Characteristics of LED Lights

Recently the last 60 watt halogen lights left the shelves and in 2012 the 40 watt and lower varieties are set to follow, being made illegal in Britain and across the European Union. Replacing these with LED bulbs can be confusing, especially as there are a variety of types and the wattage is much lower and thus cannot be used as a reference for how bright the bulbs will be. This guide will hopefully help clear up a few misconceptions and help you choose which LED bulb is a suitable replacement for you.

Perhaps the main misconception is due to lower wattage on LED bulbs meaning many consumers believe their light output must be lower. Wattage has very little to do with light output and is only a measure of power consumption.
The primary reason behind the switch from halogen to LED lights is they produce a much higher light output per watt of electricity used, thus are more efficient. The actual measure of light produced is measured in lumens, but for most during the process of conversion this measure will mean little and thus it is often easier to look at the equivalent ratings of LED bulbs to halogen bulbs.

GU10 LED bulbs are proving popular, with the Sunday Times recommending them as a way to slash costs. Indeed so wasteful were halogen bulbs that they used more in an hour than a television on standby did in a week. Replacing all your remaining halogen bulbs can substantially reduce your electric bill while keeping your house or office as bright as before.

Ask someone about LED lights a decade ago and they probably would have thought of multiple colours produced in lighting displays and discos. LED lights designed to replace halogen bulbs either have similar light colouring to halogen bulbs or to natural daylight caused by the materials used to produce the light being different from those used in coloured lighting. The lighting effect produced is much more focused than halogen bulbs, so lights not intended to be used as spotlights will contain an opaque plastic covering to diffuse the light.

LED lights often have lifespans of 50,000 hours or more, some with over double this. For most this figure will be very difficult to comprehend, but for an average usage of six hours of light per day, on every day, this will mean twenty years of life on a typical 50,000 hour bulb or forty years on a 100000 hour bulb. This is fifty to a hundred times as long as a typical halogen bulb, thus the cost of the bulbs themselves are significant lower overall while the electricity used goes down between 80 and 90% from day one.

Not only will your energy bills go down substantially, but you will also be helping to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses caused by energy production. They also are more environmentally friendly in the materials used in their production and produce far less overall waste. Their efficiency comes largely from the fact they produce far less heat than halogen bulbs, which as a positive side effect makes them safer to touch.

Tags: LED Bulbs, LED Lights

Category: Home Improvement