What Exactly is an LED Light?
LED stands for light-emitting diode. A light-emitting diode is an electronic component that, when connected to a direct current, emits light. LEDs can emit light in the visible, infrared, and ultraviolet spectrums. LED lights are approximately 90% more efficient in producing light than their incandescent counterparts due to their low energy consumption, small size, and longer lifespan.
Evolution of LED Lights
Indicator lights on electronics, calculators, and watches were the first widespread use of LED lights. Ever notice that most of these indicator lights are red? That’s because the original metal contacts and lead mixture used in LEDs produced a natural red color.
In 1993 a breakthrough in the creation of LEDs lead to the understanding of the color properties and a broad spectrum of LED colored lights were created. Other scientific breakthroughs and advances in technology led to the once very pricey light to become widespread in the marketplace due to a significant reduction in cost. Seen in everything from watches, flashlights, tennis shoes, car headlights, and the optical computer mouse, LED lights have infiltrated many industries.
Benefits of LED
There are endless lists across the Internet speaking to the benefits of LED lights. The most notable of those benefits being their long lifespan, efficiency, and intelligence capabilities.
A LED light bulb has an expected lifespan of anywhere from 30,000- 50,000 hours, and in some cases, even more. That’s almost 6 years of non-stop light and if you are only using the light an average of 8 hours each day, you’ll get over 17 years of daily light from a single bulb. The long lifespan makes LED lights the perfect candidates for a variety of lighting needs:
- Indicator lights on electronics and appliances
- Dashboard lights on vehicles
- Public infrastructure lighting–stoplights, crosswalk signals, street lights, etc.
LED lighting options use, on average, 50% less electricity than their traditional counterparts. This leads to a fairly significant decrease in electric utility costs. The efficiency, coupled with the longevity, can seriously decrease upkeep, repair, and maintenance costs of both appliances and public infrastructure installations.
Finally, the intelligence capabilities of LED lights is quite impressive. Paired with sensors and controls, LED lights are used to build smarter, more sustainable, and efficient systems. LED light fixtures can come with daylight sensors and occupancy sensors which survey the changing environment or the room and adapt lighting accordingly. Consumers can download applications to communicate with their lighting systems via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth signal; so when you’ve already left for work and can’t remember if you turned off your kitchen light, your phone can remind you.
LED in Transportation
Using LED lighting technology in traditional street lighting systems has significant benefits. From everything from stoplights to highway lighting systems the use of LED lights can drastically reduce maintenance and replacement costs over time.
LED lights also create safer driving environments for drivers. One characteristic of LED lights is that they can illuminate almost immediately, eliminating any gaps in visibility for drivers. Additionally, the direction of LED light can be easily manipulated, ensuring an uninterrupted distribution of light across highways.
Interested in upgrading your lighting systems? ms can help you convert traditional street lighting into LED lighting systems. Send us an email at info@msconsultants.com and let us know how we can help you get started today!