LED Lighting 101
April 27, 2018
This years Green Week Seminar, held on Wednesday April 25th, dealt with the basics of LED lighting, and the advantages of switching from other fixtures and forms of illumination, to LED!
LED Light bulbs 101
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) continue turning up all over the place, AND THEY’VE GOTTEN MUCH CHEAPER! So what’s so great about these little lights? Why are we seeing more and more LED light bulbs cropping up on everything from cars to traffic and park lights? Why make the switch?
LED light bulbs last longer.
Without a filament to break or burn out, LED light bulbs can last for over 100,000 hours without showing their age (that’s over eleven years at full brightness). This lifespan is twice that of typical fluorescent bulbs and twenty times longer than incandescent light bulbs. Around Park Tower, we’ve seen this in areas such as the garage.
They are VERY energy efficient.
Typical incandescent light bulbs lose about 90 percent of their energy to heat, leaving only the last 10 percent for light. LED light bulbs turn this around, giving up approximately 10 percent of their energy to heat loss. Not only that, but they typically operate at 10 to 20 percent of the power required for incandescent bulbs of similar brightness.
LEDs can be much more colorful.
LED light bulbs can be made in a vast array of colors without the use of extra filters, which brings down production costs. They also provide a truer, brighter color than regular filtered bulbs. Good examples – the holiday lights we use.
LED light bulbs work in silence.
The days of humming bulbs came to an end with the creation of LEDs, so there’s no need to lose sanity listening to the thrum, tick, or ping of other light bulbs. Again, the garage is a good example. The LED fixtures are silent compared to the fluorescent tubes of the past. They had a ‘ballast’ which would hum and buzz. (It also used more electricity.)
They are incredibly safe!
With so little energy lost to heat and so little energy used overall, LED light bulbs run cool, which means fewer burnt fingers or burnt down homes. They are extremely durable thanks to their solid-state construction, so there’s no broken glass to deal with, either.
LED light is better focused.
LEDs can be made to focus without the use of extra reflectors or lenses, which means less bulk and lower cost for the same beam of light. At Park Tower, the new perimeter lighting is a good example.
They are the best for dimming.
Incandescent bulbs turn yellow when dimmed, while LED light bulbs retain their true colors.
LEDs are versatile.
Thanks to the wide array of colors and shapes LEDs can be made to replace most any light bulb (even halogens), and they are fantastic for designer jobs. Their diminutive size and power-sipping nature also open up a world of possibility, from infrared remote control lights to ultra-light headlamps, and lighting in “smart households”. Some bulbs can even be programmed from apps on your phone!
LED light bulbs bring light quickly.
Lighting up to their full brightness in microseconds, LEDs are a safer choice when reaction time is a factor, like when that car in the fast lane slams on the brakes.
Not only ECOnomical, but ECO-Friendly too…
LED light bulbs don’t contain mercury, like compact fluorescent bulbs which do. Combining that with the fact they outlast their energy efficient cousins, makes the choice to go LED clear as day. Replacing them only about every decade, means less stress on resources, and less garbage and waste!
Sources include – EcoDirect.com; Energy Star; GE.com
Some helpful links:
From EnergyStar: https://www.energystar.gov/products/lighting_fans/light_bulbs/learn_about_led_bulbs
From Mr. Electric: https://mrelectric.com/blog/where-to-begin-when-switching-to-led-light-bulbs
ALSO – Converting from 100 watt incandescent, or 60 watt, etc…What do you do? Try out this online conversion chart with that information and more:
Complimentary Smart Home Technology?
Try experimenting with some suggestions from a fellow owner, who is making use of smart home lighting right here at Park Tower, with materials and apps available now. Smart home enthusiasts have a growing list of toys and apps that take advantage of LED bulbs and wifi technology:
- Smart bulbs and their flavors: there are the bulbs that run the gamut of colors. Good for both accent and background lighting. There are also “white” bulbs that can vary from warm sunlight to cool fluorescent and can be set for reading, relaxing, intense studying, etc.
- There are apps that can magnify their usefulness to sync with music or video input. Philips Hue is updating their app so that you can input your HDMI cable and it will match its colors to whatever is showing on your TV screen. When we have company, I use an app called “Ambify” that takes audio input (using a microphone on iPads or iPhones, or audio output from my laptop) and syncs the lights to the beat.
Search “Philips Hue” or “Ambify” or:
and…
http://apps4hue.com/product/ambify-2/
- There are also smart outlets (including dimmers) from lots of companies that can set up your lights (or other plug-ins) to turn on-off at different times (based on local sunrise/sunset, as opposed to an old-world timer you could plug in), or based upon whatever conditions you might set up for your home.
Just one example, those available from AMAZON:
Search “Smart Outlets”, or:
- And, of course, Amazon Alexa or similar devices from Apple or Google can make everything voice-activated, which is also way fun. One example, we have Alexa set up so when we say “Computer, time for work”, our stereo starts playing songs from a particular playlist as background music. “Computer, I’m done” turns the whole thing off. Similarly, “Computer, good night” turns off all the main lights and our TV, Tivo, DVD and receiver, makes sure our night-lights are on. (This of course gets you more into full blown Smart Home territory, but you get the point! 😊)
Search “Alexa Lighting Control”, or “Wifi Light Bulbs”, or:
(Very Special Thanks to Unit Owner Vince DiFruscio for sharing experiences and suggestions.)
About the Author: Tim Patricio
Park Tower Horizons
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