The Good The Bad and The Ugly.
LED Technology is the future of light sources, this article will show you what are the advantages of LED lighting as compared to conventional halogen or energy-saving lamps. You will also see the drawbacks or disadvantages of LEDs.
The Good
The only source of light in the home in the past was the traditional incandescent bulb. These have gradually disappeared from the market due to their low efficiency. As successors, halogen lamps and energy-saving bulbs entered the market. These had several new drawbacks but were somewhat more effective.
With the development of LED technology, a contemporary and dependable light source entered the market. The following are the top 10 benefits of modern LED lighting:
1) Lifespan
The lifespan of the incandescent lamp is only 1000 to 2000 hours, Halogen and energy-saving lamps are about 4000 hours and 10000 hours respectively. Having such a short lifespan, regular replacement of defective lamps was standard practice.
LED lighting, as compared to its predecessors, has a much longer lifespan, at least 15000 hours even with inexpensive bulbs. Those with better quality can last between 20000 to 50000 hours.
2) Low Power consumption
Power consumption is normally dependent on the luminous efficacy of a lamp. The luminous efficacy of current LED lamps ranges from 80-100 lm/W (lumens per watt). Some may even reach 300lm/W. As a comparison, Halogen lamps only deliver about 12 lm/W. The high efficiency of LED means the energy consumption is 6 to 8 times lower.
For example, To replace an old 100-watt lamp, an LED light with only 20 to 50watts is sufficient. If this is added up to the entire household, enormous electricity costs can be saved every year.
3) Durability
Durability means how resistive is the lamp to shock. As compared to halogen or energy-saving lamps, LED lamps are much more resistant to shocks. Portable lightings like spotlights or torches, old halogen bulbs, and lamps are more acceptable to damage from impact than their LED counterparts.
4) Heat and burn
When a lamp is lighted up, it produces visible light and heat. The lamp's efficiency determines how much heat and light it produces.
For example, A 100W halogen lamp, with a luminous efficacy of only 12lm/W, is so inefficient that for every Watt of the lamp only 12% of the wattage is used as visible light, the rest of the wattage will be turned to heat and the temperature of the lamp can go as high as more than 300 °C. This is a burn and fire hazard if not careful.
LED lamp, on the other hand, thanks to their high efficiency, is usually warm to touch, so there is no risk of fire and burns. Having said that, there are some very small but powerful LED lights which also produce heat amount of heat. Due to its small package design, there is only a minimal cooling surface, where the heat can be dissipated, Therefore these lamps should not be touched during operation.
5) No start-up delay
Energy-saving lamps and halogen lamps all require a "heating-up" period before reaching full brightness. This meant that they were not suitable to be used in locations where the light was only turned on for a short time. For example, in stairwells, cellars, storeroom etc. the light should be turned on brightly immediately after it is switched on and not when you come back up the stairs.
This problem does not exist with LED lamps.
6) Adjustable brightness
LED technology had come a long way, being able to dim the LED light is one of the most significant improvements of the technology. Dimmable LED lamps are more easily available than in the past years. And they are compatible with most off-the-shelf dimmers on the market.
Many LED lamps also have integrated dimmable drivers which can be paired with a remote control or a home automated (smart) system, so owners do not have to get a separate dimmer to control the brightness of the lamp.
7) Colour Temperature
Modern LED Lamps, not only you can control the brightness, but you can also control the color temperature to suit your mood, which traditional halogen or energy-saving lamps are not able to do. This capability is a major win for LED lamps.
8) Environmental friendly
Other than being energy efficient, LED lamps are also very friendly to Mother Earth. LED lamps do not contain any highly toxic pollutants, unlike their predecessors, for example, energy-saving lamp (CFL etc.) contains Mercury which will harm the environment if not disposed properly.
9) Designs
There are no limits when it comes to the design of LED Luminaires. Due to the small size and low profile, it opens up a whole new aspect of lighting designs. LED light can even be integrated into the design of the house or an object rather than just a lamp to be hung on the ceiling or mounted on the wall.
When it comes to lighting design for LED, the sky is the limit.
10) Easy replacement, retrofitting
LED Bulbs use the same socket standards as their predecessors. Switching from energy-saving lamps or halogen to LED can be as easy as just plug and play.
The Bad & The Ugly
There is a balance in everything in life, it is the same for LED Lights. No doubt they are the future of lighting technology and many countries have phased out incandescent bulb and replaced it with LED, there are still some drawbacks to LED lights. Some might be temporary and some may permanent.
1) Initial investment
As compared to the traditional energy-saving bulb, the LED bulb is much more expensive. But with the improvement of LED technology and the economy of scale (LED light being a norm and a commodity ) prices of these lights will likely go down. An energy-saving bulb was initially much more expensive than an incandescent bulb but gets cheaper as time goes by.
Also taking the low power consumption and long lifespan of LED Lighting into consideration, ROI is still better than the traditional lighting, eg. Halogen.
2) Its always the driver
The LED chip itself is durable but needs a LED driver to operate. The LED driver consists of many electronic components and if any of the components is defective, the LED will not light up.
Many older LED drivers are unreliable, components will "fuse" and burn, tarnishing the reputation of LED lights for having a long lifespan. But that was many years ago. Due to the improvement in technology, the components and circuit designs are more advanced, improving the reliability of the LED drivers.
However, some manufacturers will use lower-quality components for their drivers to save on production costs, and to sell cheaply in the market, these are the black sheep in the market. So do your own research first before purchasing from the seller or get your lights from a reputable shop.
3) Too many choices
Buying lights used to be simple, there are only 3 types of lamps to choose from, Halogen, fluorescent (energy-saving or CFL bulbs are considered fluorescent), and incandescent (filament) bulbs. There were just so many light designs out there.
When LED was introduced to the market, a whole new world of possibility opens up. Many other lighting designs emerged other than the old pendant and bulb system, we have many pendant lights which LED lights integrated into the light design itself.
Too many choices can is a bad and good thing. Yes, you may be dazzled by the amount of design of a LED crystal chandelier, but there is always a light that will suit your modern luxury theme for your house.
Conclusion
LED is the future of lighting technology. No doubt that there are a few disadvantages, but technological advancement and a savvy purchase mentality can help mitigate those Bad & Ugly points.
If you need help to choose the desired lighting for your home, you can contact us, and we will be happy to help. :)
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