Green Renewable Energy

LED Lighting comes in many different types, shapes and sizes for different purposes. It is useful and advantageous in many different fields ranging from simple home décor to architectural design and medical lighting. Many LED industry leaders provide different kinds of LED lights to their customers including rope lights, strips, bulbs, pre-wired single LEDs, outdoor lights, sign displays, floodlights and spotlights. There are other types of LEDs as well used as indicators in electronic devices, in flashlights and as car lights. These lights also come handy while designing a motion sensing security system for home or office safety and protection against burglars.

LED traffic control system is also very popular across the globe. These small lights in different colors are made to operate continuously for directing traffic coming from different directions. Alerts and warning signs are also made by using these types of lights. Flashlights make use of LEDs because of their light weight and extremely powerful nature. They can last for many hours even if required for constant and steady operation. Most of these lights have 2 to 3 miles visibility and are therefore excellent to be used as danger alerts and warnings.

Semiconductor materials used in the making of LEDs include gallium phosphide, indium gallium nitride, diamond, zinc selenide, silicon, silicon carbide and some others. These lights do not contain mercury and are therefore useful for safe operations such as using around children and pets. Safety products such as LED safety flashers are very common all over the world. Emergency flares and other types of lights come under this category. LED Lighting is also widely employed for interior design such as outdoor powerful lighting and under cabinet lighting. LED strips are often used for this purpose along with decorating the interior of cars and making an LED pet leash.

LED under car kits are also becoming increasingly popular in today’s fast-moving and modern world. These state-of-the-art lights are used to create an under-car lighting halo which looks beautiful from a distance. Many people who are fond of decorating their cars use these kinds of lights. Their specifications include display of 2.1 million colors, many levels of flash speed, music displays, water proof and shatter proof, and requirement of 12V DC power. It is a multi-functional kit which comes very handy for different purposes. The best thing about this device is that it not expensive at all and lasts for a long time to come.

LED Lighs can be used for so many exciting purposes and decorative uses that you simply cannot ignore their importance. The night reader lamps that make use of LED Lights are also popular among people of all ages. Their height and angle can be adjusted accordingly and therefore can be used as table lamps and for reading in bed. LED bulbs are used for household uses ranging from kitchen lighting to simple yet attractive decoration. Strip and rope lights are available to be used for wedding and Christmas celebrations.

The uses of LED Lighting are unlimited. This kind of lighting is not only powerful but also very cost-effective. Because of this reason, many manufacturers are now providing different types of LED lights for almost all kinds of uses. These include ambient and architectural lighting, medical and portable lights, 3mm and 5mm small LEDs for electrical experiments, and single, ready-to-use LEDs for installation on unconventional surfaces like rocks and in aquariums. In addition to these, many companies also provide popular LED accessories including transformers, dimmers, voltage doublers, motion sensors, voltage regulators, and installation accessories. All these equipment and devices come very handy for all kinds of lighting purposes.

LED lighting is often overlooked in ‘green building’ literature while more expensive and less satisfactory environmental solutions are pursued. The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the benefits of LED lighting, and to argue that LED lighting should be considered an essential element of any ‘green’ building, house, or construction project. Let’s start with some of the benefits of LEDs. Pardon the list but there are so many it is difficult to work it into a paragraph.

LED light uses 80% less energy than incandescent lighting.
LED lighting produces 500% more light per Watt.
LED lights have lenses that focus the light into a pattern of equal distribution adding to energy savings as light is not wasted bouncing in unneeded directions.
LED lights do not produce as much heat. This can save on energy and maintenance costs.
LED lights do not emit significant UV or IR radiation. IR is back to the heat issue, and UV is something we generally try to avoid.
LED lights last 50,000 hours or about 25 times longer than incandescent lights. This saves obviously on maintenance and disposal.
LED lights do not contain mercury common in fluorescents.

The above is meant to be a list of environmental benefits. There are other aesthetic benefits of LEDs. For one the color temperature can be precisely controlled. Secondly, the lenses allow for better lighting rendition. This pretty much summarizes most of the benefits, and there are not any environmental risks posed by LEDs. I would simply note that while other green technologies may have some difficult drawbacks to overcome that the advantages of LED lighting are fairly strait forward and clear cut.

If there was an apparent drawback, at least from the consumer perspective, it would be the expense. An LED PAR38 12 Watt light can cost 10 times as much an incandescent light. In fact, however, the expense of LEDs is not a drawback at all. Once, energy and replacement costs are figured in the LED lights actually save money. Simply consider the cost of 24 extra replacements of the incandescent light. Then factor the extra energy use and its really not even close. We did not include that in the summer LEDs put less load on the air conditioning. Its clear the LED light ultimately saves money, but many are reluctant to purchase due to the longer term of the payback.

So if your convinced, and you want to ‘go LED’ what are some of the best products? In fact there is a broad spectrum of lighting possibilities. Everything from PAR lights to recessed ceiling lights are available all at costs that payback before too long. You should also consider the source of your LEDs. The best LEDs (in this authors opinion) are produced by CREE and SSC. CREE is a US company and SSC is in Korea. The LED fixtures may be made by any manufacturer but try to verify the source of the LEDs.

Finally, the real benefit of LEDs is that they are cool. Yes, they are not as hot as incandescent lights, but I mean they are cool. When you see the lights and what they do it is impressive. Considering how important lighting is LEDs represent the best solution and they are available today.