Light Emitting Diodes or the LEDs are the amazing creation of technology which replace the incandescent lights and are becoming the lights of the future. Even though the LEDs are more efficient, last for a longer duration and provide bright light than the traditional bulbs, the higher manufacturing costs of LEDs are extending the existence of traditional incandescent lights. In spite of all the good qualities of LEDs, they have acquired some distasteful reputation by the consumers because of some myths. The following paragraphs explain some of the complaints about LEDs and their solutions.
1. LEDs are highly priced.
This is the primary concern of the most of the consumers. Comparatively LEDs are expensive, but their long life span and the energy efficiencies save a lot more money in the long run. Recently Energy Star has declared that LEDs reduce energy consumption by 75% and are 5 times more durable than incandescent and 2 times more than fluorescent lighting. Because of their energy efficient nature, they have become environmental friendly too.
Also, the life period of LEDs is a very important criterion and one significant thing about LEDs is that their life is not shortened when they are turned on and off each time, but when used within their design parameters they last at least for 50000 hours.
Another considerable point about LEDs is their Power Consumption. A standard 120 V incandescent bulb uses 50 mA where as an LED used 11 mA. That is almost 5 times lower than that of the traditional incandescent lighting! That means, saving 5 times more energy and money for a day!! LEDs are estimated to pay back the initial cost of installations in three years considering the savings and their extended life.
2. LEDs breakdown too easily.
Even though LED lights are known for their long life span, there can be incidents of unexplained sudden failure. The basic reasons for this are voltage spikes and heat.
Excessive or frequent voltage spikes might cause sudden breakdown of LED lights. Increased generator use because of numerous power outages can be the cause for frequent voltage spikes which can happen in some mountain towns. An example of excessive voltage spikes can be direct lightning strikes and malfunctions caused by power companies, but none of them are not very frequent.
Another main cause for the failure of LED lights can be the heat. But in most of the LED lights, precaution has been taken to overcome this problem by building a seat sink. Heat sink is a component or assembly which transfers the heat produced inside a solid material to a fluid medium such as air or a liquid by increasing the surface area in contact with the air by using its extended surface which is, usually the aluminium alloy fins.
Also, some of the LED lights come with a built in fans which dissipate the heat with greater efficiency and this makes the LED lights to last for a longer time.
3. The colour of LED lights is Weird
The colour consistency and the CRI (Colour Rendering Index) decide the colour of LED lights. The reason for the colour of LED lights to look weird is the light colour consistency and a lower CRI.
Colour Rendering Index or CRI is a quantitative measure of the potential of a light source to replicate the colours of several objects when compared with an ideal or natural light source. A good example for this is how pale people look under fluorescent light and how the same people look under natural light. The LED lights with a CRI of 70 or higher solve this problem.
The second reason for the colour of the LED lights to be weird is the colour consistency. The colour of the LED lights can be sorted into different shades like warm white, soft white, pure white, etc. Unfortunately, the range for the warm white shade is too wide and noticeably different. Using a Kelvin scale method, some manufacturers of the LED lights have sorted out this problem.
4. LED lights do not produce enough illumination.
High power LED lights produce bright light where as low power LEDs produce dim lights. Low power LEDs are designed to light small rooms.
The other reason for the low lighted LEDs can be the quality. The LED lights are meant to long for 200000 hours, but after reaching 50000 hours, the light starts to dim. These lights will be sold at a cheaper price with some refurbishment with inferior quality components and out-of-date designs and these types of LEDs produce a very dim light.
So, the LED lights bought with a lot of search with all the above points taking into consideration will last for longer with an effective lighting.