Recently, I wrote a two-part series on LED lighting for Electrical Contractor that you might find interesting.

Photo courtesy of Sylvania.

The first article, titled “Lighting Up to the Legend: Will LEDs replace Traditional Sources of Light?”, acknowledges the importance of LEDs as an energy-saving light source with many other benefits, but notes that the technology is still rapidly developing (faster than standards can be developed), and so specifiers and installers should be cautious. LED lighting:

* Has proven itself in the color light source market–indicators, exit signs and architainment
* Is rapidly offering solutions for niche architectural applications such as outdoor lighting, cove lighting, wall washing, undercabinet/shelf, step/wall, electrical candle, sconce, handrail, marker lighting, etc.

It’s easy to forget that it was only a few years ago that we started to realize LEDs were not just for traffic lights!

The advantages of LEDs include:

* Low power
* No breakable filament or arc tube that can break
* Long service life
* Small size
* Saturated colors
* Dimmability
* No catastrophic failures
* A period between failures of up to a decade or longer
* No mercury content
* No radiated heat included in the light transmission

Click here to read the rest of this article, which speculates as to whether LED lighting has reached a tipping point, and what’s continuing to hold it back.

The second article, titled “A New Technology in a Familiar Package: Will LEDs replace Traditional Sources of Light?”, notes the growing number of LED general lighting products but warns that although LEDs should be considered as another light source that get the job done, the technology is unique even when it comes in familiar packaging. LEDs:

Photo courtesy of Lumination.

* Product light by passing current through crystalline solids (which makes LEDs a solid-state light source)
* Are more robust, impervious to vibration and immune to extreme cold because they are solid-state
* Differ from conventional luminaires in that LED luminaires are highly integrated systems, typically with the “lamp” being integral to the system
* Must be assessed based on total luminaire performance, not the base LED output (also true of conventional sources, but with LEDs it is even more critical)
* Offer performance that is highly depending on the operating environment
* Are ideally suited to producing saturated colors (color LEDs); RGB mixing can also produce white, although the quality is questionable
* Can produce white light through RGB mixing (although the quality is questionable), adding a phosphor coat to a blue or ultraviolet LED (producing light similarly to a fluorescent lamp, with similar results in both color quality and selection)

Click here to read the rest.

Craig DiLouie

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