LED lights have, for all practical purposes, been used by consumers since 1993 when the first quality white LED light was introduced.
LED lights aren’t just for indicator lights on coffee makers or calculators anymore. Commercial applications for these highly versatile lights include airport runway lights, street lights and parking garages. LED’s can be seen in such diverse settings as decorative commercial exterior lighting, the famed New Year’s Eve “Ball” in Times Square, and, most exquisitely, the recent opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games at the Birds Nest Stadium in Beijing. The breathtaking methods used in Beijing were varied and stunning.
Consumers use LED lights in a huge variety of ways. There are now LED’s that can be screwed into standard light fixtures for lamps, chandeliers, accent lights, nightlights, worklights and ceiling lamps. Yellow LED bulbs are perfect for porch or other outdoor lights as they don’t attract insects like regular white incandescents.
Since the late ‘90’s the increase in the quality of LED’s has made them perfect for special lighting. These include recessed and track lights, spot lights and flood lights. In late 2006, a new LED product was introduced – strings of LED Christmas lights. These are gaining popularity across the country with consumer and commercial users alike due to their high quality of light and the dramatic savings in electricity they provide.
LED’s are made up of a combination of colors – red, green and blue. The amount of power focused on any of these colors, or a rotation of them, can make LED’s ideal for outdoor holiday lighting, or just for fun accents.
The main obstacle for consumers since the LED’s inception has been the cost. Originally priced as high as $120 each for standard replacement lights, this has steadily decreased over the past few years. Though still not as cheap as incandescents, the current average $20 to $40 price of a standard type LED is offset by the appreciable savings in energy they produce. The all-important “pay back” of LED’s is usually realized within about a year.
With their high quality of light and wide variety of uses, LED’s are the sure favorite when it comes to replacing incandescent light bulbs. They are the hands-down winner in the energy savings department. Perhaps it’s time to see the difference they’ll make for you.
1 comment:
great blog, you hit several nails on the head here, the LED industry is almost in a way like a trip back in time when consumer products were "built to last". Of recent times, one could describe us as a throwaway generation. Is it our demand for the next best thing that drives this shift in trends? Do we really need another iphone. What ever happened to the phone that was... a phone?!
Somehow i feel it is a 50/50 ownership of responsibility from the company to the consumer of what has been happening of late.
LED's are now playing a major role in the change to the way we percieve value in a product.
I believe LED's are playing a major role in the change in thinking that is so needed now to reduce our consumption and bring about a change in a world for the better.
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