LED stands for Light Emitting Diode and LED technology is seems to be popping up everywhere. As technology advances, so does our ability to create more energy efficient products and LED’s have become a very popular alternative to the traditional light bulb. At the supermarket you will see traditional light bulbs are becoming superseded by LED lights too. So what’s the big deal with LED’s? Why are they so popular? Keep reading and we will explain some of the main reasons why in our first blog article:
5 Reasons to use LED lamps for your home
1 - Long lasting
LED lights have a significantly longer lifespan than traditional bulbs and some have been rated to last up to 200,000 hours, that’s over 22 years of continual use! Generally speaking, various manufacturers that supply LED lights rate them to last anywhere between 20,000 to 50,000 hours. Going by the lowest number that still equates to up to over 6 years if used for 8 hours a day.
Compare that to average spans of 2000 hours for halogen and only 1000 for incandescent bulbs, it’s no wonder that many consumers already prefer LED products.
Did you know – That despite its short lifespan, there actually is an incandescent bulb that has been working since 1901! It’s called The Centennial Light bulb and it has been maintained by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department in California for the last 119 years! They even have a webcam set up and you can see it live for yourself here.
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The Centennial Light Bulb was first turned on in 1901 and has only been only been turned off a handful of times |
2 – Better for the environment
According to energy.gov.au - “LEDs use about 75% less energy than halogen light bulbs and last 5-10 times longer, greatly reducing replacement costs and the number of light bulbs ending up in landfill.”
In order for fluorescent lamps to work, a gas is used which contains noxious chemicals such as mercury vapor and a number of possible chemicals including krypton, argon, xenon, even neon to generate the right conditions inside the bulb. The white powder you see in fluorescent globes is called phosphor which reacts after the electric current causes a chain reaction in the mercury gas to make the phosphor glow. Because of the amount of chemicals used in this process, larger and more powerful fluorescent lamps are even classified as hazardous waste.
LED lights don’t have chemicals, are highly energy efficient and have a much longer lifespan, and the low energy consumption means that you are reducing your carbon footprint by reducing the load on our electric power system.
Did you know – The Australian government is phasing out inefficient halogen light bulbs and banning them entirely starting September 2020?
3 - LED’s produce much less heat
Fluorescent bulbs need to produce heat in order to produce light, heat vaporizes the mercury in the bulb to create a stable atmosphere inside the globe so it can handle the current being generated. A typical globe will reach around 40 °C which can be dangerous too.
Incandescent lights work by simply heating up a piece of metal until it's hot enough to produce light. This uses a lot of power, produces a lot of heat, and costs a lot of money.
LEDs use an entirely different technology called electroluminescence. An LED light is made of diodes called semiconductors which instead of heating up only allows for a controlled one-way current. In short, LEDs directly send energy to a conductor to produce visible light. This is far more efficient, and it’s much safer to run an LED light without risk of overheating or accidentally causing a fire.
With LED lamps you won’t have to worry about that bulb on your bedside table heating up and fighting with the aircon on a hot summer’s night. LED’s are even cool to touch (although we do not endorse putting your finger into an electrical circuit to test).
4 – LEDs are tough
LED’s are a type of solid-state lighting because they are made of a solid material, have no filament to heat up and eventually burn out. There’s also no glass bulb surrounding an LED to shatter when dropped on the ground (we’ve all been there), so you will never have to worry about whether or not you have picked up that last bit of glass off the floor with an LED.
5 - Capture the mood with colour
With LED’s you don’t have to put up with the same old shade of white with your bedside or corner lamp, our 3D illusion lamps come pre-programmed with 7 different colours and with fast switching capabilities you can change the colour with a simple press of a button This means you can select a colour to suit your mood or reflect the occasion with a bit of character, you can even set it to alternate colours for a party effect. LED’s emit a direct light which means light isn’t wasted and can be directed where you want it, we use this to illuminate our reflective acrylic panels to light up the etched design, thus creating a beautiful and cost effective lighting effect.
LED’s use visible light instead of UV light and has a range which spans the spectrum from deep violet right through to red, the exact same colours you see in a rainbow.
At Dimension Lamps our vision is to provide a colourful, fun and exciting range of lamps that are cost efficient, bright and long-lasting. Lamps that enhance and add a fun new dimension to your home! We are excited about or products which are individually tested right here in Australia. In fact, we are so confident that you will be happy with your purchase that we offer a 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee.
Thank you for reading.
