What is an LED Bulb & why you Should Use Them

You definitely have heard of bulbs with the acronym "LED", but besides seeing it as a descriptive adjective or jumping at you on store shelves, do you know what it really is?  Clever marketing tactic or does it provide a dramatic difference than the normal filament bulbs you grew up with?

LED - light emitting diode - is the most recent development in lighting that provides a tremendous bulb lifespan as well as dramatic energy efficiencies - & cost savings - for your home or office.  

Let me provide you a little history on LED's & then the advantages of using these types of bulbs.  The technicality behind LED's is that it is a semiconductor that generates lighting through electroluminescence - creating light from a non-thermal conversion of electrical energy (cold light).  First developed in the 1960's, early LED's emitted low infrared light - used primarily in remote-control circuits in consumer electronics.  The next wave of LED's in lighting happened 20 - 30-years later, with the second generation of LED's used in streetlights & outdoor signage.  Now in the present, LED is used in many commercial & residential applications, replacing old incandescent.  

A few advantages of LED bulbs in everyday applications for your home or office are as follows:

1. Very Long Lifespan - the average lifespan of LED bulb is 50,000 hours (compare that to the lifespan of an old incandescent bulb at only 1,000 hours - that is 50x's greater span of life).  On the average usage, this means an LED bulb can last anywhere from 6 - 12-years prior to replacing, cutting down on replacement costs in your bulbs dramatically.
2. No Heat Emissions (Cold Light) - where you couldn't replace old incandescent bulbs while on or right after due to the extreme heat of the bulb itself, LED's emit almost no heat at all, compared to the typical incandescent can transform over 90% of its energy into heat.
3. Low Voltage Usage - LED's work on very low voltages compared to incandescent lighting, where 5-watts LED could be equivalent to 60-watts incandescent.  In outdoor applications & especially commercial facilities that may operate in flood zones, having low voltage lighting is safer than lighting that may be 10x's the amount of voltage to operate.  
4. Energy Efficiencies - with its decreased voltage & long lifespan you can see between 60 - 70% improvement in overall energy efficiency in your home or office if LED's replaced incandescents. 

Lighting Reimagined has a large selection of LED bulbs for whatever usage you may need, as well as fixtures that now are integrated with LED lighting (no separate bulbs necessary).

If you have any questions on LED bulbs or integrated lighting, be sure to contact us today!