2011 The Year of the LED by US ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR

In the lighting industry, another long-predicted milestone, the year of LED Lamps finally take off, actually may have arrived. “Two-thousand eleven is a serious year” for LEDs, said lighting consultant and product designer Kevin Willmorth, who believes promises of LEDs performance and price equity are finally coming true. “It’s starting to give us some lamps that are serious performers.”


This evolution doesn’t mean the sales job for contractors pursuing LED projects suddenly has become easy. First, cost remains a significant differentiator between, say, possible compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) options and LED counterparts. But the combined advantages of life cycles stretching half a decade or more in heavy-use settings, along with the lack of CFL-related mercury concerns, are strong arguments for clients willing to look beyond initial purchase prices.
Consider retail applications, take for example, a 65-watt (W) PAR 38 halogen lamp, with a 2,000-hour rating. The likely 17W LED spotlight has a 40,000-hour-rated life. The cost difference—$4 to $6 for the halogen versus $70 for the LED—could be offputting. However, the 48W difference in demand at $0.10 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) could, itself, lead to a payback of two years or less, he said. Plus, the halogen units would need to be replaced 20 times before the LED units begin to fail.


“Right now, LED lamps are several orders more expensive than any existing technology,” Willmorth said. However, he said, when you factor in the maintenance savings accrued through avoided replacement projects, parity is within reach.


That reach may be easier depending on regional electricity rates, said Eric Marsh, senior marketing manager for Philips’ contractor-directed EnduraLED line of replacement lamps. However, reduced maintenance may be the biggest differentiator.


“In most instances, the math works, because the lifespan is so much longer,” Marsh said.
LEDs also may be taking a lead in hotel ballroom chandelier, which may have dozens—or more—individual candle-style lamps. Currently, maintenance staff may be spending time every week replacing existing incandescents. Invest in LED candle light, he said, and that upkeep is reduced significantly. You’re now only going to have to change it every three to five years.

LEDs may have reached tipping point with electrical contractors

To highlight the latest developments in the lighting industry, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, which reaches over 85,000 electrical contractors in the US,  conducted a survey of more than 700 readers in commercial/industrial/institutional (CII), residential and nonbuilding projects in fall 2010. About 60 percent of the surveys were taken using the Internet, while 40 percent were completed through postal mail. Renaissance Research & Consulting, New York, conducted the survey. The results that follow provide a roadmap for electrical contractors (ECs) as they make decisions about lighting at the design table and on the job site

Electrical contractors may be reaching the point where specification and installation of LED lighting, such as LED Tube, LED downlight, where appropriate, is becoming the rule and not the exception.

The publisher of Electrical Contractor, John Maisel, said, “The more we educate on the technology and opportunities in the multibillion dollar LED market that’s growing more than 30 percent per year, the greater value they bring to their customers."

Electrical Contractor is published by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) in Bethesda, MD. Among those readers who responded to the survey, 33 percent of electrical contractors said LED lamps are ready to replace incandescent lamps, compared with 23 percent saying LEDs are ready to replace CFLs and 19 percent claiming LEDs are ready to replace fluorescent lamps

An additional 33 percent of electrical contractors believe LEDs will be ready to replace these traditional lamp sources within the next two years. The remaining respondents see LEDs becoming more viable later, or they “don’t know” when viability will occur. Of those who said LEDs were not ready or they didn’t know, 19 percent said that high cost was a factor, while 10 percent mentioned needed improvements in performance.

Participants in this survey included contractors working on residential projects, commercial/industrial/institutional (CII) projects and non-building projects

20 Reasons To Buy LED

There are a lot reasons to buy LED lamps, here is the top 20 ones that you should know. They will help you to decide if you will choose LED lighting or other lighting system. After fully reading the 20 advantages, you will love LED.

1. Electrical Power Saving
   LED lighting system saves electrical power, 80% compared with incandescent bulb, 50% compared with compact fluorescent lamp, 60% compared with fluorescent lamp, 75% compared with halogen lamp, 80% compared with mercury gas lamp, and 65% compared with high pressure sodium lamp.
2. Durable Lifetime
   LED has lifetime up to 50,000 hours. System lifetime for LED lamp is over 20,000 hours. Compared with the lifetimes of other lamps, incandescent lamp has 1,000 hours, halogen lamp has 2,000 hours, fluorescent lamp has 2,000 hours, compact fluorescent lamp has 6,000 hours, mercury gas lamp has 8,000 hours, and high pressure sodium lamp has 12,000 hours.
3. Green Material Usage
   Our LED lamps meet CE and RoHS standards and contains no hazardous solid, liquid or gas. It does not contain mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium or xenon gas.
4. Low Carbon Dioxide Release
   Prevent generating warming effect.
5. No IR Light
   Does not radiate heat, demand less air conditioning.
6. No UV Light
   Does not destroy objects lighted, does not cause freckles and solar lentigines
7. Cold Light
   Does influence plant growth.
8. Selectable Color Temperature
   Warm white to cold white LED is available from 2,600K to 6,000K.
9. Direct Light
   No light pollution.
10. Supreme Safety
    Low DC current and voltage.
11. No EM (Electromagnetic) and No RF(Radio Frequency)
    Does not cause Migraines. 
12. Comfortable Light Pattern and Optimal Lumen
    Homogenous lighting, no light pressure.
13. Anti-glazing
    Light diffusers or conductors integrated for anti-glazing and eye safety.
14. Positive Health Effects
    Started in one milli-second, no glistening, no high power discharged for protecting eyes and brain.
15. Low Maintenance Expense
    Long lifetime reduces replacement expense. Stable system reduces maintenance expense. Low power consumption reduces set up cost.
16. High Light Source and System Efficiency
    Performance of light source and system efficiency for LED lighting surpasses than any other traditional lighting.
17. Better CRI (Color Rendering Index)
    LED lighting has better CRI than mercury gas, high pressure sodium, low pressure sodium and HID lamps.
18. Colorful and Emotion
    RGB mixing and control for colorful and emotion lighting.
19. Miniature LED Volume
    Shock resistant.
20. No Light Decay in Extreme Low Temperature
    Fluorescent lamp and compact fluorescent lamp have highly lighting decay at low temperature.

Other problems of CFL

Compared to LED lamps, except for the most important point about CFL that it contains Mercury as mentioned in the last paragraph, there are also several important points that you should know about:

• They are less efficient than LEDs - CFLs, despite their efficiency, are still only about half as efficient than LEDs. A 10W LED downlight gives about the same amount of light as a 20W CFL downlight. 
• They have a shorter lifespan - The life of a CFL is significantly shorter if it is only turned on for a few minutes at a time: In the case of a 5-minute on/off cycle the lifespan of a CFL can be up to 85% shorter, reducing its lifespan to the level of an incandescent lamp. The US Energy Star program says to leave them on at least 15 minutes at a time to mitigate this problem. (LEDs can be cycled on and off with no problem and work better in cold temperatures.) 
• They have an undesirable form factor - CFL bulbs aren't exactly appealing to the eye and currently can't replace bi-pin halogen bulbs (MR16 and GU10) typically used in many track lighting applications. 
• Not Fully Dimmable - Dimmable CFL have emerged in the past year, but there have been reports of buzzing and color shifting while dimming as well as a limited range of dimmability. Most LED spotlight are not dimmable at the moment, but the ones that are, are fully dimmable and do not buzz. Keep a lookout for dimmable LED bulbs that we've found. 
• Warm Up Time - CFLs takes a perceptible time to achieve full brightness, and can take much longer in very cold temperatures. 

In one word, LED lamps are better replacement of traditionally incandescent lamps than CFL. Although LED lamps are a litter more expensive than CFL, but it will pay back by paying less to your electric bills. You also help to make our earth more green!

CFL - What You May Not Know

CFL, also known as Compact Fluorescent Lamp, is a good replacement of incandescent lamps because it is also comparatively energy efficiency. In the past few years, you can see it used in more and more places. You can read news about it from TV or articles from magazines quite frequently. There are also many things that you may not be well educated but you really need to know. The biggest problem that CFLs have, and no one type of standard lighting (including LED lamp) has is that....

Mercury in CFL

CFL bulbs contain small amounts of mercury which is toxic to individuals, especially those that are still developing, such as children and pregnant women. This is an inherent part of the technology so you will never get a CFL bulb that doesn't contain mercury. Most CFLs contain about 3-5mg of mercury. Here's some excerpts from Wikipedia article on mercury exposure

"Acute exposure to mercury vapor has been shown to result in profound central nervous system effects, including psychotic reactions characterized by delirium, hallucinations, and suicidal tendency."

"A study has shown that acute exposure (4-8 hours) to calculated elemental mercury levels of 1.1 to 44 mg/m3 resulted in chest pain, dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis, impairment of pulmonary function, and evidence of interstitial pneumonitis.[37]"

Here's a link to the article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_%28element%29#Occupational_exposure

When choosing bulbs, especially the bulbs that is positioned in the placed that is easy to be broken, you’d better choose led bulbs, such as LED Tubes, LED Downlights, etc.

You need to be very careful when you accidentally break a CFL bulb

Here's some cleanup procedure excerpts:

• "Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more." 
• "Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out." 
• "Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder." 
• "If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away." 
• "If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, - Remove the vacuum bag and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag." 
• "The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming." 

What do you think of the procedure to clean up a CFL? Is it painful? It is always possible as the bulbs can be easily broken, especially when you have naughty boys in your apartment. I think it you will never ever want it happened in your house or in your office.

LED Buying Guide(4) - How to compare the quality of different bulbs

For those people who want to buy LED lamps, the most important question will be: how to compare the quality of one LED lamp with another? There are some many LED lamps manufacturer in the world and so many websites/seller. They all claim that their products are of the best quality. This article is the best one you should read about this topic.

A quick way to do is to calculate the lumens/watt, which is the total amount of light the lamp emits for the amount of electricity put in. The number can be calculated by dividing the bulbs wattage by the stated number of lumens. Values over 50 lumens/watt is good at the moment. 75 lumens/watt is very good and 100 lumens/watt is excellent.

A quick comparison to normal light bulbs is as follows. Please note that this is just a general comparison - some bulbs may be rated as brighter or dimmer than this.

• 18W High Power PAR38 LED Bulb Comparable amount of light to a 100W incandescent flood. 
• 9W High Power PAR30 LED Bulb Comparable amount of light to a 50W incandescent flood. 
• 3W High Power LED Bulb - Comparable amount of light as a 25W incandescent flood. 

There is also one thing should be remembered: A halogen flood bulb is more efficient than an incandescent flood and usually costs a little more. Typically for a halogen you get about 1.5x more light for the same wattage. i.e. a 20W halogen bulb gives about the same amount of light as a 30-35W incandescent flood. You can tell if it is an incandescent or halogen by reading the packaging of the bulb.

Also notice that Warm White is always less bright than Cool White. This is because in simple terms, in order to get the warm white color, the LED is coated with yellow phosphor to make it "warmer" and thus reduces the light output. Cool White LED's have "less" of a coating.

LED bulbs manufacture typically have their LED chip or die bought from one place, then assembled elsewhere where labor is cheaper. China companies can do this job very well as China is almost the world’s biggest manufacturing base. There are a number of "well known" LED chip manufacturers at the moment. If they're not in this list, chances are they are a smaller company, and are probably less reliable.

From the ones we have experience in testing, and have heard of from the hundreds of manufacturers we've dealt with, the bigger names are:

• Cree (USA), 
• Luxeon (USA), 
• Nichia (Japan), 
• Epistar (Taiwan), 
• Edison (Taiwan), 
• Seoul Semiconductor(Korea) 

You can see US companies still provide the best chips in the world and Taiwan Companies are also doing well. Here is a typical comparison of lumens direct from a manufacturer in China for a 7W LED bulb using different dies/chips:

	Epistar (Taiwan)	Luxeon (USA)	Cree (USA)
Cool White	385	315	560
Warm White	315	140	434

You can see that Cree is by far the brightest.(Comments by Janus Lighting: usually we use Epistar chips, Cree chips are also available based on your requirement) However, there are multiple factors, besides the LED chip that determine the brightness of an LED bulb including the power supply and optics (the lens or lenses that are used to diffuse the light).

One surprising example we've seen and tested is one bulb that used 9 x 3W Cree LEDs (27 Watts), while another used 6 x 3W Epistar LED(18 Watts). The lens being used in the Cree LED bulb was poor, so the light pattern was uneven and the bulb was about 30% dimmer than the Epistar bulb, even though it used about 50% more energy.

Warranty

If you're going to spend $30-100 dollars on an LED bulb make sure your investment is protected. Sure you can buy off auction sites and get them on the cheap with no warranty, and a knockoff LED chip or you can spend the money and get a good bulb with a solid warranty. Don’t settle for anything less than a two year warranty since the bulbs should last at least 4 years at 24 hours usage per day (35,000 hours).

Beam Angles

Typically you'll see bulbs in the 30 to 70 degree range. These are LED spotlights and will give a much more focused light than traditional incandescent flood lights. The best way to tell is to see an actual picture of the bulb in action since this measurement can vary widely between manufacturers. Even though you will hear comparable to a 50W flood, the LED light will in the majority of cases be more focused than a floodlight. Again the best way to tell is if the site shows you a side-by-side comparison.

If you are looking for a more dispersed light like a traditional bulb, look for a 120 degree beam angle or larger.

Start Using LEDs Now!

LEDs are not always good alternative for all bulbs. Depending on the situation, they make sense in some places more than others. The more people who adopt LEDs, the quicker prices will come down. There is no doubt that as prices come down, and efficiency/light output of the bulbs increase, in a couple of years every light bulb in the world will be an LED Light bulb and CFLs and incandescent will be a thing of the past. Incandescent lamps are prohibited in many countries right now, and there are even more countries who are making their plan to replace incandescent with LED or CFL. Comparing to CFL, LEDs are better choices as the characteristic it have. You can read related article in this website. Start Using your LEDs right now, you will surly enjoy them.

LED Buying Guide(3) - LED Bulbs What You Need to Know

Bulb Lifetime

Initially when LED bulbs came out with no standards, manufacturers would claim lifetimes of 100,000 hours with no real testing. Since then the standard has been to scale back to 50,000 hours so as not to over-state claims. (Beware of bulbs that are rated at 100,000 hours unless they state specifically WHY they are rated at so high manufacturing process, heat sink materials etc., I would be wary of trusting this rating).

As of May 2009, Many of the LED manufacturers that we've spoken to, producing their 3rd generation LED bulbs are now starting to be more conservative and rating their bulbs at 35,000 hours, having gotten test results back from 1-2 years of testing. Rated at 35,000 hours, you can rest assured the manufacturer is not overstating their claims. Anything more than 50,000 hours...buyer beware.

The lifetime of an LED lamp is generally considered to be the point where the light output has declined to 70% of its initial output, measured in lumens. For example, a 300 lumen LED spotlight with a lifespan of 50,000 hours will have 210 lumens at the end of its lifetime. However, the lifetime of a bulb does not mean it is unusable, only that its light output has degraded to a certain point. The LED bulb may continue to be useful for several thousand hours past its stated lifetime. Unlike old-fashioned light bulbs, it is extremely rare for an LED light to simply burn out. Rather, it will gradually fade over time.

Color Temperature

As a general rule, you should use warmer light indoors, and whiter light outdoors. A color temperature of 2500-4000 Kelvin works great indoors. You should use a bulb with a color temperature of 5000-7000 Kelvin outdoors, as the whiter light allows your eyes to see better at night. White light in the 5000-7000 Kelvin range is also excellent for display cases, boutiques, artwork, or other settings where you need excellent color rendition.

LED Buying Guide(2) - How to Determine If LEDs Are Right For You

LED Lamps are suitable for most of the situation but may not all. Of course, you need to consider the cost savings and other benefits be making any decision.

• Cost - LEDs cost more initially, and there is no doubt that they save you a lot of money in the long run because they last longer and use less energy. Money savings is from using 80% less energy and not having to buy about 25 traditional flood light bulbs. Depending on your state, savings and time for the bulb to pay for itself can vary. 

     Over 50,000 hours for a typical 7W LED flood Light replacement bulb that replaces a 50W Incandescent Flood at 8 hours usage per day, take US for example:

     If you live in Idaho where electricity is the cheapest in the country at 6.3 cents/kWh
     You save: $180.46 and the bulb pays for itself in 7.6 years.

     In California where the cost of electricity is 14.35 cents/kWh:
     You save: $353.54 and the bulb pays for itself in 3.9 years

     In Hawaii where the cost of electricity is a whopping 28.27 cents/kWh:
     You save: $652.82 and the bulb pays for itself in 2.1 years!

     Keep in mind, at 8 hours a day, these bulbs will last about 17 years before they need replacement. You can see the savings really vary so go here to see how your state compares: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_b.html

     If the savings is not as quick as you'd like, there are a few other factors to consider as well that can strengthen the case for switching to LEDs.

• Convenience - If you have bulbs in hard to reach places, such as recessed downlights by replacing them with LED downlights, you do not have to worry about replacing them for a long time. No more driving to the store, buying them, coming back, taking out the ladder, and disposing of old bulbs. In places where you have a lot of bulbs, the time saved can really add up. 

• Less Heat, Less A/C If you have a lot of flood lights in a small area, it can really heat up a room significantly. LEDs give off very little heat in comparison. By talking to energy engineers (in California), a good rule of thumb for every kwH of electricity reduced by using LED tubes instead of traditional fluorescent tube, you can keep your thermostat higher and reduce your A/C costs by about 20%. I.e. if you save 1000 kWh of electricity per year, you can factor in about an extra 200 kWhs in reduced air conditioning costs as well. Besides the additional money savings, by switching to LED's, your room will be much cooler.

• Conscience Do you feel guilty about leaving the light on? Do you have kids that ALWAYS leave the light on? With LEDs they cost a couple of dollars to run a year so you can feel better about having your lights on. A 7W LED bulb run for 8 hours a day for 365 days in California would use about $2.86 a year in electricity compared to $20.44 for a 50W incandescent flood. 

LED Buying Guide(1) - Introduction

Light emitting diodes, commonly known as LEDs, are becoming more and more widespread in all types of electronics. Their current uses range from LED downlight to street signal lights, laptop computers and giant video billboards.

What a lot of people don't know is that they are starting to find their use in a more common type of lighting application that can be found in nearly every home or office around the world. I am, of course, talking about LED lamps.

The fact that you are reading this guide shows that although the idea of using LEDs to replace traditional lighting is starting to become more well known as a greener alternative to energy-efficient lighting (as currently compact fuorescent bulbs are the most widely known), but there are still a lot of people that do not know enough to make an informed decision about how and when to purchase LED light bulbs.

This guide was written as a complete buying guide to give you almost everything you need to know to make an informed decision about buying LED light bulbs and to help you determine whether LED lighting is right for you. This will be a constantly changing document as LED lighting technology is changing so quickly so keep checking back for updates!

Now the pace at which technology is progressing for LEDs right now is astounding as you hear about new developments in LED lighting almost every single week. One of the big pushes for this is not only a significant savings on their electric bill (although that is one of the best reasons to switch), but rather the realization that we all need to rally together and do our part to save the environment. Being green is not just about being "in style" anymore, it has become a practical business model that can help the planet as well as our pocketbooks. People are becoming aware of global warming and becoming more environmentally conscious overall, and are looking for ways to cut their energy consumption. What easier way is there than simply changing a light bulb?

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (also known as CFLs) and LED light bulbs are currently the best alternatives if you want to decrease your energy expenditure in regards to lighting. Unfortunately, LED bulbs can be more difficult to find and the initial cost can be many times more than a normal incandescent or even CFL. This guide will help you with that decision.

I hope that after reading this, you will be able to see the benefits that LED light bulbs have over other traditional lighting solutions.

LED Basics(4) - Lifetime

The lifetime of an LED lamp does not actually mean it will burn out/die like a regular bulb (if it's properly made). All LED light bulbs, from LED Candle light all the way to LED track light, are unlike incandescent bulbs in that they lose their brightness over time and by the end of their rated "lifetime", they are at 70% of the brightness they started at as opposed to completely burning out.

Many sellers copy the lifetime ratings of the manufacturers, which are OFTEN inaccurate, or just false. Many claim their bulbs last 100,000 hours. We've spoken to a number of LED manufacturers from around the world and many of them are now more conservative about their ratings - saying they now last 35,000 to 50,000 hours. Your best bet is to buy from a seller with a good warranty, and expect to get what you pay for.

LED Basics(3) - Wattage

A good rule of thumb, is LED's use about 1/5 of the energy of their equivalent incandescent flood replacement and 1/2 of their equivalent compact fluorescent (CFL) replacement.

• A 15W candle light would need to be replaced with a 3W LED candle light
• A 15W fluorescent tube would be replaced by a 7W LED tube. 

Many manufacturers exaggerate the amount of light their bulb will give out. To shop smarter, multiply the energy usage of an LED bulb by 5-7 times to get an idea of the incandescent bulb it can replace.

Be cautious of manufacturers claiming their bulbs are any brighter than this, since this more than likely will not be the case - i.e. a 10W LED bulb that replace a 100W incandescent bulb (10 times). As technology improves, LED bulbs will get brighter for less energy, whereby we'll update this number accordingly.

Item	(6000K)	CFL	Halogen Bulbs
Life Time	35,000 hrs	6,000 hrs	3,000 hrs
Typical Power Consumption( =A)	10.4 W	23 W	60 W
Typical Power Consumption per year (12hrsx365day/KWh)*A=B	45.55 KW	100.74 KW	262.8 KW
CO2 Quantity (Kgs/year) (0.637*B=D)	30 Kgs	65 Kgs	170 Kgs
Energy Saving Rate (Compare with CFL)	55%
Energy Saving Rate (Compare with Halogen Bulbs)	83%

LED Basics(2) - Beam Angle

The strength of LED bulbs is directional light - where you need light in one direction. A 60 degree beam is the point where a spotlight starts to become a floodlight. These will be much more focused than the PAR flood lights most people are used to replacing. Between 60-120 is less of a spotlight, while a true flood light is 120 degrees and more.

The measurement for beam angle isn't standardized so two LED bulbs from different manufacturers with the same beam angle, may actually look quite different. Look for "live-action" side-by-side photos, in addition to the description to make sure the bulb gives light spread that you want.

LED Basics(1) - Color Temperature

LED light bulbs, like regular bulbs range from Warm White to Soft White to Cool white.

5500K = Cool White

3000 - 3500K = Soft White

2500 - 3000 = Warm White

Most stores just copy the color temperature from the LED manufacturer they buy from. Often times this is inaccurate. i.e. they'll say it's soft white, when it's actually Cool White, or slightly bluish.

Also they'll specify a WIDE range, such as 5000 - 7000K. 2000K is quite a big difference in color. Look for side by side comparisons or "real-life" photos of two LED track lights in action to get a good idea.

LED Tube Light Installation Instructions

Safety First! - All electrical work should be undertaken by an electrician who is fully qualified and registered. When installing LED Tubes please ensure that appropriate health and safety precautions are taken, including ensuring that the light fixture is properly isolated before commencing work.

There are two common types of light fixtures used:

Magnetic Ballast - Identified by the fact that the fitting has a starter device.
Electronic Ballast - Identified by the fact that the fixture does not have a starter device.

Note: This series of T8 LED tubes are powered by applying L (Live) to one end and N (Neutral) to the other. Connection of Live and Neutral to one end will result in a short circuit.

Modifying the Light Fitting




Please note: Installation of LED Tubes to a fitting that has not been modified in accordance with the above instructions will result in damage/Failure of the tube. Incorrect modification of the fitting may also result in damage/failure of the tube. Either of the above will invalidate the warranty.

The Advantages of LED Lighting

Long life – LED lamps’ lifetimes can exceed 100,000 hours, as compared to 1,000 hours for tungsten bulbs

Robustness – no moving parts, no glass Size – typical package is only 5 mm in diameter Energy efficiency – up to 90% less energy used translates into smaller power supply required Non-toxicity – no mercury Versatility – available in a variety of colors Cool – less heat radiation than HID or incandescent Lighting is the single biggest user of electricity Incandescent Light Bulb – 1-4% efficient Fluorescent – 15-25% efficient LED Bulb  - 20-52% efficient (60-80% theoretical) * "DOE Solid State Lighting Status and Future" SPIE Annual Meeting 2004 **J. R. Brodrick, "DOE Solid State Lighting Status and Future" Report for Dept. of Energy Global Warming / Energy Savings Potential   If a 150 lm/Watt Solid State LED source were developed, then in the United States alone we would: Realize $115 Billion cumulative savings by 2025* Alleviate the need for 133 new power stations* Eliminate 258 million metric tons of carbon* Save 273 TWh/year in energy** * "The Promise of Solid State Lighting" OIDA Report , 2001 **A. D. Little, "Energy Savings Potential of SSL" Report for Dept. of Energy

What Is LED Lighting?

LED lighting is a lamp or other light that uses LEDs as a source of illumination. Most lighting comes from an incandescent or fluorescent light bulb. Different than the traditional bulb, LEDs can be put into traditional lamps and used like most other light bulbs. They are much more efficient than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs.

LED stands for light-emitting diode. That is, simply, a semiconductor device that converts electricity to light by using the movement of electrons. LEDs were invented in Russia in the 1920s. They were put into practical use in the United States in the 1960s by General Electric. In the late 1960s, Monsanto Corporation was the first to mass-produce LEDs, and Hewlett-Packard used them in its early calculators. LED lighting can be roughly classified as LED indoor lighting and LED outdoor lighting. LED indoor lighting, as known as LED house lighting includes LED bulbs, LED Tubes, LED Downlights, LED Spotlights, LED Candle lights and LED Track Lights etc. LED outdoor lighting includes LED Flood lights and LED Street Lighting etc.

There are many consumer advantages to LEDs over incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs. LED lights consume much less energy. They are 300 percent more efficient than a compact fluorescent light (CFL), and 1,000 percent more efficient than an incandescent bulb. They have a very long life, about 50,000 hours of use at 70 percent of their original power. (LEDs don't burn out or flicker, they simply fade.) This works out to eight hours a day for 13 years at 70 percent power. A typical 60-watt incandescent bulb may last about 1,000 hours.