll be surprised when you go shopping for new lighting and see the huge selection of Energy Star qualified products.
Energy efficient lighting is another great option. Energy efficiency simply means the lighting product uses less electricity than a standard product. That makes it a great choice for outdoor lighting – which is necessary for security and safety but could add to your electric bill if you’re not careful. Manufacturers such as Kichler and Hinkley offer outdoor lighting options that are both energy efficient and pleasing to the eye.
Many lighting companies comply with California’s Title 24 building codes for lighting. Title 24 requires all new homes, additions, remodels and most commercial buildings within the state to meet minimum standards of energy efficiency.
What could be more energy-efficient than generating power itself? That’s where outdoor solar lights come in. Choose your design, stick it in the ground, and there you have it – beauty, safety and security in minutes.
While you’re outside, why not look up at the stars? Special dark sky lighting allows lights to shine where needed without annoying light pollution. Dark sky lighting directs light to its intended space, such as porch stairs or a walkway, while preventing light from shining upward unnecessarily and blotting out the night sky. There are many beautiful and elegant dark sky lighting products available to fit any budget.
It can be easy to light up your home beautifully and save money and the environment at the same time. Let
href=”http://www.lightingshowplace.com”>LightingShowplace.com show you how.
View our full selection of
href=”http://www.lightingshowplace.com/decor/static.pl?S=promo/green_main”>energy
efficient lighting.
Trying to enhance your home without harming the environment at the same time? Today, lighting retailers have many clever ways to be kind to the Earth without sacrificing your sense of style. Energy Star qualified, energy efficient, Title 24 compliant, and dark sky lighting all contribute to a “greener” world without breaking the bank.
Energy Star was set up by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy to help Americans save money and reduce their impact on the environment through energy efficient products and practices. Products that earn the Energy Star qualification must meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set forth by these two departments. But don’t think that Energy Star equals unattractive.
That full-size chandelier you’ve been eyeing for your foyer may be Energy Star qualified. How about those lanterns for your deck? The cabinet lighting for your kitchen? And what about the ceiling fan for your children’s playroom? Yes, yes and yes. You’ll be surprised when you go shopping for new lighting and see the huge selection of Energy Star qualified products.
Energy efficient lighting is another great option. Energy efficiency simply means the lighting product uses less electricity than a standard product. That makes it a great choice for outdoor lighting – which is necessary for security and safety but could add to your electric bill if you’re not careful. Manufacturers such as Kichler and Hinkley offer outdoor lighting options that are both energy efficient and pleasing to the eye.
Many lighting companies comply with California’s Title 24 building codes for lighting. Title 24 requires all new homes, additions, remodels and most commercial buildings within the state to meet minimum standards of energy efficiency.
What could be more energy-efficient than generating power itself? That’s where outdoor solar lights come in. Choose your design, stick it in the ground, and there you have it – beauty, safety and security in minutes.
While you’re outside, why not look up at the stars? Special dark sky lighting allows lights to shine where needed without annoying light pollution. Dark sky lighting directs light to its intended space, such as porch stairs or a walkway, while preventing light from shining upward unnecessarily and blotting out the night sky. There are many beautiful and elegant dark sky lighting products available to fit any budget.
It can be easy to light up your home beautifully and save money and the environment at the same time. Let
href=”http://www.lightingshowplace.com”>LightingShowplace.com show you how.
View our full selection of
href=”http://www.lightingshowplace.com/decor/static.pl?S=promo/green_main”>energy
efficient lighting.
Save Money by Installing LED Downlights
Sean Coppom asked:
Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about lighting and its associated energy costs in their homes or businesses, but that would change quickly if they knew the benefits and savings provided by energy efficient lighting found on the market today. Enter the LED downlight, one of the best LED lighting solutions available and a prime example of how LED lighting is going to revolutionize the lighting industry. While not all current LED replacement bulbs live up to their claims, products like the Cree LR6 Downlight provide you with beautiful warm white light, an 85% energy savings over conventional incandescent bulbs and a 50,000 hour life span. That means it won’t need replacing for the next 20 years or more if ran for approximately 6-8 hours a day. The main question most people find themselves asking regarding LED downlights is, “Do the benefits justify the high cost?” The answer is a definite yes.
Let’s look at the cost savings of using an LED downlight such as the Cree LR6 more closely. Most conventional downlights use a standard 65-watt incandescent bulb and are run on a switch that typically contains several downlights. For this example we’ll say there are a total of six lights on a switch. On average, the cost to light just one 65-watt incandescent bulb for 50,000 hours is $325, so you find that six of them would cost $1,950 to operate over that time. Another factor we have to consider is the rated life of an incandescent bulb, which is typically 750-1000 hours. Assuming each bulb lasts the full 1,000 hours, we’ll need to buy 50 bulbs per fixture to get 50,000 hours of total run time. Multiply that by 6 fixtures and we’ll be buying 300 bulbs! If the cost per bulb averages $2 we’ll end up paying an additional $600 for a grand total of $2,550 to run six incandescent lights.
Now, what does the Cree LR6 cost to operate under similar circumstances? Amazingly, it runs on just 12 watts of power and uses 85% less energy than a 65-watt incandescent bulb. The energy cost to light one LR6 for 50,000 hours is only $60 on average. If we have six downlights then our total energy cost equals a paltry $360, with the added bonus of never needing to replace them. Currently the LR6 sells for around $90, so we’ll spend about $540 to install them (they can be installed as a direct replacement to standard downlights, no special tools needed) and our total cost will be $900 over the 50,000 hour period. That’s a huge savings of $1,650 over using 65-watt incandescent bulbs!
In case you’re wondering how a LED downlight compares to a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), the LED downlight is up to 50% more energy efficient than a CFL, and also doesn’t contain mercury, a toxic material that requires special disposal and cleanup if a CFL bulb should break. One last benefit of LED downlights is they produce a much smaller amount of heat than traditional bulbs and will therefore help to reduce costs associated with air conditioning.
The only question left to ask is, “Where do I purchase LED downlights?” Online companies such as Polar-Ray (http://www.polar-ray.com) specialize in LED lighting solutions and can help you find what you need for your home or business. Online general lighting stores may stock LED lights but may not have the expertise or customer service to make sure you get exactly what you need. Currently it is even harder to find LED downlights at local retail stores and, when you do find them, the costs are usually higher than what you’ll find online.
Hopefully I’ve laid out a clear path to understanding the cost and environmental benefits of using LED lighting solutions like the Cree LR6 Downlight. The initial cost of purchasing this and similar products is insignificant when put into perspective, and the benefits to your pocketbook and the environment will be clearly seen and felt.
Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about lighting and its associated energy costs in their homes or businesses, but that would change quickly if they knew the benefits and savings provided by energy efficient lighting found on the market today. Enter the LED downlight, one of the best LED lighting solutions available and a prime example of how LED lighting is going to revolutionize the lighting industry. While not all current LED replacement bulbs live up to their claims, products like the Cree LR6 Downlight provide you with beautiful warm white light, an 85% energy savings over conventional incandescent bulbs and a 50,000 hour life span. That means it won’t need replacing for the next 20 years or more if ran for approximately 6-8 hours a day. The main question most people find themselves asking regarding LED downlights is, “Do the benefits justify the high cost?” The answer is a definite yes.
Let’s look at the cost savings of using an LED downlight such as the Cree LR6 more closely. Most conventional downlights use a standard 65-watt incandescent bulb and are run on a switch that typically contains several downlights. For this example we’ll say there are a total of six lights on a switch. On average, the cost to light just one 65-watt incandescent bulb for 50,000 hours is $325, so you find that six of them would cost $1,950 to operate over that time. Another factor we have to consider is the rated life of an incandescent bulb, which is typically 750-1000 hours. Assuming each bulb lasts the full 1,000 hours, we’ll need to buy 50 bulbs per fixture to get 50,000 hours of total run time. Multiply that by 6 fixtures and we’ll be buying 300 bulbs! If the cost per bulb averages $2 we’ll end up paying an additional $600 for a grand total of $2,550 to run six incandescent lights.
Now, what does the Cree LR6 cost to operate under similar circumstances? Amazingly, it runs on just 12 watts of power and uses 85% less energy than a 65-watt incandescent bulb. The energy cost to light one LR6 for 50,000 hours is only $60 on average. If we have six downlights then our total energy cost equals a paltry $360, with the added bonus of never needing to replace them. Currently the LR6 sells for around $90, so we’ll spend about $540 to install them (they can be installed as a direct replacement to standard downlights, no special tools needed) and our total cost will be $900 over the 50,000 hour period. That’s a huge savings of $1,650 over using 65-watt incandescent bulbs!
In case you’re wondering how a LED downlight compares to a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), the LED downlight is up to 50% more energy efficient than a CFL, and also doesn’t contain mercury, a toxic material that requires special disposal and cleanup if a CFL bulb should break. One last benefit of LED downlights is they produce a much smaller amount of heat than traditional bulbs and will therefore help to reduce costs associated with air conditioning.
The only question left to ask is, “Where do I purchase LED downlights?” Online companies such as Polar-Ray (http://www.polar-ray.com) specialize in LED lighting solutions and can help you find what you need for your home or business. Online general lighting stores may stock LED lights but may not have the expertise or customer service to make sure you get exactly what you need. Currently it is even harder to find LED downlights at local retail stores and, when you do find them, the costs are usually higher than what you’ll find online.
Hopefully I’ve laid out a clear path to understanding the cost and environmental benefits of using LED lighting solutions like the Cree LR6 Downlight. The initial cost of purchasing this and similar products is insignificant when put into perspective, and the benefits to your pocketbook and the environment will be clearly seen and felt.