“L-E-D”. In terms of lighting, you’re hearing these three letters over and over again… you see it posted all over lighting websites, and its starting to bug you. It seems to be a thrilling new trend…some kind of new innovative light…nevertheless, you have no idea what it is. You would like to know very well what everybody’s talking about- what’s extremely popular?
LED’s – Light Emitting Diodes – Simply put, LED’s are diodes that…(huh?) hang on, I’ll explain: a diode is the simplest type of semiconductor device. (what’s that?) wow, you’re impatient: A semi-conductor is a material having the ability to conduct electrical current. Basically, rather than emitting light from the vacuum (as in an incandescent bulb) or perhaps a gas (as in a CFL), LED emits light from a piece of solid matter, its semi-conductor. Stated very simply, an LED produces light when electrons maneuver around within its semiconductor structure.
They tell you when to avoid and go. They have ruled your driving, saved your daily life countless times, and that little red synthetic you hold out till you were in a position to cross the street. That’s right – the red, yellow and green on the traffic lights are Led lights right in front of your nose. Actually, Light Emitting Diodes have been around for quite a while, conceptualized in 1907. However, it wasn’t before 1960s that practical applications were found and LED’s were first manufactured. LED used to be used exclusively for traffic signals, brake lights and headlights on luxury cars, and indicator lights on appliances.
You probably didn’t even understand that LED lights were smoking cigarettes your digital clocks, flashlights and letting you know when you’ve got a fresh voice message on your cell phone. magnetic track light price at the start, as applications grew, benefits were discovered and manufacturing costs transpired. According to the American Lighting Association (ALA), lighting manufacturers have invested considerable time, effort and research into adapting this super energy-efficient technology for household use. The technology has advanced enough to win approval from the government’s popular and well-respected Energy Star� program. So here’s why:
They do more for less. LED’s are efficient-producing a lot of light from the little power. For example, one 5-watt LED can produce more light (measured in lumens) than one standard 75-watt incandescent bulb. The 5-watt LED could get the job done of the 75-watt incandescent at 1/15 of the power consumption. LED’s save energy and, therefore, money. It is because in LED lights, 90% of energy is converted into light, during incandescent bulbs 90% of energy would go to heat and only 10% to visible light.
They go longer. LED is virtually free of maintenance – they don’t really have a filament that may burn out, so that they last much longer. A standard “long life” household bulb will burn for approximately 2,000 hours. An LED might have a useful lifespan up to 100,000 hours! By some sources, LED’s can last for as long as 40 years. Imagine not having to change a light bulb for years. You can find LED products available this season that will make frequent lamp changes so 20th century.
How it really works… (skip this part if you don’t really care) Light is really a form of energy which can be released by an atom. It really is comprised of many small particle-like packets, called photons, which will be the most basic units of light. LED’s are specially constructed release a a large number of photons outward.When a power charge strikes the semiconductor, a little electrical current, which is measured by watts (oh! so that’s what they mean by ‘has low wattage’!) is passed through the semiconductor material. this causes the electrons to move around, become “excited” and give off photons. The vast majority of the power emitted is light energy.
Within an ordinary diode, such as incandescent bulbs, the semiconductor material itself ends up absorbing most of the light energy so that it produces more heat energy than light energy.That is completely wasted energy, unless you’re utilizing the lamp as a heater, because a huge part of the available electricity isn’t going toward producing visible light. LED’s generate very little heat, relatively speaking. A much higher percentage of the electrical energy is going directly to generating light, which cuts down on the electricity demands considerably. As you can see in the diagram,they’re housed in a plastic bulb that concentrates the light in a specific direction. Most of the light from the diode bounces off the sides of the bulb, traveling on through the rounded end.
They are a better buy (in the long term). Up until recently, LED’s were very costly to use for most lighting applications because they’re built around advanced semiconductor material. The cost of semiconductor devices has plummeted in the last decade, however, making LED’s a far more cost-effective lighting option for a wide range of situations. While they might be more expensive than incandescent lights up front, a 60-watt LED replacement bulb runs in your community of $100, and also the lower-output versions, used for things like spot lighting, will definitely cost between $40 and $80.
That’s in comparison to a $1 incandescent and a $2 fluorescent bulb.The reality is, even at $100 for an individual bulb, LEDs will end up saving money in the long term, because you only need a couple of every decade and you spend less overall on home lighting, which can take into account about 7 percent of one’s electric bill [source: Greener Choices]. But don’t worry, the scary price you should pay upfront won’t last too much time, the lighting industry in general expects LED costs ahead down quickly. Lighting Science Group, a company that develops and manufactures LED lighting, estimates a 50 percent price reduction within 2 yrs.