LEDs provide superior lighting from every angle.

LEDs are often specified for general lighting applications based on energy and maintenance savings alone. Although these benefits are the easiest to quantify, LEDs also offer a number of other advantages compared to traditional lamp sources:   

 

 

Advantages of LED Lighting

LED illumination is currently the highlight of sustainable lighting and the lighting industry in general. It is by far the most efficient and one of the most effective lighting solutions available. It outperforms incandescent and fluorescent lighting, and offers unparalleled energy savings.

There are a lot of benefits to utilizing LED lighting for space lighting, especially in the industrial setting where cost effectiveness and visual performance are primary concerns. As LEDs continue to develop, a number of possible uses open up since LEDs are also easily adapted for a variety of design options.

To give you a better idea of what the advantages are in using LED lighting solutions, here is a comprehensive list of the benefits of light emitting diodes.

1. Low Energy Consumption

 

LED lighting has significantly reduced energy consumption without sacrificing functional efficiency and visual performance. An incandescent bulb is only able to transform 20% of the electricity that it requires into light energy, with the other 80% being given off as heat. For LED lamps it is the other way around – 80% of the electrical energy is emitted as light energy and only 20% is released as heat.

LEDs are also utilized for lighting control technology which contributes significantly to energy savings. LEDs are fully dimmable and are easily incorporated into circuits with a variety of sensors, including daylight harvesting sensors.

2. Long Life Expectancy

LEDs are also known for having very long life expectancy, especially when compared to incandescent and fluorescent lighting. A LED lamp can last up to 100,000 hours at full use, which adds up to 11 years of 100% usage. With 50% usage, a LED lamp can last for 22 years. This is a vast improvement to an incandescent lamp’s operational life, which is approximately 5,000 hours.

The LED’s longevity also allows for unparalleled cost effectiveness, since it reduces maintenance costs and the need for regular bulb replacement. This feature is especially useful if lighting is required for areas or niches that are inaccessible.
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3. Durability

LEDs are very durable and resilient, and are the choice lighting solutions for areas that require rugged use. Because they don’t have a fragile glass encasement and do not require a filament to function, LEDs can take a lot of jarring and bumping and still maintain their ability to function at peak efficiency. They are known for being resistant to heat, cold and shock.

Because of this particular LED feature, LEDs are being developed for rugged use in underwater environments, and for exterior and outdoor lighting. These settings would have a lamp that would be exposed to the elements but would be required to maintain a high-performance visual environment.

4. A Cool Lighting Solution

LEDs are cool – literally. LEDs only emit a small amount of heat compared to other lighting contemporaries. The LED’s ability to not cause heat build ups works to the benefit of AC units, which translates to added energy savings and cost effectiveness. It also helps maintain a comfortable environment for people.

5. Sustainability and Green Lighting

LED is currently the favored solution for sustainable or green lighting.

It does not contain any toxic material (e.g. mercury), which makes it environmentally friendly and easier to dispose of than fluorescent lighting. It also only emits an extremely low amount of carbon dioxide, which lessens its negative effect on the atmosphere. Because an LED has a very long operational lifespan (reaching 22 years at 50% use), it lessens wastage as it does not require regular bulb replacement. LED lighting also features an unparalleled capacity for energy savings, which is a major concern for sustainable design.
Because of this combination of exemplary features, LEDs are becoming the leading choice for those opting for sustainable design and green lighting. LEDs offer maximum lighting efficiency and effectiveness without the harmful byproducts that come with other lighting solutions.

6. Lighting for Remote Areas

LED lighting is also the choice lighting solution for remote areas. Because of the low amount of electricity required by the LED to function efficiently, it makes the use of solar panels feasible. Thus, those who reside in areas that are difficult to reach are offered better options than running an electric line or using a generator for lighting.

                                                        

Impact on Sustainability

More and more companies are opting for sustainable design and green lighting as the advantages also become more apparent. Sustainable design aims to reduce the excessive use of resources which means creating designs that are cost effective.
A lot of attention is being given to environmental issues today. As the need for sustainable design grows, more and more benefits are being offered to buildings and companies that make an effort to create a sustainable environment. Accreditations like the LEED or the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design now provide buildings with a structured framework of what is required to create a sustainable and environmentally-friendly building. The buildings and companies that qualify for LEED accreditation are then offered a growing number of state and local government incentives which can include tax breaks. For LEED accreditation, energy consumption is a major category to be considered.

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system,  providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO₂ emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

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Lighting is particularly emphasized when it comes to sustainable design since the energy consumption of lighting can reach up to 50% of the total energy consumption of a building. This does not include the cost of maintenance that lighting also requires. To effectively create a cost effective lighting design can easily translate to a significant amount of savings for a building. Thus, green lighting gains in popularity daily.

At the center of green lighting is the LED or the light emitting diode. The LED is the ideal lighting solution, featuring high lighting efficiency, low energy consumption, durability, adaptability, and longevity all in one lighting technology. With the LED, an impressive number of design options have become available to lighting engineers and developers.

The LED is the dream green solution. It contains no toxic material, which makes it recyclable and environmentally safe. It also has an almost non-existent carbon footprint. In fact, a city with 10,000 installed LED luminaries is able to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions by 11,000 metric tons per year.

LED Lighting Design Options

LED lights are the most adaptable and reliable lighting solutions today. Because of their size, they can easily be incorporated in a number of different uses as well as in a variety of lighting control systems. In fact, they are already being heavily utilized in a number of environments.

LED luminaries are ideal for street, exterior and outdoor lighting due to their durability and resistance to shock, cold, heat and vibration. They are also easily incorporated into lighting control systems that are especially designed for managing and monitoring outdoor and street lighting. This allows for daylight harvesting or delighting, time based switches; time based dimming, and occupancy sensors.

Its suitability for exterior lighting also makes the LED ideal for architectural lighting. It can be used to highlight or emphasize architectural features or generally illuminate a façade. LEDs are also capable of emitting a wide array of colors from the light spectrum, which makes them ideal for presentation purposes or for accent lighting.

LED lighting is also ideal for solar lighting, a design that is now being referred to as Solar LED Lighting. This is because LEDs require a significantly lower amount of electricity to function when compared to incandescent and fluorescent lighting. Solar LED lights are a viable option for areas that are remote or don’t have easy access to an electricity line. This is also a more reliable option than an electricity generator.

 

Enhanced safety:

                                       

• No ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) radiation
• No Mercury clean up and disposal exposure
• Low-voltage power supplies (i.e., drivers) provide reduced risk of electrical shock
• Better color temp for visual enhancement resulting in safer and more productive enviroments