LED Lighting saves energy and delivers brightness

Governments are beginning to consider phasing out incandescent (standard) light bulb manufacture. The US legislature tried to ban manufacture and sale of these older light bulbs but that was overturned. Yet new lighting must lead the way toward greater efficiency, without compromising brightness.

LED illumination is being used in many electronic products offering greater brightness and performance than previous technologies. Use of LED backlighting in TV is allowing higher levels of brightness, contrast, and sharpness than most people have ever seen. It enables greater panel production to construct screens as large as 90-inch diagonal.

An LED (Light Emitting Diode) is an electronic semiconductor device of a particular material composition which, when current passes through it, gives off light. The first practical LED to produce light with a spectrum visible to the human eye, a red LED, was discovered in 1962. These were red LEDs used for indicators and alphanumeric displays. Since then blue, green and violet light emitting LEDs have been developed and research has concentrated on achieving lower costs with higher light output and efficiency. In order to create the white light needed for general lighting the LEDs are surrounded by phosphor materials that transform the monochromatic light from a blue or near-UV LED to broad-spectrum white light.

The next generation of high-efficiency, cost-saving lighting has arrived in the form of LED lighting technology. While the LED itself was first discovered almost a century ago, with the first practical devices being developed in the early 1960’s in the United States, this technology has now been applied to creating the white light needed for general use in the form of LED lighting.

LED bulbs and LED lighting fixtures combine the use of phosphor materials that transform the monochromatic light from a blue or near-UV LED to broad-spectrum white light, with electrical circuits to drive the LEDs, an optical lens to extract and focus the light, and heat to maintain the LED lamp’s optimum operating temperature.
LED lighting products come in the form of retrofit LED bulbs that are available to replace most incandescent and CFL bulbs.

The efficiency of an LED lamp is approximately five times that of a standard incandescent bulb, allowing for its initial price point to be more than recovered through lower energy usage and a much longer life span. Also, LED bulbs lessen the need for power generation and do not contain hazardous materials such as mercury.
With lighting in homes and businesses typically accounting for about 20% of all electrical energy use, the conversion of incandescent lighting to LED lighting can have a significant impact on national energy usage and individual carbon footprints.

LEDs require far less energy than traditional bulbs and contain no hazardous substances. Today they are found on almost every electronic device. Although popular for decades, LEDs have only recently evolved into common commercial and household goods. Lighting accounts for between 20-40 percent of electrical energy use in homes and businesses. Moving to LED lighting will cut this down by at least 5%. Shouldn’t you be shifting to LED?

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