Enlightened about LED’s
Have you’ve been hearing the praise about the energy savings of LED’s? Want to jump on board? Here’s some information to help
you get started. I’ve recently completed a project using LED for all the track lighting in a residence. We used Eco-Story because it had a good color balance, not a blue cold light, not too buggy yellow.
What does LED stand for?
• Light Emitting Diode
How much energy can I save?
• This depends on the individual manufacturer. I’ll use a manufacture that I’m familiar with; Eco-Story. Their MR16 uses 4 watts of energy versus a typical MR16 that uses anywhere from 20-60 Watts.
What is the lifespan of a LED?
• Again just for consistency I’ll use the Eco-Story MR16. It is rated at 40-50,000 hours versus a “long life” typical halogen MR16 at 10,000 hours. This means that on average, the bulbs are expected to last for 40-50,000 hours of use. Wow huh?!
What are the advantages of LED?
• They do not get hot like halogens and incandescent bulbs.
• They use far less energy.
• Their lamp life is out of this world.
What are the disadvantages?
• The light output is not always great.
• Not all of them are dimmable. And when they are, they may shut off at a certain point cause they don’t have the full range of dimming like an incandescent. If you want to dim LED’s, my experience shows that the more lights on the circuit the further they will dim. Also, they are not compatible with all dimmer switches. For example, the Eco-Story dimmable bulb works best on a Lutron switch. This has to do with what is inside the dimmer.
• Sometimes the color is not a white white, it will have a red or blue undertone.
• Cost. Typical halogen MR16 is roughly $6.00; LED MR16 is around $45. Yes, they are an investment but you can always take them with you if you move.
• They haven’t developed LED’s for all types of bulbs.
• They are not readably available at stores and when they are, the quality can be poor.
Always test a lamp or two to make sure it is the quality of light you desire for your application. I plan on testing a few manufacturers in the near future and will post results soon.
Want more info? Visit:
• www.eco-story.com
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode
Tags: Energy Savings, LED, LED Lights, Lighting, sustainable design
