The Benefits of LED Illumination

The development of the high brightness blue LED showed that it was possible to think of solid-state lighting for the replacement of the incandescent light bulb. Since the LED life expectancy was estimated at about 50 to 100 times that of incandescent bulbs and the LED luminous efficacy at about 20 lumens per watt surpassed that of the incandescent light bulbs, rigorous work begun in the development of solid-state lighting. Today the luminous efficacy of LEDs is at about 100 to 135 lumens per watt. Thus, it is possible to think of substituting the fluorescent light bulb also with LEDs, since the best fluorescent light bulbs have luminous efficacies of about 100 lumens per watt. This substitution, apart from conserving energy resources, will also eliminate hazardous materials such as mercury and phosphors from contaminating landfill sites due to discarded fluorescent light bulbs.

An additional benefit from this substitution is that the light of the LED’s will not drop in cold weather applications, as is the case with fluorescent light sources.

Another advantage of LEDs, over conventional light sources, is that they are rough and can withstand, without breakage, the rough handling during transportation with minimal packaging.

The future of solid-state lighting based on LEDs is also promising. The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Spectrum magazine has reported recently that the theoretical maximum efficacy of the LED is in the order of several hundred lumens per watt and it is expected to be achieved in the next decade. When this happens the LED will surpass in luminous efficacy even the HID (high intensity discharge) lamps use for outdoor area lighting.

As a result of these endeavors, companies have come up with a line of LED lights geared to a wide range of requirements and applications. Intelligent technology together with state-of-the-art workmanship, high light efficiency and a long working life are few of the biggest advantages of LEDs. LED has several advantages as follows.

• Long working life (last up to 100,000 hours)

• Low heat emission

• Shock resistance

• Low energy consumption (decrease of electric costs by up to 90%)

• No maintenance costs

• Great range of temperatures

• Wide range of voltage applications

• Variety of colors available

As can be seen from the graphic above, the light flux of LEDs is not as good as the fluorescent light. Thanks to some clever people, this problem has now been solved. The light flux of LEDs has been optimized and ways have been found to produce white light as well. Even before these new developments, the LEDs have strong points / advantages. These properties, together with the new developments, have now made them suitable for entirely new applications, where they are superior to conventional incandescent bulbs.

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