Everything You Need To Know About LED Lamps

LED lights are now vastly used in our day to day life. but what distinguishes the LED lamps from the usual ones, what are their advantages over other technologies. Not only do LED holiday lights consume less electricity, they also have the various other advantages.

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How LED lamps differ from others

As the name suggests, light sources in LED lamps are miniature electronic devices - LEDs. In the usual incandescent lamps, the light is radiated by a red-hot metal spiral. In energy-saving lamps, the light is emitted by the phosphor, which is applied to the inner surface of the glass tube. In turn, the phosphor glows under the action of a gas discharge.

To understand technicalities about LED lamps, let us briefly review the features of each type of lamp.

The working of incandescent lamp is very simple, in which a spiral of refractory metal is fixed inside a transparent glass bulb from which air is pumped. Passing through a spiral, the electric current heats it to a high temperature, at which the metal glows brightly.

The advantage of such lamps is a low price. However, it is compensated for by the same low efficiency: less than 10% of the energy consumed by the bulb turns into visible light. The rest is uselessly dissipated in the form of heat - the bulb becomes very hot during operation. In addition, the life of the device is very small and amounts to about 1,000 hours.

Compact fluorescent lamp, or CFL (this is the exact name of the energy-saving lamp), with the same brightness of light consumes about five times less electricity than an incandescent lamp. CFL is more expensive and has several significant disadvantages for the consumer:

• Quite a long time (several minutes) flare up after turning on;
• The lamp with its curved glass bulb looks unaesthetic;
• The light of CFL flickers, which is tiring for vision.

The LED lamp is a series of LEDs mounted in the same housing as the power supply. Without a power supply unit it can not work. For switching on, the LEDs require a direct current supply with a voltage of 6 or 12 V, and in the household electricity system - alternating current with a voltage of 220 V/110 V.

The lamp body is most often made in the form of a familiar "pear" with a screw cap. Due to this, LED lamps are installed in a regular cartridge without any problems.

Depending on the LEDs used, the color of the LED lights can be different. This is one of their major advantages.

-	Lamp	Incandescent	Energy Saving LED
Radiation	Color Yellow Warm,	Daytime Yellow,	Warm White, Cool White
Power consumption	High Average:	5 times less than incandescent lamps Low	: 8 times less than incandescent
Service life	1 thousand hours	3-15 thousand hours	25-30 thousand hours
Disadvantages	Strong heating Fragile,	long flare up	low maximum power
Advantages	Low price,	work in a wide range of conditions, Relatively economical and durable	Very economical and durable

Advantages of LED lamps:

• Very low power consumption - an average of eight times less than that of incandescent lamps of similar brightness;
• Very long service life - work 25-30 times longer than incandescent lamps;
• Almost do not get warm;
• Color of radiation - to choose from;
• Stable brightness of lighting when the supply voltage fluctuates.

The main advantage of LED lamps is the economy. It is assumed that due to low power consumption and long service life, LED lamps will significantly reduce the cost of lighting.

The price of LED lamps at the time of writing was about three times higher than that of conventional ones. Consequently, in the monetary dimension, they are 50-100 times more economical. Of course, this saving will be achieved provided that the lamp fully fulfills the promised service life and does not burn out prematurely.

Disadvantages of LED lamps limit the scope of their use:

• Uneven light distribution - the power supply built into the case shadows the light flux;
• Matt flask looks ugly in glass and crystal lamps;
• The brightness of the glow, as a rule, can not be changed with the help of a dimmer;
• They are unsuitable for use at very low temperatures (in frost) and high temperatures (in steam rooms, saunas).

Characterstics of an LED lamp

LED lamps have many characteristics. This makes the task of choosing the right one more difficult. Let's see what exactly different characteristics mean.

1. Supply voltage

If there is an unstable voltage in your apartment or house, you need to choose lamps that can work in a wide range of voltages. This is always indicated on the package. Unlike incandescent lamps, LED lamps with reduced voltage burn as brightly as under normal.

2. Radiation Color

Color is characterized by the color temperature, which is measured in Kelvin: with increasing color temperature, light changes from yellow to blue. In most cases, the color of the radiation is indicated on the package and the lamp body in degrees and words:

• Warm (2,700 K) - approximately corresponds to the radiation of an incandescent lamp;
• Warm white (3 000 K) - is considered optimal for living quarters;
• Cool white (4 000 K) - for offices and industrial premises; close to daylight.

There are lamps with a variable color, In them, when the mode is switched, the radiation spectrum of such a lamp changes.

One must bear in mind that many people do not perceive the blue part of the spectrum, so the cold light of the lamps will seem to them dim. So, if you decide to install lamps with a cold spectrum at home, choose them with a margin for power.

3. Power

On the packaging of LED lamps, their luminous flux and the power of similar incandescent lamps are indicated. The actual power consumption of LED lamps is 6-8 times less. For example, a 12-watt LED lamp shines as brightly as an ordinary 100-watt light bulb. This ratio can be used when selecting an LED lamp for replacement of an incandescent lamp.

However, an unpleasant surprise can be trapped here, that is, the claimed power may not correspond to the actual one, and the lamp will shine weaker than expected.

In addition, the brightness of the LEDs decreases with time. It is possible that the bulb will have to be changed long before the expiration of its service due to the fact that it began to shine too weakly.

Other important factors

• Dimensions of LED lamps are slightly larger than similar incandescent lamps. Therefore, in small plafonds can not easily fit.
• If a luminaire is switched on via a dimmer, you need the appropriate light bulbs in this case. The packaging should indicate that the lamp is adjustable.
• The color rendering index of LED lamps is small which means that they somewhat distort the visual perception of colors. In some cases, for example, when photographing with LED light, this can be important.

The strategy of switching to LED lamps

Potential savings should not make you lose your head. Do not rush to run to the store and buy lamps at once for all the lamps in the house. It is advisable to be guided by two principles.

• Replace only lamps with high power - 60 watts or more. Savings from replacing low-power lamps will be small, and the cost of a new lamp may not pay off.
• To replace the lamps in the fixtures, the burning time of which during the day is greatest: for example, in chandeliers in living rooms. It is pointless to change a light bulb in any utility room, the light in which is ignited from case to case and briefly.

Do not expect that the electricity consumption will decrease at times. The main consumers of electric power in everyday life are all kinds of heating appliances: an iron, an electric kettle, a washing machine and, especially, an electric stove. According to several people interviewed, the electricity bill after switching to LED lamps is reduced by somewhere between 15-25%.

Conclusion

LED lamps, in comparison with traditional incandescent lamps, is a radically new lighting solution.

A few years ago they were a very expensive technical novelty, but today their price is already comparable with the price of other types of lamps. As for the characteristics, the LED lamps on them significantly outperform the previous lighting devices.

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