The light-emitting diode (LED) is one of today’s most energy-efficient and rapidly-developing lighting technologies. Quality LED light bulbs last longer, are more durable, and offer comparable or better light quality than other types of lighting.
If you haven’t already, here are some compelling reasons to switch to LED lighting:
- Durability
LED light bulbs are made from material that can withstand being dropped, cold temperatures and vibrations, and are water-resistant. Most good quality LED down lights installed today, will offer a ‘set and forget’ solution for 20 to 25 years.
- Efficiency
LEDs consume low amounts of power. They use about 75% less energy than their halogen counterpart and last 5-10 times longer. The use of LEDs also results to 60-90% improvement in the overall energy efficiency.
Since LEDs are more efficient, they emit almost no forward heat unlike incandescent bulbs which convert 90% of the total energy used to heat. This, coupled with the fact that they consume less power and can operate effectively on low-voltage electrical systems, are great safety fallbacks in case something goes wrong.
- Environmental safety
Traditional lighting solutions like fluorescent and mercury vapor lights contain mercury inside the bulb which necessitates special handling at the end of the product’s useful lifespan. LEDs don’t require these environmental considerations and don’t pose much risk during and after their lifespan.
LEDs emit virtually no UV rays, which makes them the perfect lighting solution for UV sensitive items like artworks and food items. They are also helpful in reducing the bugs, which are attracted to high levels of UV rays, accumulating around the light.
- Temperature
LEDs have a wider temperature tolerance. They can operate in harsh environments and withstand extremely hot and cold temperatures without significant degradation. And since they don’t emit UV rays and give off heat, they help keep the nutrient levels in foods you buy from supermarkets, restaurants, and kitchens.
- Reaction time
LEDs turn on and off instantaneously and do not have issues with frequent switching. They require no warm-up period unlike halide lamps. Our eyes will also enjoy a significant amount of quiet as LED technology has zero flicker because it is always on.
- Longer life span
This is probably the biggest advantage of LEDs. We can save a lot more because they do not need to be replaced as frequently as traditional light bulbs. LEDs boast 50,000 to 10,000 operating hours. They also far outlast fluorescent, metal halide, and sodium vapor lights by 2-4 times, and incandescent bulbs by 40 times.
To add, LEDs have great dimming capacities and can operate at a virtually any percentage of their rated power (0 to 100%). Although they require hardware specific to LED technology in order to dim, they get more efficient as the power is reduced. This incidentally increases the total lifespan of the light itself. Most lighting technologies like metal halides do not have both these advantages: they either become less efficient at power reduction or cannot be dimmed at all.
- Low maintenance
Since they require less frequent replacement as they have longer life spans and their bulbs simply don’t fail for a significant period of time, LEDs give us the benefit of lower maintenance costs in terms of labour and replacement parts. Even the traditional glass bulb surrounding the light is entirely unnecessary since LEDs are solid state lights.
LEDs also do not require accessory devices to reflect and/or redirect light as it emits light for only 180 degrees. This sets them apart from all other types of lights which give off 360-degree emissions and illuminate the room less brightly than LEDs.
- Colour variety
You can purchase LEDs in a wide range of correlated color temperature (CCT) values. They can be purchased with a “warm,” yellowish glow, as a “cool,” white light and a variety of other options.
They also have excellent colour rendering index (CRI), which means they are able to reveal the actual colour of objects way better compared to other forms of light source.
Please give us a call today on 02 9477 2550 if you need help with installing LED lights.