|
About:
|
Electric lighting has long been synonymous with incandescent light, the light provided by the basic lightbulb that dates back to the 1800s. It was first mass-produced by Thomas Edison and his Edison Electric Company in the 1880s.
</p>
<p>
Today, electric light is undergoing a major revolution as the <a href="https://www.oakled.com/led-sport-lights-1">LED Sport Lights</a> have begun to replace the incandescent bulb in homes and other spaces, both indoors and outdoors. Once industry giant General Electric signaled its intent to cease manufacturing incandescent bulbs to concentrate on LED bulbs, it became clear that a sea-change was in process.
</p>
<p>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
<strong>What’s different about LED lighting?</strong>
</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.oakled.com/led-flood-light-1">LED Flood Light</a> is measured in lumens rather than watts. The higher the number of lumens, the more white light the bulb will emit.
</p>
<p>
LED lights also provide a broad range of colour temperatures and options. Colour temperature is measured in kelvin units. The lower the kelvin number, the more yellow the light. A colour temperature of 2,500-3,000 K denotes a yellowish hue, similar to the incandescent light bulb, which mimics the warm glow of sunlight.
</p>
<p>
At the other end of the spectrum, 6,500 K light has a blue hue. You can find LED lighting in a variety of hues. Therefore, you can easily vary the type of light your lamps and fixtures provide, depending on the room.
</p>
<p>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
<strong>The environmental benefits of LED lighting</strong>
</p>
<p>
In their early days, <a href="https://www.oakled.com/led-street-light-1">LED Street Light</a>s were expensive. Couple that with a natural human resistance to change, and it was clear why their use wasn’t more widespread. Today, however, better manufacturing processes and economies of scale have made the lighting affordable. The bulbs are still more expensive than incandescent light bulbs, but they are more cost-effective because of their longevity.
</p>
<p>
Today, with all the concern about our changing environment and worries about pollution and energy conservation, you can feel good about using LED lighting, because it is energy-efficient. When you use a 60-watt incandescent light bulb, for example, it uses about 525 kilowatt-hours of energy annually. The comparable 60-watt LED bulb only uses approximately 65 kilowatt-hours of energy each year.
</p>
<p>
Carbon dioxide, a harmful waste product that is a major pollutant, is produced when electricity is generated. The less energy needed by a lightbulb, the less CO2 that is produced.
</p>
<p>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
<strong>The efficiency of LED lights</strong>
</p>
<p>
A <a href="https://www.oakled.com/rgb-led-floodlight-1">RGB LED Flood Light</a> bulb is generally 80 to 90 per cent efficient, meaning that 80 per cent of the electrical energy is converted to light, with only 20 per cent lost as heat. For an incandescent bulb, the reverse is true: 20 per cent of the electrical energy used in converted to light and the remaining 80 per cent is lost to heat.
</p>
<p>
Given that LED bulbs don’t produce as much heat as incandescent bulbs, they burn cooler and are safer to use. Another ecologically friendly feature of LED bulbs is their composition. They are made of non-toxic materials and are 100 per cent recyclable.
</p>
<p>
LED lighting is also more cost-effective and convenient than incandescent or fluorescent lighting. LED lights are solid-state lights and are more stable light sources than incandescent or fluorescent lights, making them much longer-lasting. For example, a standard incandescent bulb has a longevity of about 750 hours while a comparable <a href="https://www.oakled.com/led-high-bay-light-1">LED High Bay Light</a> can last between 50,000 and 100,000 hours. 100,000 hours translates to 11 years of operating continuously; imagine not changing a light bulb for more than a decade!
</p>
<p>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
LED lighting has come a long way in such a short period of time. The man who is recognized for conceiving the light bulb, Thomas Alva Edison, says that he “tested no fewer than 6,000 vegetable growths, and ransacked the world for the most suitable filament material” as part of the process of inventing the light bulb, which got a patent in 1880 Edison is said to have acknowledged that this was tedious and very demanding work, particularly on those he employed to help him. Having done its work for over 100 years, the bulb, as invented by Edison, is gradually being replaced by a light emitting diode (LED).
</p>
<p>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.oakled.com/led-photography-lights-1">LED Photography Lights</a> are a semiconductor light source that produces light when triggered by an electronic current. A semiconductor is a solid substance whose ability to conduct electric current ranges between that of most metals and an insulator.
</p>
<p>
Energystar.gov, the US government-backed organization that provides information to businesses and consumers about energy issues, explains how LED technology works. It says, “An electrical current passes through a microchip, which illuminates the tiny light sources we call LEDs, and the result is visible light.”
</p>
<p>
<a href="https://www.oakled.com/led-light-bar-1">LED Light Bar</a> differs from other lighting sources, such as incandescent light bulbs, in several ways. Incandescent bulbs have filaments that glow, producing both light and heat when electricity flows through them. On the other hand, LEDs’ energy is released in the form of electrons (tiny particles that carry electricity in solids) that flow to create photons (visible light). Notably, LED lights emit very little heat.
</p>
<p>
Unlike other forms of lighting, like incandescent bulbs, which emit light and heat in all directions, a single LED chip emits light in a specific direction, eliminating the need for reflectors and diffusers, which can trap the light. LEDs also differ from the light bulbs we have known for many years in that they last much longer.
</p>
<p>
|