Basics & Advantages of LED Lighting

LED lighting (illumination with light-emitting diodes) has grown and developed by leaps and bounds in recent years. Depending on the LED’s popular trends to gain high energy efficiency with premium lighting quality and the high level of public acceptance, LEDs have obtained substantive economic relevance worldwide.

LED technology is famous for its unique energy-efficient ability and longer life, and it is capable of producing a relatively adjustable spectral power distribution, illuminance, and beam shape. All of these features make significant alterations in the lighting field as well as lighting products.

This blog will give you the basics of LEDs and how LEDs are used in lighting products, and most importantly, you will know why LED lighting is more popular and different from other light sources.

LED Basics

1. What are LEDs?

LED stands for light emitting diode, which is a semiconductor device. It emits light when an electric current passes through the diode. Then the light will be produced, while particles carrying the electric current (electrons and holes) combine within the semiconductor material.

LED, a light-emitting diode, is a solid-state semiconductor device that can directly convert electricity into light. A diode is an electrical component that only works in one direction. Therefore, an LED emits light from the Anode (positive) to Cathode (negative) when the electricity flows only in one direction. The heart of the LED is a semiconductor chip attached to a bracket.

The semiconductor chip consists of two parts. One part is a P-type semiconductor, in which holes dominate, and the other end is an N-type semiconductor, which is mainly electrons. When the two semiconductors are connected, a "P-N junction" is formed between them.

2. LED colors & brightness

LED color: The material applied in the semiconducting element of an LED determines what color it is. There are now two primary LED types used for lighting systems: aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP, sometimes rearranged as AlInGaP) alloys for red, orange, and yellow LEDs; and indium gallium nitride (InGaN) alloys for green, blue and white LEDs. Slight changes in the composition of these alloys can change the color of LEDs. 

LED brightness: In LED lighting, lumens measure its brightness. Lumens are now a new way of knowing how bright a lamp or a book reading light is, which measures the total quantity of visible light emitted by a source per unit of time. Therefore, lumens equal the light output, and higher lumens lead to brighter lighting effects.

3. LED and heat

Thermal management plays a dominant role in the successful functioning of an LED during its lifetime. In order to protect LEDs from burning out and overheating, the heat sinks in the LEDs will absorb the LED heat and then disperse the heat into the air.

In terms of a book light, If LEDs are operated at a higher temperature, then the light will be significantly damaged over time, and the useful life of this book light will be shortened. Usually, LED products have a series of unique designs and configurations to manage heat.

 

How does an LED work?

For an LED, when the electrons jump from one side (an electron-full side) to another (an electron-deficient side) across a junction (the "p-n junction"). Simply, it also means that when power is applied to the p-n connection, the "lacking in electrons "side is eager to be filled up with the charged electrons from the other side; therefore, the electrons will start to move immediately. Then the light will be produced during this electron working process.

Besides, because of the unique LED light-producing process, LED products can have cooler light emitted and are more energy efficient than other light sources.

On the contrary, incandescent light bulbs work differently to make light. Specifically, an incandescent light bulb produces light through electricity passing by a small wire or filament.

 

How Are LEDs Used in Lighting?

For many years, LEDs have been used as indicator lights in household electric appliances or applications; and have contributed significantly to making everyday life more convenient. These tiny devices have recently created a new era of general lighting. At the same time, LEDs are increasingly gaining wider user acceptance with their higher efficiency & longer life. LEDs are also indispensable to preventing global warming due to their less energy consumption and better lighting performance.

LED lighting in healthcare

In 2006, AIA (the American Institute of Architects) announced the new Guidelines for Design & Construction of Health Care Facilities, which indicates all lighting that has mercury content, like fluorescent and CFLs, should be excluded from hospitals and replaced with LED lighting. LEDs won’t emit heat radiation like other light sources, and radiation can pose a potential danger to patients, making LEDs a suitable alternative.

Exterior architectural LED lighting

LED lighting brings a new and exciting lighting method to the designers. Projecting a specific building area corresponds closely to using circular and square-shaped floodlights, which control the beam angle. However, due to the small and thin LED light source, the development of linear projection lighting has undoubtedly become a highlight of LEDs, as many buildings have no suitable place to place traditional projection lamps. LED lighting can easily be installed horizontally or vertically and is better integrated with the building surface. Ideally, LEDs will continuously impact the lighting methods of modern and historical buildings.

LED lighting in exhibiting

In terms of lighting quality, the LED light source has no heat, ultraviolet, and infrared radiation, so the LEDs will not cause damage to exhibits or commodities. Also, LED lighting needs no additional filter devices compared with other traditional light sources, and meanwhile, LED lighting is simpler to be installed and costs less. Its precise and accurate lighting can be used as an alternative to fiber optic lighting in museums.

LED lighting in book lights

Unlike many other fluorescents or incandescent options of book lights, LED ones obviously have an outstanding performance. There are several reasons. LEDs are more energy efficient than incandescent and CFL options; therefore, they can provide considerable energy savings. Also, they give many more options for brightness and light appearance (warm vs. cool). Besides, they last longer with undiminishing light and don’t contain mercury content like CFLs.

 

How LED lighting is different from other light sources?

LED lighting products can differ from those traditional incandescent bulbs and CFLs in several ways. In other words, these differences are advantages that make LED lights the mainstream of the present lighting industry. Here are some of the LED benefits:

• Lower energy cost
• Energy efficiency
• Long & durable life
• Low heat
• No mercury contents

 

Lower Energy Cost: Wattage doesn't equal brightness. While for incandescent bulbs, wattage and brightness had a direct correlation, it doesn't work for LED products; and since LEDs consume much less power (Watts), people shouldn't compare the brightness of an incandescent and an LED bulb based on wattage.

A traditional 100-watt incandescent light bulb emits around 1600 lumens of light; however, the same 1600 lumen light output can be produced at 16 to 20 watts of power by LED bulbs. Therefore, it is evident that the economic nature of LED bulbs means that with a much lower energy cost, you can achieve the same amount of light output with LED products. 

 

Energy Efficiency: LEDs only emit light in a particular direction, which means that LEDs can avoid using reflectors and diffusers to trap the light. This makes LEDs much more efficient than other sources of light. Also, LEDs have an energy efficiency of 80%-90% compared with conventional lighting solutions, as LEDs can convert at least 80% of energy into light, while the rest of the energy will be converted into other forms of energy, like heat. On the contrary, with low energy efficiency, traditional lighting bulbs can only turn 20% of energy into light.

 

Long & Durable Life:  LED light fixtures are famous for their extended lifespan. The truth is that incandescent light bulbs are built to last around 1,000 hours, while the most enduring LED light fixtures have been tested to last approximately 100,000 hours. Normally, LED products don't need to be changed for at least 20 years. LED is widely known as an investment that saves time and money.

 

Low Heat: LED has always been a cooler lighting solution, as it uses most of its energy to produce light instead of heat, unlike incandescent bulbs and CFLs. Incandescent lighting fixtures will get hot because the basic technology inside (the filament) heats up and then glows, which creates the light: Energy + heat + glowing filament = light. In contrast, the excited electrons can effectively calm down LED semiconductors by emitting light.

 

No Mercury Content: For many environmentally conscious consumers, LEDs are their obvious choice for lighting solutions. Unlike fluorescent lights, LEDs have no mercury content, which helps prevent mercury absorption into the natural environment. Also, the no mercury design makes LED the safest way of lighting in all places, especially at home.

 

In the End

LED bulbs are the most energy-efficient and eco-friendly lighting solutions in the current market. Meanwhile, these incredible LED lighting gadgets’ capacities have dramatically boosted the lighting industry's development. People now have various choices among lighting solutions based on personal needs and situations.

Hope this article will help you know LED basics and LED lighting better. If you have any questions, please leave your comment below or feel free to contact us at service@glocusent.com