Is your electricity bill becoming to look like a nightmare? If the answer’s yes, you’re not alone. Over the past decade, the cost of electricity has increased by about 55%, with a rise of 9.5% in 2019 already. It means that more and more folks are looking for strategies to save electricity, such as shifting the lighting to LED lighting at home or work and betting on cheaper alternatives such as LED bulbs and numerous LED lighting products. Let’s analyze if this is a viable alternative or do we end up paying the same in the process of change?
Two alternatives illuminate the horizon: low-energy bulbs and new LED bulbs. We explain the difference between both along with its advantages and disadvantages, in addition to analyzing the energy saving for homes as well as offices that may lead to a better change.
Definition of LED
LED is defined by its acronym as Light Emitting Diode. It is not more than a small chip of semiconductor material, that when it is crossed by an electric current, in the proper sense, it emits monochromatic light without producing heat. It is an electronic semiconductor component with polarity to be used in signaling, aesthetic and, currently lighting functions. Its structure consists of an excellent thread, between the cathode and the anode, which could give the appearance of fragility.
What is LED technology?
LED technology is now becoming very common which is why it is currently intended to replace traditional lamps (incandescent or fluorescent) for the reason of its higher power consumption. This results in making the LEDs (light emitting diode) pass to a close-up since its power consumption is approximately 40% less than traditional lamps.
LED and OLED technology is used in the range of televisions, making the images sharper and less volume in their design, in traffic lights making them consume less power and be more visible and durable than regular traffic lights. The currently available LEDs are already rapidly replacing other lighting sources as well as they are today the preferred technology for decorative lights and different applications. The power of the LEDs, as a source of general lighting (white light), is currently one of its main promises for the future. The technology of LED lighting, focusing on its applications, life cycle and its ability to improve efficiency.
How much is saved per year with an LED bulb?
The rising trend in use of low consumption and LED bulbs are on the rise, and the reason for this is the energy savings. The question that many of us repeat is: How much does this saving amount to? As expected, the biggest savings occur in countries where the price of electricity is higher. The conservation by replacing a single halogen bulb with one of low consumption stands at $11.53 per year. The interchange to a LED bulb would still increase this energy saving to more than $14 per year, given that the latter consume even less than those of low consumption.
Low-energy light bulbs, are they worth it?
Although energy consumption decreases with the new bulbs, its purchase price does not. It could be one of the factors that supports the sale of traditional light bulbs. The only point against LED bulbs, since both in useful life, as in energy savings and power consumed seem clear winners.
Tips for switching to LED bulbs
So, does it make sense to change all the house bulbs at the same time by LED lighting products such as bulbs? Yes, but maybe there are more effective ways to make a massive change at home. A gradual change can make sense, and for that, we bring you the following tips to know how and when to make the change to LED bulbs:
• Prioritize the lamps that you use more often or for a longer time; that is where you will notice a more significant difference in the electricity bill.
• Keep in mind the unused bulbs you may have at home. It may be better to spend them before buying new ones of another type.
• If you are going to change several bulbs, see if there are several bulbs together for even more significant savings. You would be surprised at what you can save by comparing prices on the internet.
What does LED light bring to our lives?
In 2014 Shuji Nakamura, Isamu Akasaki, and Hiroshi Amano were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Its merit: invent the blue LED. At first glance, these small bluish light bulbs might seem like inventions that can have little impact on our daily lives. However, the discovery of a material capable of driving blue light has led to a revolution in the consumption of electricity and energy savings. This small blue tone has allowed, together with the combination of the other two colors, the creation of a white light bulb using this technology.
The LED Light is a small diode that produces light when electric current passes through the semiconductor material of which they are composed. It is a strong element of significant duration and resistance. It is a revolutionary development because it has allowed generating light at a lower cost and for longer than that with the traditional infrared radiation illumination. Thanks to gallium nitride, today LEDs are used to illuminate mobile screens, the flashes of these terminals, the spotlights of cars, flexes, lamps and save a large amount of energy.
Top 9 Advantages Of LED Technology
LEDs have nine advantages that give added value to this technology: long life, less maintenance compared to conventional light sources, high energy efficiency, extensive color range by nature, instant ignition, extreme robustness, light direct, ecological and absence of infrared and ultraviolet. Here is a summary of the nine advantages:
1. Long valuable life
LEDs are diodes that emit light when current passes through semiconductors. A driver or power supply is needed to provide the current that passes through the LED accurately. On the other hand, to ensure its long life, the correct study and design of the dissipation of the heat produced by the diode inside the luminaire are significant. Having a proper heat sink guarantees 50 thousand hours of life. The key is that there is a higher surface in direct contact with the air. In LEDs, if you cannot get a luminaire to maintain the ideal temperature for the LED to work at the correct temperature, it is not released into the catalog. The LEDs, correctly installed, can reach more than 50 thousand hours of life, conserving more than 70% of the original luminous flux.
2. Less maintenance compared to conventional light sources
Another advantage of LED technology is that it does not melt, but suffers degradation of the luminous flux. It is considered that the useful life of the LED ends at the moment when its luminosity is reduced by more than 70% of its initial value. LED luminaires last many times longer than conventional light sources, so it is not necessary to invest in spare parts consistently. Regular maintenance costs are eliminated, which improves the profitability of the installation.
3. High energy efficiency
Due to the extraordinary and continuous evolution of the LEDs towards energy efficiency, it is not possible to compare the luminous performance of the LED with its consumption. For this reason, its efficiency is not measured with watts, but with the calculations of lumens per watt or lumens per LED.
4. Wide range of colors by nature
The uniformity of the bin "tonalities of color" white is one of the most difficult challenges that LED manufacturers to have. They are available in shades of white with color temperatures ranging from 2,700K to 8,000K. LED has focused its efforts on ensuring that the instance of the different luminaires is as close as possible to each other. The use of filters is not required, so it is avoided to reduce the efficiency of the luminaire since the LED already provides the desired color.
The color of the LED light depends on the internal materials of the latter. The blue LEDs are composed of different materials compared to the green LEDs. We can obtain white light from an equitable mixture of the three primary colors - blue, red and green - or also using a white LED. The best way to get white light is to cover a blue LED with a phosphor layer. Depending on the quality controls that each brand has in its manufacturing process, more or less equality will be achieved in the different groups of the white bin. It is why it is essential to use top brand LEDs.
5. Instant ignition
The LED has the fastest timer compared to conventional light sources. Being another of the characteristics of the LEDs that their life is not reduced by the repetitive power actions. One example is the brake lights of cars, where it is used because it is swift and it is not necessary to wait for the current to pass through the ballast and turn on. It will also depend on the equipment: if the material is of quality, the LED will not take long to turn on.
6. Extreme ruggedness
Another point in favor is the robustness. It is not that the LEDs are robust (pressed with a finger the optics is damaged), but that this technology is resistant to the constant vibrations.
7. Direct light
The LED light is directional, so there is no light loss due to reflection. This contributes significantly to increase the efficiency and profitability of the luminaires. A clear example is the technical applications, such as a down light. If we use LED technology to have an opening of 120 degrees and easily controllable with optics, we avoid losses by reflection as we have inflorescence downlights.
8. Ecological
Virtually the entire LED is recyclable. Its compact design reduces the volume of the luminaire and waste. It does not contain mercury or other elements harmful to the environment. Also, its facility to be "dimmable" allows reducing energy consumption.
9. Absence of infrared and ultraviolet
The LEDs used for lighting emits flux in the visible spectrum of light that the human eye is capable of perceiving. There is a high number of applications. For example, in museums, the LED will be a good option thanks to this feature. The LEDs do not emit ultraviolet light, which avoids the heat of the infrared and the wear of the materials in sideboards.
Evolution of LED technology
Due to the rapid evolution of LED technology, the applications in which it is feasible to consider it as a light source expand exponentially. That is why the technical center of LEDS-C4 is in constant contact with the technological evolutions that occur, in order to apply that potential to the designs of the luminaires.
LED applications in the lighting sector, thanks to energy efficiency, coupled with ecological awareness, suggest a general implementation. For example, LED solutions for urban lighting and hotel lighting segments are particularly significant, where in addition to energy efficiency, long service life and reduced maintenance, LED luminaires also fulfill other important requirements: direct lighting, uniformity of luminance, resistance, reduced size and ability to change the color of light to achieve different effects and environments. Also, LED solutions in the field of LED lighting differ from the other existing proposals in the market for having fused this technology with design, achieving maximum energy efficiency without sacrificing aesthetics.
The LED technology is the future of lighting
LED lights and lamps can save up to 90% of electricity. The business lighting is of vital importance for daily tasks, but until a few years ago it was considered as part of the expenses that caused headaches when subtracting them from the income of the company. Today it is not like that. The traditional incandescent bulbs (which consume a lot of electrical energy) last from 750 to a thousand hours. Then came the saving lights, which today many companies use, which last from 6 thousand to 10 thousand hours and spend 60% less energy than incandescent lamps. Now come the LED lighting and lights, can save up to 90% of electricity and can last up to 40 thousand hours. They are 100% recyclable.
Are LEDs more efficient?
The current LEDs have three significant advantages compared to the sodium vapor bulb, the most used nowadays. To begin with, they are adjustable in intensity, which allows reducing the amount of light to a minimum during the hours of the night when there is hardly any activity on the street; sodium is also, but not as much nor can it be done as quickly as LED. Second, the light can be directed: in the LEDs, the light leaves the electronic chip forward and is not lost inside the lamp, as happens with other types of the light bulb, whose maximum performance is 70-85%. In the case of LEDs, 85-90% of the light generated is used. And finally, you can choose the color of the LED.
When you consider saving on the electricity bill, in addition to responsible consumption, having efficient products is an integral part of the equation. If we refer to light bulbs, the classic compact fluorescent low consumption types have fierce competition in LED bulbs. When we go to buy an LED bulb, and we have to choose a suitable model, it is common for us to have doubts when we see its price. There are models with a big difference in price and features that we must take into account to be successful when buying an LED bulb.
Why choose a LED bulb
Within the market of lighting, the types of lamps that currently enjoy better fame are LED bulbs. They are models considered to be low consumption but which base their operation on the inclusion of light emitting diodes instead of being compact fluorescents like the current ones. LED bulbs are first of all more efficient models when it comes to producing light, with an average of 80% savings compared to incandescent, but also taking advantage of the classic low consumption. An LED bulb of about 14 W has an equivalence with an incandescent of about 100 W and moderate use of about 20 W. You get more options, lower consumption, less polluting and with longer useful life, but also much more expensive than low consumption.
Besides the higher efficiency, the LED technology supposes a significant increase in the useful life of a bulb, situating of average in models of quality above the 40.000 hours. We must also take into account that depending on the use we give, the quality and stability of our installation or its situation (whether it is recessed or not, with better or worse dissipation), due to excessive heat could reduce the useful life marked by the manufacturer, which is always in ideal conditions. Other advantages of using LED lights have to do with that its ignition is instantaneous, there are more options to choose by color temperature, they can be adjustable and are also considered less polluting, presuming especially not contain any mercury, which is one of the disadvantages of fluorescent-type low consumption light bulbs.
Why choose LED lighting products?
• Durability and High Luminous Flux
• Maintenance
• Energy Efficiency
• Adjustable Intensity without Color Alteration
• Environment (Ecological)
• Cold Light Source
• Health (Mercury)
For years, LEDs have invaded our lives. From the screens of smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs, going through cars and more. The acceptance of the LED is such that there are already cities changing their lighting to this technology. Many of these municipalities rely on TEISA (Innovative Building Techniques) to make their luminaire changes. We also offer solar light in Florida in the area of consulting, promotion and project development, which contribute to sustainable socio-economic energy efficiency