Benefits of LED Lighting

Reduced Lifetime
When operated properly, LEDs do not burn out like normal light bulbs. Rather, they dim over time. The most common industry standard for rating the “lifetime” of an LED is the point at which the light produced is only 70% of the initial lumen value. Under proper operating conditions, most LEDs can have a lifetime exceeding more than 40,000 hrs (> 4.5 years of continuous operation.)

Energy-efficiency
Light-emitting diodes are a special type of transistor that uses the electricity to create an electric field inside the tiny chip. This electric field enables the very highly efficient creation of light inside the chip. Unfortunately, due to tiny defects at an atomic level and optics of packaging surrounding the chip, some of this light never escapes to the outside world where we can see it. Today, the best chips are producing about 30% of their theoretically expected efficiency, but many industry experts are confident that this value could be increased to 60% or greater in the years ahead.

Reduced Energy Costs
Currently, LED luminaires are generally more expensive than those using traditional light sources, but they can use up to 1/5 the energy of traditional light sources and produce equivalent light output, thus producing significant energy savings. Depending on the hours of usage of the luminaire, the payback periods can be quite short.

Cooler operating temperatures
Since LEDs produce no infrared (IR) or ultraviolet (UV) they are generally cooler to the touch than traditional sources and radiate less heat. However, LEDs do indeed produce heat as they generate light and this heat must be conducted away from the LED die. This thermal management is one of the most important factors in determining the performance and life of the LED. The table below shows how LED and other sources convert power to light.