Archive for the ‘LED lights’ tag
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Understanding the various types and features of LED lights are necessary if you want to purchase the most suitable one to serve your need. The market has no shortage of these lights which differ in their hues, level of light they provide, power consuming nature and different angles of viewing. When you decide to buy an LED light you should consider the various features of the lights and your requirement.
Till recently wattage meant brightness levels to us. As far as traditional lightings are concerned it is true even now. But, according to the concept of LED, watts do not determine the brightness. LED bulbs are highly economical with very less power consumption. At the same time, they provide lighting as bright as any conventional method of lighting. Traditional bulbs had 70 w and 100 w ratings whereas LED’s have watt ratings from 1 to 5. Its not surprising people who saw it first time eyed it with skepticism. The low cost of operation of LED lights have been proved beyond doubt.
LED bulbs are designed to give light at specific areas. They do not scatter or spread light all around the room. This is actually useful as it is a waste in certain areas. A reading desk do not need light to be scattered, instead it needs light to be focused. LED’s with more intense focus and wider focus too are available for your requirement.
A showcase which holds a curio to display needs a tightly focused light, whereas a reading table needs a slightly spread out beam. It is for the consumer to decide what he should install and where.
Lastly, what you should be clear, are the connection needs of your LED lightings. Verify the electrical requirements of your lighting and decide where you fix them. Once you get a good idea of what to look for, you can make your shopping more successful.
LED lighting is becoming very popular these days. Click here to know more about LED lights
Why You Should Change to LED Lights no comments
LED lights have been commonly available since the early 1960s yet ask most people and they’ll only be able to think of electronic calculators or Christmas lights as appliances that incorporate these types of bulb. Recently manufacturers have discovered ways of expanding their use, and it is now possible to buy super bright torches, outdoor lights, and even indoor bulbs that use LED technology instead of less efficient older style bulbs.
The biggest reason to switch to LED lighting is that the energy used compared to the light emitted is only a fraction of the power used by other light sources, and that saves money where it is needed most, in our pocket. Most light emitting diodes (LEDs) use less than 20% of the power that other bulbs use, and that can make a substantial difference over a year.
LEDs are also better for the environment since they are ultra compact meaning the amount of metal contained within them is much less that standard tungsten light bulbs, and that means we mine less of the earth’s precious minerals, and since they contain no mercury, they are easier to dispose of.
A further advantage is that most manufacturers now produce LED bulbs with traditional screw-in or plug-in connectors allowing them to be retrofitted in homes and offices without incurring expensive electrical work to modify light housings.
As well, LED lights are much longer lasting than other forms of lighting, typically an LED will last anywhere from 30,000 hours up to 100,000 hours, and at 8 hours per day that could give you 10-30 years use from a single bulb. LED lights also produce a consistent light that doesn’t fluctuate so won’t annoy your eyes, and since they don’t emit ultraviolet light they can be used effectively to illuminate precious objects such as paintings, photographs, collections etc.
If you enjoyed this article by Andy, he offers great advice about LED reading glasses on his newest project, the LED desk light shop.
CFL and LED Lights – How Much Can You Save? no comments
By 2012 we won’t be able to even purchase incandescent light bulbs. So, switching to CFLs or LEDs won’t be a matter of choice, but of mandate. Maybe, you’ll feel better about the switch if you know just how much electricity and dollars it may end up saving you.
In my small 3bed/2bath home with basement and two car garage, I counted 24 lights (that included the individual lights over the mirrors in the bathrooms). That number also includes the ceiling lights which have two or three sockets each for a grand total of 36 bulbs. According to EnergyStar.gov, each CFL bulb I use, could equate to a $30 to $47 savings over the life of the bulb. To reach my own savings, I used the following data: cost per type of bulb, wattage per bulb, total number of bulbs, kilowatt hours used(KWh), and cost per KWh to calculate my total energy consumption and related costs. To determine my cost per KWh, here in Georgia, I used the average cost per KWh of 10.19 cents. (Source Energy Information Administration: Nov 2009)
Incandescent Bulbs
To calculate how much electricity I was consuming using incadenscents I used this formula:
watts used per bulb per day* the number of bulbs*365 days = the total wattage
60 watts *36 bulbs* 365 = 788400 total watts per year.
To calculate my energy costs:
watts/watts per KWh*my cost per KWh
788400/1000 *.1019 = $80.33. That’s the total cost of electricity for all my lights
To calculate the total cost I needed to add in the cost of the bulbs. I assumed that each bulb would last 1 year at an hour per day.
Cost of one bulb * the number of bulbs
.84 per bulb * 36 bulbs = $30.12
So the total cost for all my lights: $80.33 + $30.12 = $110.57
CLF Bulbs
Assuming I switch all my lights to CFLs, I used the same formulas The CFL bulbs I currently have use 14 watts per bulb and give me the same type of ambient light that a 60 watt bulb would. The cost of these bulbs was 7.97 for a 4 pack of bulbs. (Home Depot) So each bulb cost me $2.00 (rounded up from 1.9925) Most companies guarantee CFL bulbs for 5-6 years, so the cost breaks down even further to.40 per year per bulb. ($2.00 divided by the useful life of 5 years.)
Energy usage:
14 watts * 36 bulbs * 365 days = 183,960 total watts
Electricity Costs:
183,960/1000 *.1019 = $18.75 total cost of electricity
Total cost of bulbs per year
$.40 * 36 = $14.40
Total costs:
$18.75 + $14.40= $33.15
LED Lights
LED lights are expensive, by my standards. They range in price from $29.95 (on sale) to $99.95. The best regular priced light I found was 39.95, but the most common price for an LED light that gave off a soft white light was $49.95. That’s the price I used to calculate the costs for using LED lights. The good news for these lights is that they last for 20 years and only use 7.5 watts. So, if I spent $49.95 for one bulb, that would make my yearly cost to be $2.50 (rounded up from $2.4975).
Energy Usage
7.5 watts * 36 bulbs* 365 days = 98,550 total watts
Cost of energy
98,550/1000 *.1019 = $10.04
Total cost of bulbs:
$2.50 * 36 bulbs = $96.00
Total costs
$10.04 + $96.00 = $106.04
This analysis clearly shows that incandescent bulbs are the most expensive overall. CFLs come out as the most cost effective. However, there are drawbacks to the CFL as they require special handling for recycling due to the mercury content (small though it may be). While we should all be concerned about saving energy and money, we don’t know yet what impact the mercury content in CFLs will have on landfills and other waste management systems. We attempted to clean up mercury in the air and in our ground water back in the 70s by regulating the amount of mercury emissions manufacturing and power plants could release, and mecury contamination is still a problem. Let’s be careful not to make it an even more serious contamination problem. If you’re going to use CFLs, please, recycle properly.
LED light bulbs, while more expensive than CFL’s, use far less energy. They contain no toxic material, and the plastic contained in them can be made from other recycled plastic, and they can be recycled into other plastic items. While the LED lights appeal to my overall philosophy, if I went out and purchased 36 LED bulbs, my initial investment would be $1,798. I don’t know about you, but that’s way out of my budget!
There are some lights in my home that are on most of the day. I work out of the house, so the lights in the basement office are on all day and into the evening. Currently, they are all CFLs. I’m considering switching to LEDs for these lights and any others that are on most of the day. The bulbs will last for 20 years and only use a fraction of the power of any other type of bulb.
We have already seen the price of CFLs drop considerably over the past few years. The laws of supply and demand will, hopefully, also drive the price of LED lights down to a more affordable investment. I’ll be watching the prices.
If you want to see how much you too can save, just plug your numbers into the formulas above. Enjoy!
About the Author
Ashford Langley researches and writes for StreetWise Green. StreetWise Green is an internet marketing company dedicated to providing factual information about alternative energy resources, products, projects and much more.
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