Worried about the environment?
Concerned about global warming and climate change?
Serious about reducing your carbon footprint?
Many solutions, whilst being commendable are just not practical.
However there is a solution that is not only good for the environment but good for your pocket and your health! – ‘Switch’ to LED Lighting.
Please allow me to explain:-
LED’s are the way forward for our future lighting needs. However the average person seems to be ‘in the dark’ when it comes to LED technology. (Please excuse the pun).
I would like to attempt to put the facts before you in layman’s terms and hopefully persuade you to consider switching to this wonderful green technology.
What is a LED?
A LED is a light emitting diode. In essence they are used to produce light in a very efficient and cost effective way, saving energy and at the same time protecting the environment! There are many advantages to LED lighting which I will now try to explain.
Energy Saving.
LED’s can save an enormous 85% of the electricity used by traditional incandescent bulbs. They can also save up to 50% of electricity used by CFL’s and fluorescents.
LED’s run cool.
An incandescent bulb converts most of the energy it uses into heat which is usually wasted. In fact in certain circumstances this can cause an even greater use of electricity where in certain locations air conditioners are employed to control the ambient temperature.
Cost Saving.
As an example, the typical 35 Watt halogen downlight bulb that many of us have in our homes, running for 5 hours per day and 365 days per year, would cost £6.37 in running costs in one year. Now a suitable LED replacement of 5 Watts would cost a staggeringly low 91p per year to run requiring only 1/7th of the electricity.
Light Quality
This can be defined by two main parameters – Colour Temperature and Colour Rendering. These can be quite complex however I will try to simplify the definitions of each parameter.
Colour Temperature.
This has nothing to do with heat from the lamp but the shade of white that is required i.e. Warmer or Cooler. Warmer shade is towards the ‘redder’ end of the spectrum whist Cooler is towards the ‘Bluer’ end.
Colour Rendering.
This measured on an index scale – CRI (colour rendering index) which is an indication of the bulbs ability to produce ‘natural light’ and make the colours look true.
The scale is graded 0-100 and the closer to 100 the more natural the light. A typical fluorescent tube has a CRI of 72 whereas a typical quality LED has a CRI of 92.
Still on the subject of light quality it has to be said that from a health perspective the use of LED’s heralds a new greener age for human friendly illumination. Recent medical research has revealed the dramatic effect of light quality on the general health and longevity of humans and also, animals. LED’s have a very clear and beneficial advantage over conventional lamps.
Longevity.
LED’s have a very long lifespan compared to conventional bulbs. Up to 50,000 hours of useable life. Used 5 hours per day for 365 days per year would amount to a lifespan of 27+ years!
LED’s tend not to just ‘fail’. They grow dimmer towards the end of their useable life. A good quality LED from Cree – a top manufacturer will still produce 70% of its maximum output even after 50,000 hours of use!
Environmentally Friendly
Now here is a great reason to switch to LED’s.
We are all very much aware that we need to protect our planet and our environment sooner rather than later. By switching to LED technology we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint.
A recent report from the U.S. Dept. of Energy estimates that, by 2025 LED lighting alone will have eliminated a massive 258 million tonnes of carbon emissions!
Affordability.
This is one of the main concerns when considering LED bulbs. It is correct to say quality LED bulbs are not cheap. Quality LED package production is not a cheap process however the ongoing cost savings are enormous.
An average quality LED downlight will set you back around £20 whereas a decent 35 Watt halogen will cost only £2. Now over a period of say 15 years the halogen would cost £30 in replacement costs plus £81.90 in running costs giving a combined total of £110.90 – not including any labour charges where applicable and not allowing for inflation.
The LED by comparison would cost only £33.65.
This surely has to be a great investment for health, wealth and the environment.
Thank you for reading my blog and for further information on LED’s please visit my website www.theledshopuk.com where you will find a range of quality LED bulbs and other LED products.