LED (LIGHT EMITTING DIODE)

What is LED?

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode In the simplest terms LED’s are tiny lightbulbs that operate without a filament by allowing the movement of electrons around a semiconductor material. They are smaller, longer lasting, cheaper to operate, faster switching and are more durable than traditional globes.

LED technology has recently been developed into a number of highly functional lighting applications and products which can now replace traditional inefficient lighting sources. At a time where environment and climate change factors, combined with increasing energy costs for not only businesses but the average household, LED technology is the solution for now and the future.

Advantages of LED

Efficiency
LED’s are capable of producing more light output per Watt of power input. You get more light for less money to run!

Colour
LED’s can be used to produce any colour using the RGB capabilities. There is no need for filters or colour diffusers

Size
LED’s can be as small as 2mm in size, and can therefore be used in multitudes of applications

On/Off Time
LED’s start almost instantaneously.

Cycling
LED’s are excellent for applications that require them to be turned on and off very frequently.

Dimming
A number of LED’s can now be dimmed

Cool Light
LED’s compared to traditional lighting sources produce very low heat making it ideal in a number of sensitive applications.

Slow Failure
At the end of an LED’s life it will not simply stop working, however it will simply begin to dim over time.

Lifetime
LED’s lives are considerably larger than traditional globes. Current technology has LED’s lasting around 50,000 hours. Whereas incandescent last 1,000-2,000 hours and fluorescent lights around 8,000-10,000 hours.

Shock Resistant
LED’s are able to withstand shock and are much more durable than traditional light sources

Focused Light
LED light can be easily directed in a particular direction, whereas traditional lights require external reflectors to focus the light in a useable manner

Toxicity
LED’s do not contain mercury like traditional fluorescents.

Why Choose LED Technology?

The Green Choice

LED lighting is fast becoming the most environmentally friendly light technology on the market today. Not only is it cheaper to run for the consumer or business, but because it uses less energy, the carbon output required to operate it is lower. Imagine an office complex with 10000 lights. If you could have their lighting energy use, the carbon footprint of the building would be reduced considerably and that just one factor.
What happens to a standard fluorescent when it stops working. In most circumstances it is simply disposed of in Landfill, which allows for the harmful mercury to be released from the light. LED lights contain no hazardous gasses to operate and therefore can be disposed of quite simply.
Not only are LED lights less harmful to the environment at the end of their life cycle, but the usable life of LED lights is considerably longer. A traditional fluorescent lamp has a working life of approximately 8000 hours, whereas its substitute LED version operates in excess of 50000 hours.

Economics – It just makes sense

LED technology runs at considerably lower wattage than traditional fluorescent, incandescent, halogen and even lower wattage than government endorsed compact fluorescent globes. These lower energy uses simply translate to lower energy bills for your household or business.

The longer life of up to 50000 hours as opposed to traditional lights of less than 10000 hours, means for every one LED you have installed, you would have in the past replaced about 5-8 traditional lights whilst not having to touch the LED, drastically lowering replacement and maintenance costs.

In an economic environment of increasing energy costs, labour costs, and workers compensation costs, can your business really afford the time to perform this challenging work, or can you afford the risk of injury to a worker changing a difficult globe regularly?

Occupational Health and Safety

As workers compensation costs rise, and the average claim increasing, businesses operating with best practice are always looking for methods to reduce this costly impact on businesses. It is a fact that people performing manual work are more likely to have a workplace injury, multiply that likelihood again by someone climbing a ladder and performing work above their heads. The need to perform this work cannot be eliminated, but the frequency of it can be reduced. Some businesses outsource this work simply for OHS reasons. Why pay someone to come and change a lightbulb 5-8 times more than is needed?

Have you ever worked in an office with humming and flickering fliursecent tubes? LED lights have the benefit of immediate start, no noise output and they do not flicker, even when at the end of their life. So say goodbye to headaches and eye strain!

Temperature

Lighting can have a significant impact on the temperature of a space. Particularly areas with high concentration of lighting, or large amounts of halogen down lights. LED’s have a low operating temperature, which significantly reduces the heat output into the surrounding area. Businesses operating air-conditioning units would know the cost association with cooling the work areas and this again represents another means of saving the business money.

Lighting that runs hot, such as halogen down lights not only heat the globe, but cause large amount of heat to transfer through the wiring and into the transformer, providing many opportunities for failure. As the LED equivalent runs at less than 40 degrees, the load on the transformer is reduced and the light and surrounding areas are not uncomfortably hot.

As the LED equivalent runs at less than 40 degrees, the load on the transformer is reduced and the light and surrounding areas are not uncomfortably hot.

Ease of Substitution

Changing from traditional lighting to new LED technology does not necessarily mean changing all the light fittings and fixtures, instead most LED products are simply substitutes for traditional lights and can be swapped as easily as pulling out the old and pushing in the new. This can present a large benefit to organisations and households as it does not bring with it large installation costs, and particularly in a home environment can be completed by the home owner.

Safety

Traditional globes are made of very thin sections of glass and as a result, on occasion, one may be dropped or smashed. The small glass particles can pose a large safety hazard to children in a domestic environment, or members of the public in a commercial environment. LED lighting does not contain glass, instead is made of aluminium and polycarbonates which pose no danger if they are broken, therefore providing the owner piece of mind.