LED Technology

An LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a semiconductor device that converts electricity into light. LED lighting has been around since the 1960s, but is just now beginning to appear in the residential market for space lighting. At first white LEDs were only possible by "rainbow" groups of three LEDs - red, green, and blue - by controlling the current to each to yield an overall white light. This changed in 1993 when Nichia created a blue indium gallium chip with a phosphor coating that is used to create the wave shift necessary to emit white light from a single diode.

Each diode is only about 1/4 inch in diameter, but can be grouped for higher intensity applications. LED fixtures require a driver which is analogous to the ballast in fluorescent fixtures. The drivers can be built into the fixture like fluorescent ballasts, or they can be plug-in transformers. The plug-in transformers allow the fixture to run on standard 120 volt AC, with a modest 15 to 20 percent power loss.

BENEFITS:

• Low energy consumption – 300 Lumens/Watt (Incandescent 15 Lumens/Watt, CFL 67 Lumens/Watt)
• Long service life - LED bulbs can last up to 100,000 hours
• Durable - LED bulbs are resistant to thermal and vibrational shocks and turn on instantly from -40C degrees to 185C degrees
• No infrared or ultraviolet radiation - excellent for outdoor use because UV light attracts bugs
• Safety and environmentally conscious - LEDs contain no mercury and remain cool to the touch
• Fully dimmable - LEDs do not change their color tint when dimmed unlike incandescent lamps that turn yellow
• No frequency interference - no ballast to interfere with radio and television signals
• Range of color - LEDs can be manufactured produce all colors of the spectrum without filters, and white light in a variety of color temperatures