How To Get On Board With Domestic Led Lighting

Where household is concerned the future is already settled

. Established lighting technology as represented by incandescent bulbs and Compact Fluorescent Lamps doesn't have much to commend it in a low energy, low carbon world. Light Emitting Diodes by contrast are based on technology much the same as that which powered the computer revolution - and look how that turned out.

The trouble with normal incandescent bulbs is that scarcely one tenth of the power they use is turned into light - most disappears as heat. This is not good news for the environment as it both consumes ever diminishing supplies of energy and adds yet more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. It also obviously costs an awful lot financially to waste energy this way.

CFLs are marginally better but no so much so that we can ignore their downsides, principally that once used they are effectively hazardous waste due to the mercury content. Admittedly a small amount per bulb but it all adds up. They have also never been in any danger of winning a beauty contest.

The current generation of LEDs are about ten times more energy efficient than incandescent equivalents and don't suffer from the problems that have plagued CFLs. They're also comparatively tiny, very robust and out last established light bulbs (somewhere in the order of 25 to 50 times longer).

Well that's great, so why aren't we all using LED lights then? Partly ignorance about the economics involved and partially ignorance about the products themselves and how best to use them. On the financial side, most folks consider the comparative purchase prices (LEDs are a lot more pricey) and don't factor in the running costs (LED's are in fact the cheaper option by miles, despite costing more).

Installing LED lamps in the home is also a topic with its fair share of confusion and misinformation. There is no shortage of people moaning that LED lights are not bright enough for use in the household. What they are really saying is that they bought under powered products, either through ignorance or penny pinching, but expected better performance than they got. Choosing a 1.5w LED over a 6w is basically the same as buying a normal 15w instead of 60w bulb.

But getting the power level right is only one part of the process. You need to use LED lights in a different way because their light is different - distinctly whiter, brighter and more focused. In fact, exactly what designers of halogen spot lights have been trying to create for years, hence their use as ultra low energy replacements for halogens. Being so small they can also (unlike CFLs) be packaged into either of the popular MR16 12v or GU10 line voltage formats.

Because LED lights give out hardly any heat either they can be used in places that no-one would dare place a hot halogen lamp. This has the advantage that they can be easily concealed and consequently create indirect light by reflecting off adjacent surfaces. The effect is a considerably warmer and soft effect since the reflected light is not only spread out but catches whatever color is present in the surface.

by: Annabel Schiavone

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