LED lights are considered to be environment friendly, long lasting and the best choice for indoor home lighting. Many studies have concluded that the age old incandescent light bulbs consumes a lot of energy and hence not ideal for domestic use. In US the Congress has declared that incandescent light bulbs should be phased out from American homes by 2014.
CFL or Compact Fluorescent Lamp is being touted as the No. 1 choice for replacement. But these are not free from drawbacks. The CFL lamps contain mercury. The amount is small but it is enough to cause serious health and environment concerns. These bulbs are becoming popular as they are fast replacing the incandescent bulbs. The main concern of health experts is that improper disposal of CFL lamps may pollute our environment. This can lead to severe health problems like neural damage, kidney damage, and birth defects. Many might argue that the mercury level in CFL lamps is so low that it is not a cause for any concern. But this small amount of mercury is capable of damaging the atmosphere.
Benefits of LED Light Bulbs
The LED light bulbs use less energy and give more light/unit of power consumed. The chances of burn out are also very less. The modern LED room lights have a life span of 50,000 hours which is around 30 times more than normal incandescent lamps and almost twice that of CFL lamps. This means that a single LED light bulb can work for 11 years. This means there is no need for regular bulb replacement. In offices the maintenance cost for incandescent bulbs is huge. LED light bulbs are a good solution for the offices and skyscrapers. Again LED light bulbs converts 80% electrical energy to light energy. But in the traditional bulbs almost 80% of electrical energy is lost as heat. LED lights are considered to be the best choice for home lighting. These lamps produce less heat and electricity and has no mercury. They do not get damaged easily as the emitters are within a plastic case. The LED light bulbs do not blow out within a year unlike the traditional bulbs.
Drawbacks of LED Light Bulbs
The cost is the biggest drawback of LED light bulbs. These bulbs usually cost between $30.00 to $90.00 which is a real dampener. Since the manufacturing process is complex, the cost is usually high for LED light bulbs. The process is to fit a number of LEDs so that the intensity and color each light is enough to light a room. There is also a technology which reduces any kind of heat produced by the LEDs so that they work at the optimum capacity. Variations in heat and humidity can affect the performance of LED light bulbs. These fluctuations can shorten the life of the LED light bulbs too.
Choosing the Right LED Light Bulbs
LED light bulbs which are used for room illumination contain a number of light-emitting diodes. A 10 watt LED light bulb has the same intensity as a 50 watt incandescent bulb. You need to choose bulbs which are in the 2500 to 4000 Kelvin range for domestic use. The brightness of the light is directly proportional to high Kelvin range. If the range is low, then a soft, yellow light will be produced. Always remember that wide angle beams are best for room lighting. So you need to keep an eye on the beam angle of any bulb to get the best result.
Future of LED Lighting
Since LED lighting is a new concept the prices of these products are astronomically high. But there is a hope that the manufacturing processes will become streamlined and this will bring down the price of the LED bulbs. However, it will never come down to the price level of the incandescent bulbs. But if you compare the cost of the LED bulbs with the life span of these, then you will understand that the real difference. The main advantage is you need not climb up every now and then to change the incandescent bulbs.