THE RISE OF LED'S AS A VIABLE ENERGY-EFFICIENT LIGHTING OPTION

While LED’s themselves do not produce any heat, as a category they represent one of the hottest new trends in residential and commercial lighting.  Perhaps having more in common with your television set than the other light bulbs you own, LED’s are semiconductor devices that can produce directed light in an extremely efficient manner. 

Gaining their start as indicator lights inside electronic devices, the technology has come a long way in recent years, as engineers have learned how to harness the very directional nature of most LED light sources, allowing it to be used in applications that require a wider splash of light.  They are most commonly found today in applications such as under-cabinet lights, cove lighting, or in lighting a tray ceiling.  Improved capsules built around an LED source have been one such reason for its wider application, as has an overall reduction in cost. 

LED’s often have a phenomenal efficacy rating, with some achieving ratings of 100 lumens per watt (fluorescents can average closer to 60 LPW, while incandescents typically come in at 15 LPW).  They also have a  particularly long shelf-life, making them an attractive option for hard to reach places, such as a vaulted ceiling.  On the downside, just like anything else electronic in nature, LED technology changes frequently, rendering previous product offerings obsolete in as little as a few months.  Unlike incandescents and fluorescents, LED’s will also typically dim slowly over time when burning out, rather than going out all at once (again, think of your television set, which typically phases itself out in a similar manner). 

Despite these current realities, LED lighting holds perhaps the greatest influence over the future of fixture design, and energy efficiency in lighting applications.