Find out why you should stop using fluorescent, halogen and other technologies.
LEDs have conquered the traditional lighting market for many reasons, but mainly because they last longer, use less energy and require less maintenance. The DOE believes that by 2030, LED lighting could save 190 terawatt hours of electricity per year, equivalent to $15 billion. As the cost of purchasing lamps and luminaires continues to fall, more and more facility managers are looking to modernise their lighting systems with LEDs. LEDs offer a number of advantages over older technologies. Here are eight benefits that all shop owners should think about:
1 | Good energy use
LED lights use around half the electricity as traditional incandescent, fluorescent and halogen lights. This can save a lot of money on energy costs, especially in places where lights are on for long periods. LEDs also direct light in a certain direction, which is different from ordinary bulbs, which send light and heat in all directions (because LEDs are mounted on a flat surface, they emit light hemispherically rather than spherically). This ability to direct light reduces light and energy wastage.
2 | Lifespan
LEDs don’t “burn out” like incandescent lamps, they just get dimmer over time. Depending on the quality of the lamp or luminaire, a good LED should last between 30,000 and 50,000 hours or more. An average incandescent bulb only lasts around 1,000 hours, while a similar compact fluorescent bulb lasts between 8,000 and 10,000 hours. Thanks to their longer lifespan, LEDs enable businesses to save on the labour costs involved in replacing bulbs, which in turn reduces lighting system maintenance.
3 | Working in cold weather
LEDs are not afraid of the cold like fluorescent lamps. At low temperatures, it takes more voltage to light fluorescent lamps, and the luminous flux, i.e. the intensity of the light, decreases. LEDs, on the other hand, work better at lower temperatures. For this reason, LEDs are a natural choice for refrigerated display cases, freezers and cold stores, as well as for outdoor uses such as car parks, building perimeters and signs. In tests conducted by the DOE, the efficiency of a refrigerated display case LED lamp (measured in lumens per watt, like miles per gallon) was 5% higher at -5°C than at 25°C.
4 | Durability
LEDs are difficult to break because they don’t have filaments or glass housings. They are also little affected by vibrations and other impacts. The exterior of traditional lighting is often made of glass or quartz, which can break easily. LEDs, on the other hand, generally do not use glass. Instead, they are mounted on a printed circuit board and connected by soldered wires that can break if hit directly, but no more so than mobile phones and other small electronic devices.
5 | Right away
Most fluorescent and HID lamps do not emit all their light as soon as they are switched on. In fact, many take three minutes or more to reach full brightness. LEDs, on the other hand, come on at full power almost instantly and don’t take long to come back on. This can be useful in the event of a power cut or when people open a building early in the morning while it’s still dark outside.
6 | Fast cycle
Traditional light sources tend to last less time when they are switched on and off quickly, but LEDs are not affected by this phenomenon. For this reason, LEDs can also be used as flashing light displays and with presence or daylight sensors.
7 – Ease of control
Commercial fluorescent lighting systems can cost more than a few dollars to make them dimmable, but LEDs, which are made of semiconductors, can be used with controls right out of the box. Some LEDs can be dimmed to 10% of full brightness, whereas most fluorescent lamps can only reach 30% of full brightness. LEDs can also be dimmed continuously rather than in steps (the transition from 100% to 10% brightness is then smooth, without steps).
8 | No IR or UV rays
Less than 10% of the energy used by incandescent lamps is transformed into visible light. The rest of the energy is transformed into infrared (IR) or heat that is radiated. People and objects can be burnt by too much heat and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. LEDs almost never give off IR or UV light. LED lighting technology is improving rapidly, and further improvements are on the way. As a result, LEDs have become cheaper and more reliable. Although it may be tempting to think that LEDs are the best choice for all applications because they consume less energy, the choice must be based on a number of factors, such as the quality and distribution of the light, the possibility of dimming and the expected lifetime.