Frequently Asked Questions
What is an LED?
LED – Light Emitting Diode is a solid-state semiconductor device that converts electrical energy directly into light. There are no moving parts, no gas and no filaments to heat up. A LED semiconductor comprises two regions, one is a positively charged region (P region) and the other is a negatively charged region (N region) When a current is passed between these two regions it causes the electrons to move to the opposite region. It is this movement that creates and releases energy, this energy is called a Photon and is visible to the human eye, thus we have a Light Emitting Diode.
Where have LEDs been used in the lighting industry?
LEDs are commonly used in aesthetic, effect, or specialty lighting applications, including architectural highlighting. Most traffic lights and exit signs, for example, now use red, green or blue LEDs. LEDs are now commonly found in garden and outdoor lighting applications.
What are the advantages to using LED lights?
LEDs bring several advantages to the lighting industry, including high efficiency and durability, and, with superior life over other lamp sources, their required maintenance is greatly reduced. This translates into energy savings, maintenance savings and an overall reduction in cost of ownership over the product's lifetime.
What are the environmental benefits?
LED fixtures also have an environmental advantage in that they contain no mercury, last longer and produce less waste, and they are made from fully recyclable materials. Furthermore, the extruded aluminum heat sink is manufactured using 77% post-industrial recycled material.
A single kilowatt-hour of electricity will generate 610grams of CO2 emissions. Assuming the average light bulb is on for 10 hours a day, a single 40-watt incandescent bulb will generate 89 kg of CO2 every year. The 8.5-watt LED equivalent will only be responsible for 19kg of CO2 over the same time span. A building's carbon footprint from lighting can be reduced by 79% by exchanging all incandescent bulbs for new LEDs.
Do I have to replace LED diodes?
An LED does not burn out like a standard lamp, so individual diodes do not need to be replaced. Instead, the diodes gradually produce lower output levels over a very long period of time. If one LED fails, it does not produce a complete fixture outage.
How long is 50,000 hours?
Based on how long a fixture is illuminated per day, here's what 50,000 works out to:
50,000 hours is:
| Hours of Operation: |
5.7 years |
| 18 hours per day | 7.6 years |
| 12 hours per day | 11.4 years |
| 8 hours per day | 17.1 years |
| 5 hours per day | 27.4 years |