What is LED Advantage? - (AddTime：2014-07-09)

1. Efficiency LEDs are extremely energy efficient and consumeup to 90% less power than incandescent bulbs. Since LEDs use only a fraction of the energy of an incandescent light bulb there is a dramatic decrease in power costs. Also, money and energy is saved in maintenance and replacement costs due to the long LED lifespan. Although LEDs have a higher initial cost than incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs, the cost is quickly recouped over time in lower electricity costs. If you use traditional lighting and have an electricity bill of e.g US$ 100, then US$ 80 of that money has been used to heat the room, not to light it! Using LED illumination with 80% efficiency, the electricity costs would be around US$ 20 and you’d have saved around US$ 80.

2. Longevity LEDs have a lifespan of up to 60,000 hours compared to 1,500 hours for incandescent bulbs. An LED light will last over 7 years (constant use) before needing replacement. On average, LED bulbs last 10 times as long as compact fluorescent bulbs, and 133 times longer than typical incandescent bulbs. Long lifespan of LEDs will dramatically reduce maintenance costs and lower long-term operating costs compared to traditional incandescent and fluorescent tubes. LED lifespan scenarios:

- 50,000 hours powered 4 hours/day = 34 year lifespan
- 50,000 hours powered 8 hours/day = 17 year lifespan
- 50,000 hours powered 24 hours/day = 6 year lifespan

3. Durability
LEDs are solid state lighting devices that utilize semiconductor material instead of a filament or neon gas. An LED light is a tiny chip encapsulated in an epoxy resin enclosure, which makes LEDs far sturdier than traditional incandescent light bulbs or fluorescent tubes. Since LEDs don't use fragile components such as glass and filaments, LEDs are able to withstand shock, vibration and extreme temperature.

4. Safety
Improved safety may be LED's most important benefit LED lights generate virtually no heat therefore they are cool to the touch and can be left on for hours without incident or consequence if touched. LED's produce 3.4 btu's/hour, compared to 85 for incandescent bulbs. In comparison, incandescent lighting expels 90% of the energy it consumes via heat, making the bulbs hot to the touch. LEDs reduce the potential for safety risks such as burns and fires.

5. Zero UV Emissions
LED illumination produces little infrared light and close to no UV emissions. Because of this, LED lighting is highly suitable not only for goods and materials that are sensitive to heat due to the benefit of little radiated heat emission, but also for illumination of UV sensitive objects or materials such a in museums, art galleries, archeological sites etc.

6. Instant Lighting & Frequent Switching
LED lights brighten up immediately and when powered on, which has great advantages for infrastructure projects such as e.g traffic and signal lights. Also, LED lights can switched off and on frequently and without affecting the LED’s lifetime or light emission. In contrast, traditional lighting may take several seconds to reach full brightness, and frequent on/off switching does drastically reduce operational life expectancy.
7. Low-Voltage
A low-voltage power supply is sufficient for LED illumination. This makes it easy to use LED lighting also in outdoor settings, by connecting an external solar-energy source and is a big advantage when it comes to using LED technology in remote or rural areas.

8. Environment
LEDs are made from non toxic materials, unlike fluorescent lighting that uses mercury that may pose a danger to the environment. LED’s are also recyclable and considered “green” or Earth-Friendly.

9.Color
LED lights are offered in a variety of base colors such as Red, Green, Blue and Amber. Because traditional incandescent light bulbs use filters to produce colors, they are extremely inefficient. LEDS can be blended together to produce millions of color options.

10. Future
LEDs are poised to replace traditional incandescent light bulbs. LEDs are rapidly becoming the preferred lighting solution of both professionals and residential users. LED technology is continually advancing - producing brighter LED bulbs. The U.S. Department of Energy hopes to reduce the electricity used for lighting by 50% by converting to LED based light sources.

11. Uses
LEDs are currently used for a wide variety of different applications such as: residential lighting, aerospace industry, architectural, automotive, broadcasting, electronic instrumentation, entertainment and gaming, the military, traffic and transportation. Since LEDs are focused lights they prove best at specific lighting tasks such as desk lamps, reading lights, night lights, security lights, spot lights, accent lights and lighting for signage.