How Does LED Lighting Help Cut Commercial Electricity Bills?

We’ve established elsewhere on this blog that LEDs are much more efficient than other commercial bulbs. Cost savings from LED could reduce your electricity bill by as much as 50-90 per cent. But why are commercial LED lights so efficient? Let’s take a closer look…

The movement of electrons

LEDs use moving electrons to create light. By contrast, traditional (incandescent) bulbs rely on current passing through a thin wire. Halogen bulbs depend on the chemical reaction between their tungsten filaments and halogen gas to create light.

Fluorescent bulbs use electricity to stimulate mercury vapour, which then produces UV light. This then turns into visible light when it hits a layer of phosphor on the inside of the bulb. LEDs are more efficient because they need fewer components and fewer processes to create light. In fact, just 10 per cent of the energy produced by halogen bulbs is useful. 

Favourable electricity to light ratio

Each LED bulb contains a chip of semiconducting material covered with impurities. This creates a p-n junction. This in turn creates a favourable ratio of luminous flux to power. LEDs use 90 per cent less energy as a result.

The vast majority of the energy each LED generates is actually light energy. This is why LEDs produce little or no heat. This in turn makes them ideal for use in stuffy warehouses without sufficient air-conditioning. 

Use only the light you need

As illustrated by data on the Digi-Key Electronics website, LED lights are designed to be directional; meaning that they emit light in one direction. By contrast, more traditional lighting is omnidirectional and therefore emits light where it is not needed. This effectively means traditional lighting makes you pay for light that you neither use, nor need.

More light for longer

From highlighting specific shelves in a warehouse when needed, to providing a source constant bright light during office hours, commercial LEDs allow you to do so for less. Not only do LEDs emit more light, but they also last much longer than more traditional sources.

Each commercial LED can last for up to 30,000 hours. In the average office, which needs lighting for eight hours a day, the LEDs used to light the space could last for up to 14.5 years! Instead of wasting energy, LEDs use the vast majority to give you the light you need. This in turn reduces your electricity bill.