Why choose LED lighting?

There are a lot of light bulbs available on the market right now and there is a lot of advertising telling customers to go in one direction or the other. So how in a storm of information can you decide which one is the right option for you? Although there are great benefits to just about any bulb, there are some specifics to know that can help you make a decision, regardless of the brand or type of bulb that you choose.

To begin with it is good to understand that LED lighting technology has actually been around for quite some time. The first bulb was a red LED (light emitting diode) that was made to be an alternative to the incandescent being proposed by engineers for an indicator light in a display panel.

The result of this project was an incredibly efficient and highly durable bulb that has become a highly sought after replacement to standard household and business lighting. LED lighting has been so effective partially because of the fact that it is constructed without using a filament. The solid construction renders it resistant to vibration and impact, and it is capable of producing a powerful light without the additional heat that is typically associated with it.

With the added durability, these bulbs are able to also have incredible life spans. The incandescent bulb, which has been the staple of the Western home, has a life cycle of about 750 hours. This means it can run without needing replaced for over a month strait. The compact fluorescent, which was created as a better initial solution for traditional lighting, lasts for 10,000 hours. This is much better then the standard bulb, giving it continuous usage that can sustain for over a year without needing replaced. LED lighting can last much longer then anything on the market, averaging about 100,000 hours or 11 and a half years – great for Christmas Lights! Additionally one of the other aspects that are highly attractive is their overall cost, although you might not guess so when first looking at them. Traditional bulbs generally cost about $1.99 a piece, where LEDs often run as high as $20 for a single bulb. To have the amount of incandescent bulbs necessary to keep a room illuminated for the same amount of time a single LED could, you would need to spend over $250. That is a significant amount of savings.

Not only are the savings and durability great, but LED lighting also offers a tremendous savings in energy costs. The LED utilizes only a small portion of the energy it takes to power a standard bulb. For example, the 40 watt bulb could be replaced with LEDs that only consume 1.5 watts. Using traditional lighting may work for some, but a small initial investment can yield big results when making the change over to LED bulbs.