The humble light bulb, little changed for over a hundred years, is due for a major overhaul, and it appears this change is fast approaching in the form of LED bulbs. LED lighting offers greater efficiency, amongst other qualities, and will in the future be the first choice for homes and in various devices, like flashlights.
The world of lighting has been dominated by the incandescent bulb for as long as most us can remember. While they have seen some improvements, they remain very inefficient, and less than 10% of the energy consumed by them is converted into useful light. The energy that they waste is evident in the level of heat that they produce, and the heat is one of the reasons that they burn out fairly quickly.
With energy and environmental concerns on the rise, a more efficient bulb is a necessity. CFL bulbs are a lot more efficient, and are replacing incandescent bulbs in many uses, however, they have some drawbacks, such has taking approximately a minute to reach their full brightness.
LED bulbs are a much better alternative in the long-term. Their only real disadvantage is cost, but their price will fall as they become more widely used. Their high level of efficiency is a result of their their unique, solid-state design and way of producing light.
LED lighting is based upon the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material, which consists of both positively and negatively charged components. The positive layer contains slight openings that ‘free’ electrons from the negative component can pass through.
When an electric charge is applied to the semiconductor, a flow of electrons passes through the holes. Since they are moving from a higher to lower energy state, they give off energy in the form of photons, which can be directed to produce light.
This kind of lighting provides numerous advantages. Being solid-state and without filaments to burn out, LED bulbs will last much longer (some can last as long as 50,000 hours). Also, they are much more durable, and can withstand shocks that other bulbs cannot.
Since they are more efficient, they run at a lower temperature. This reduces the risk of being burned by touching a hot bulb, and also cuts down on cooling costs in the summer, since the bulbs are not producing less heat.
In contrast to CFL bulbs, which take a while to reach their full brightness, LED bulbs come on almost instantly. They are also able to be dimmed, can produce lighting in any color without filters, and create a highly directional light, that is great for task lighting.
Their efficiency and durability make them great for other purposes too, such as for use in flashlights. Since flashlights must contain their own power source, and are often dropped, the efficiency and durability of LED bulbs make a significant practical improvement.
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See ‘Best LED Flashlight‘ for information about LED flashlights, including Dorcy, Coast, and SureFire flashlights, aswell as LED bulbs.
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