Top 15 benefits of LED Lighting

Every business is (or should be) looking for more efficient energy solutions. So what’s the easiest way to quickly reduce your energy use? The answer is simply switching from filament to LED lighting.

For instance, did you know that a normal incandescent light bulb is actually a heater with the byproduct of light? Over 90% of its energy is turned into heat making it an outrageously inefficient, not to mention hot, light source.

Another downfall for fluorescents? They contain mercury. (Health effects of mercury can be found here). Furthermore, fluorescents are prone to breaking, and when a bulb breaks, that neurotoxic element can taint your home or office.

For years, LEDs were high cost alternatives to the fluorescent bulb, a compact fluorescent, with several other problems such as bad colors, harsh light and poor dimming abilities.

But in the last year the price of LED lights has dropped significantly, the colors have been modified, and they are more flexible than ever. Let’s look at the 15 benefits of LED lighting.

Benefit #1: Long Lifetime

Long lifetime stands out as the number one benefit of LED lights. LED bulbs and diodes have an outstanding operational lifetime expectation of up to 11 years of continuous operation, or 22 years at 50% operation. If you leave a LED fixture on for 8 hours per day it would take around 20 years before you’d have to replace the LED bulb. Lighting diodes emit lower output levels over a very long period of time and become less bright, while LEDs maintain their original brightness throughout their lifespan.

Benefit #2: Efficiency

LEDs consume far less power than fluorescent tubes. Simply put, LEDs use less electricity, with an estimated energy efficiency of 80%-90% when compared to traditional lighting and conventional light bulbs. This means that about 80% of the electrical energy is converted to light, while 20% is lost and converted into heat. Because of the long lifespan of LED lights, the maintenance work is significantly less, meaning you’ll see big energy savings.

Benefit #3: Eco-friendly

LED lights contain no toxic materials and are 100% recyclable; they’ll help you reduce your carbon footprint. One LED light bulb can save material and production of 25 incandescent light bulbs.

Benefit #4: Durability

Because LEDs are not made of glass and are hollow inside, they are far less fragile than both fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. This makes them much more durable, less likely to be inoperable due to being dropped, and can withstand harsh conditions. Because LED lights are resistant to shock, vibrations and external impacts, they make great outdoor lighting systems for exposure to weather, wind, rain or even external vandalism, traffic related public exposure and construction or manufacturing sites. For freezer rooms and iceboxes, they are the perfect bulbs.

Benefit #5: No Heat

That’s right; no heat. Unlike incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, LEDs are easy to the touch even after they are on for hours so they carry less risk of causing an accidental fire or burn. Also consider the cost it takes to cool the air that other bulbs heat up. A single 100w light bulb costs about £0.75/month just to cool the heat it produces.

Benefit #6: No Emissions

LED illumination produces little infrared light and close to no UV emissions. Because of this, LED lighting is highly suitable not only for goods and materials that are sensitive to heat, but also for illumination of UV sensitive objects or materials from artwork in museums to plastics in a kitchen.

Benefit #7: “Dimmability”

LEDs can be dimmed, resulting in a dynamic control of light, color, flexibility and distribution. Well-designed LED illumination systems can achieve fantastic lighting effects, not only for the eye but also for the mood. LED mood illumination is already being used in airplanes, classrooms and many more locations and we can expect to see a lot more LED mood illumination in our daily lives within the next few years, in homes, offices, hotels, restaurants, etc. Stores with LED lighting sell 30% more merchandise!

Benefit #8: Light Disbursement

LED is designed to focus its light and can be directed to a specific location without the use of an external reflector, achieving higher application efficiency than conventional lighting. Well-designed LED illumination systems are able to deliver light more efficiently to the desired location.

Benefit #9: Instant Lighting

LEDs provide instant light and illumination; they brighten up when powered on, which has great advantages for infrastructure projects such as traffic and signal lights. LEDs work when an electrical current is passed through them – no flickering. In contrast, fluorescent lights don’t provide optimum illumination levels until they have been running for a few minutes and flicker when switched on.

Benefit #10: Frequent Switching

LED lights can switch off and on frequently and without affecting the LED’s lifetime or light emission, unlike traditional lighting that may take several seconds to reach full brightness. Also, frequent on/off switching of traditional bulbs drastically reduces operational life expectancy.

Benefit #11: Low-Voltage

A low-voltage power supply is sufficient for LED illumination, making it easy to use LED lighting in outdoor settings by connecting an external solar-energy source which is a big advantage when it comes to using LED technology in remote or rural areas.

Benefit #12: Long-Term Cost

LEDs are still more expensive than fluorescent and compact fluorescent lights, but they are far less expensive than they were a year ago and can provide huge long-term savings.. While incandescent lights last for 800 to 1500 hours, and fluorescent lights last up to 10,000 hours, LEDs can last up to a whopping 60,000 hours. This can provide substantial savings as a result of fewer replacements needing to be bought.

Benefit #13: Short-Term Cost

As stated above, prices of LED have significantly dropped in the last year. Home Depot’s 800 lumen Philips LED bulb is priced just under £25.00 and consumes 12 watts. A 40-watt equivalent from Lighting Sciences Group, which consumes less than 8 watts, costs just under £12.00. If you used a bulb for just 2 hours a day and paid the national average of £0.08 per kilowatt-hour, a single 12-watt LED will cost you about £0.60/year. Comparable CFLs that consume about 14 watts come to £0.70/year and about £3.50/year for 60-watt incandescent in that scenario.

Benefit #14: Noise

Fluorescent tubes are notorious for being noisy, especially if they have been used for a extended amount of time. They tend to give off clicking sounds intermittently, but most annoyingly, they can produce a low buzzing sound. Since fluorescent tubes are often used in offices and working environments, this can be distracting. LEDs do not have this problem and operate silently with no annoying flickering noises.

Benefit #15: Colour

Fluorescent lights are infamous for their colour profile. While some fluorescent tubes now use a different type of phosphorous powder to produce a warmer colour, most fluorescents produce only a cold blue/white light. It is stark and not very welcoming. LEDs on the other hand provide a range of different colours for different purposes and needs. This is what makes LEDs so adaptable. They can be used in almost any environment or lighting situation.

Source: Great Eastern Energy