A Few Things About LED Lights

Lighting technology has come a long way over the last few years, with LED lighting leading the way on energy efficient, long-lasting lighting. Because it can be used for anything from landscape lighting to interior lighting, the reasons are plentiful to switch to LED lights. Furthermore, as the demand has grown, the form factor of LED lights has changed to look more like the light bulbs that we are currently familiar with.

Because of this, you should seriously consider replacing your older, less efficient bulbs with more efficient, long-lasting LED bulbs. If you are just changing the bulbs out yourself, this is a very simple process. If you need to replace fixtures, on the other hand, it may pay to have a professional electrician come give you a hand.

LED Light Benefits

LED lights are becoming very popular because of their long lifespan and extremely low energy usage. When compared with other lighting technologies, this benefit is very readily apparent. An incandescent bulb, for example, will provide light for around 1,000 hours, a fluorescent bulb will provide light for around 8,000 and an LED bulb will provide light for around 30,000 hours. This is an incredible increase over these older light technologies. As a further benefit, LEDs are mercury free, unlike their compact fluorescent counterparts.

LEDs also lead the pack in terms of energy efficiency. This results not only in less energy consumption, but also in lower heat generation. Because of this, LED lights are cool to the touch, making them safer in many situations. In general the different types of light bulbs compare in the following manner.

A 40-watt incandescent bulb can burn as bright as an 8-12 watt CFL or a 4-5 watt LED bulb. When you switch to LED, you end up using only about 10% of the energy that you were using before. This can mean a huge difference in your energy bills, especially considering the fact that lighting can make up about 25% of the average home's energy budget.

Choosing LED Bulbs

There are a variety of factors to take into consideration when choosing an LED. If you have a fairly large lighting project, you should consider working directly with a local electrician. However, if you just need to replace a few bulbs around your home, this is something that you can accomplish in a fairly short period of time.

Most LED light manufacturers clearly rate their light bulbs with both the actual wattage rating and a comparison to the incandescent bulbs that most of us grew up with. This means that the LED packaging will say that the 3W LED that you are considering is equivalent to the light output of a 45-watt incandescent.

 Many packages also include a lumen rating. You can then use this lumen rating to compare the total output with bulbs that you are more familiar with. Make sure that you compare the LED with a similarly designed CFL or incandescent bulb, LED bulbs are now available in many of the same designs and form factors that you are familiar with and will work similarly.

Cody Kenworthy is a writer for www.electricianbeverlyhills.net, a Beverly Hills Electrician. He enjoys writing on a variety of electrical topics, including circuit breakers and fuses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cody_Kenworthy

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7380544