More widely used in applications like automotive lighting, advertising and traffic lights, LED’s are now bright enough to replace fluorescent bulbs in the home environment. They offer lower energy consumption, longer life and increased robustness when compared to fluorescent lighting. Apart from general home lighting use, their high concentration of light make them well suited for niche applications like display lighting, garden lighting or artwork spot lights.
What you need to know:
- LED’s have very long life and are very small allowing for discrete, low maintenance lighting within the home
- LED’s offer a more direct and brighter light source than comparable fluorescent lighting
- LED’s are considerably more expensive than comparable fluorescent lighting but they last more than four times longer (fluorescent – 8000 Hours vs. LED – 50000 hours)
- Fluorescent lighting tends to burn out at the end of its life while LEDS gradually loose performance at the end of their life
- LEDS use considerably less electricity – between 2 and 17 watts
- Performance can be slightly affected by changes in room temperature
- LED’s emit less heat during operation
- LED’s are mercury free
- Because LED’s require low power requirements, it makes sense to use solar power instead of tapping from your main electricity supply.