Because of their many advantages over traditional incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs, LED lights are poised to transform all forms of lighting. Selecting and purchasing LED lights requires buyers to learn new terminology.
As most people probably know by now, LED stands for light-emitting diode. LEDs are actually semiconductors (just like computer chips) that produce light more efficiently than traditional light sources. When electricity is passed through them, they emit energy in the form of light. These semiconductors are doped or injected with chemicals that determine their light color.
So, what should you know when purchasing LED lights bulbs? The following list provides some basic guidelines:
1. While the initial cost per bulb is still high, the total lifetime cost of an LED light bulb is actually lower than that of equivalent incandescent and CFL bulbs. Taking into consideration energy costs as well as time and resources required to replace incandescent and CFL bulbs, an LED bulb that lasts 80,000 hours has a much lower lifetime cost.
2. LEDs are diverse, and - as unlucky purchasers are all too likely to find out the hard way - many types are useless for general lighting applications. The finest LED chips emit light with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 85%. The CRI, by the way, is a quantitative measure of the ability of a light source to reproduce the colors of various objects faithfully in comparison with an ideal or natural light source.
3. Contrary to what you may read some places, LEDs do generate heat, and this heat is actually the biggest problem that manufacturers face developing LED lighting applications. Manufacturers can now produce individual LED chips that are as bright as a 100-watt incandescent bulb, but these LEDs are practically useless for general lighting because installing them in a fixture creates ventilation problems that have not yet been solved. LEDs installed in fixtures and bulbs must be ventilated properly, and the better the chip, the more difficult it is to properly cool.
4. While LED light bulbs do last much longer than conventional bulbs, look closely at manufacturer claims for bulb life. The life-span of an LED light bulb should be its "half-life." LED light bulbs do not burn out; rather, they gradually fade out. When a vendor says an LED replacement bulbs will last 80,000 hours, they mean that at that point, the chips will have reached 50% efficiency, and the bulb ought to be replaced. So, the bulb might last 100,000 hours or more, but its efficiency will have degraded greatly by that point. Using this 100,000-hour life as a selling point is therefore misleading. While LEDs don't last forever, they will last 50-75 times longer than a comparable incandescent and 6-8 times longer than a CFL.
5. Searching the web, you will quickly find that the LED light bulb market is inundated with product. Many of these bulbs are relatively inexpensive (less than $20); however, you may find that many of these LED bulbs consist of questionable materials and dubious craftsmanship. Good LED light bulbs cost more than these cheap ones because they use high-quality chips with prices firmly set by reputable manufacturers like Cree. This means that though these LED light bulbs are more expensive, they are far superior.
6. When comparing LED light bulbs, you need to understand lumens. The lumen is a standard unit you can use to compare LED light bulbs to standard bulbs, such as incandescents and halogens. Roughly, a lumen is a measure of brightness. Lumen quantity is important, but maybe more important is lumen quality, i.e., luminous efficacy (lumen/Watt). Today's quality LEDs have a luminous efficacy between 60-70 lumens/watt.
For more information on Ai LED light bulbs, pls visit Ai LED replacement bulbs
So, what should you know when purchasing LED lights bulbs? The following list provides some basic guidelines:
1. While the initial cost per bulb is still high, the total lifetime cost of an LED light bulb is actually lower than that of equivalent incandescent and CFL bulbs. Taking into consideration energy costs as well as time and resources required to replace incandescent and CFL bulbs, an LED bulb that lasts 80,000 hours has a much lower lifetime cost.
2. LEDs are diverse, and - as unlucky purchasers are all too likely to find out the hard way - many types are useless for general lighting applications. The finest LED chips emit light with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 85%. The CRI, by the way, is a quantitative measure of the ability of a light source to reproduce the colors of various objects faithfully in comparison with an ideal or natural light source.
3. Contrary to what you may read some places, LEDs do generate heat, and this heat is actually the biggest problem that manufacturers face developing LED lighting applications. Manufacturers can now produce individual LED chips that are as bright as a 100-watt incandescent bulb, but these LEDs are practically useless for general lighting because installing them in a fixture creates ventilation problems that have not yet been solved. LEDs installed in fixtures and bulbs must be ventilated properly, and the better the chip, the more difficult it is to properly cool.
4. While LED light bulbs do last much longer than conventional bulbs, look closely at manufacturer claims for bulb life. The life-span of an LED light bulb should be its "half-life." LED light bulbs do not burn out; rather, they gradually fade out. When a vendor says an LED replacement bulbs will last 80,000 hours, they mean that at that point, the chips will have reached 50% efficiency, and the bulb ought to be replaced. So, the bulb might last 100,000 hours or more, but its efficiency will have degraded greatly by that point. Using this 100,000-hour life as a selling point is therefore misleading. While LEDs don't last forever, they will last 50-75 times longer than a comparable incandescent and 6-8 times longer than a CFL.
5. Searching the web, you will quickly find that the LED light bulb market is inundated with product. Many of these bulbs are relatively inexpensive (less than $20); however, you may find that many of these LED bulbs consist of questionable materials and dubious craftsmanship. Good LED light bulbs cost more than these cheap ones because they use high-quality chips with prices firmly set by reputable manufacturers like Cree. This means that though these LED light bulbs are more expensive, they are far superior.
6. When comparing LED light bulbs, you need to understand lumens. The lumen is a standard unit you can use to compare LED light bulbs to standard bulbs, such as incandescents and halogens. Roughly, a lumen is a measure of brightness. Lumen quantity is important, but maybe more important is lumen quality, i.e., luminous efficacy (lumen/Watt). Today's quality LEDs have a luminous efficacy between 60-70 lumens/watt.
For more information on Ai LED light bulbs, pls visit Ai LED replacement bulbs
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