LED means light emitting diode. LED lights are up to 90% more efficient than incandescent bulbs at making light. But how do led lights work? When electricity flows through a microchip, it lights up the tiny light sources we call LEDs. This causes light that we can see. A heat sink takes in the heat that LEDs give off so that it doesn’t affect how well they work.
LED lighting products have a different definition of useful life than incandescent or compact fluorescent lighting (CFL). Most LEDs don’t “burn out” or break; instead, they go through a process called “lumen depreciation,” in which the LED’s brightness slowly fades over time. In contrast to incandescent bulbs, an LED’s “lifetime” is based on an estimate of when its light output will drop by 30%.
How work LED lights do you know?
Light is a type of energy that an atom can give off, and it is made up of many small packets that look like particles but have no mass. Light is made up of these particles, which are called photons.
When electrons move, photons are sent out into the world. The electrons in an atom move in circles around the nucleus. Electrons have different amounts of energy when they are in different orbitals. In general, electrons with more energy move into orbitals that are farther from the nucleus.
Something has to give an electron more energy to move from a lower orbital to a higher orbital. On the other hand, when an electron flows from a higher orbital to a lower orbital, it gives off energy. A photon is a form in which this energy is given off. A photon with more energy is released when there is a bigger drop in energy, and this photon has a higher frequency.
As we saw previously, free electrons traveling across a diode can jump into empty holes in the P-type layer. This happens when the electrons drop from the conduction band to a lower orbital, releasing energy as photons. This happens in every diode, but the photons can only be seen when the diode is made of a certain material.
In a standard silicon diode, for instance, the atoms are arranged so that the electron falls a short distance. Because of this, the photon frequency is so low that the human eye can’t see it. It’s in the infrared part of the light spectrum. This is sometimes a good thing, though. Infrared LEDs are great for things like remote controls.
Visible light-emitting diodes (VLEDs), like the ones that light up the numbers on a digital clock, are made of materials with a larger gap between the lower orbitals and the conduction band. The frequency of the photon, or the color of the light, is determined by the size of the gap.
LEDs are used in everything from remote controls to digital displays on electronics, but the small size and long life of visible LEDs make them very popular. LEDs can be made to shine in infrared, ultraviolet, and all the visible spectrum colors in between, depending on the materials used to make them.
Even though all diodes give off light, most don’t do it very well. In a normal diode, the semiconductor material takes a lot of light energy, and LEDs are made specially to send out many photons.
They are also put inside a plastic bulb that focuses the light in a certain direction. Most of the diode’s light goes through the bulb’s rounded end after bouncing off the sides.
What are the Benefits of LED Lights?
Many people are switching out their old incandescent, halogen, and compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs for Light-Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs, but why? There are many benefits, such as saving more energy, paying less for electricity, making bulbs last longer, and getting a better, safer light source overall.
LED light bulbs are made to use less energy because they use a semiconductor to turn electricity into light. LED lights use their energy much more efficiently than other bulbs. They can produce light up to 90% more efficiently than incandescent bulbs and 80% more efficiently than CFLs. This is partly because LED bulbs use less power than incandescent or CFL bulbs. The Solar Electric Power Company says that fluorescent lights waste 95% of their power as heat and only use 5% to make light. LEDs are the opposite; they use an amazing 95% of their energy to give off light.
LED bulbs were costly when they first came out on the market, but their prices have decreased by more than 80% since then. But some people are still hesitant to try LED bulbs because they cost more upfront than regular ones. Still, a Consumer Federation of America study found that the average American household could save about $1,000 over ten years by switching to LEDs. This would save consumers money in the long run. It’s a case of “pay now or pay later.” Even though an average incandescent bulb might cost half as much as an LED bulb, it would cost almost five times as much each month as an LED light bulb. This amount is added to a person’s electric bill every month and is easy to cut back on by switching to LED.
Another way that LED saves money is that the light bulbs last longer. LED bulbs don’t burn out like incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). Instead, they just lose a little bit of their shine over time. EnergyStar says that LED bulbs use a complex thermal management method to ensure they last for a certain amount of time. Even though the bulbs should be changed when they only give off 30% of their original light, people could use them even longer. This longer life span saves money for consumers and helps the environment by making things use less energy.
LED bulbs also give off a more focused glow than fluorescent and incandescent lights, which makes the light better overall. This means that people can use fewer light bulbs than they would if they used regular bulbs. The Solar Electric Power Company (SEPCO) says that using fewer bulbs reduces energy use and carbon emissions. These bulbs are also better for the environment and the people who use them because they don’t have any harmful chemicals. Fluorescent light strips are especially bad for people and the environment because they contain mercury and other chemicals that stay in landfills after use. A neuroscientist with a Ph.D., Dr. Sandra Tosta, says that people who spend a lot of time under fluorescent lights get headaches and eye pain, which doesn’t happen with cleaner, smarter LED lights.
How is LED lighting different than other light sources, such as incandescent and CFL?
LED lighting is different in several ways from both incandescent and fluorescent lighting. When made well, LED lighting is more efficient, can be used in many different ways, and lasts longer.
LEDs are “directional,” which means they only shine light in one direction. This differs from incandescent and CFL bulbs, which shine light and heat in all directions. So, LEDs can use light and energy more efficiently in many different ways. But this also means that an LED light bulb that shines light in every direction needs to be made with a lot of technical know-how.
Amber, red, green, and blue is all common LED colors. To make white light, different colored LEDs are put together or covered with a phosphor material that changes the color of the light into the familiar “white” light used in homes. Some LEDs are covered with phosphor, which is a yellow material. As signal and indicator lights, like the power button on a computer, colored LEDs are often used.
In a compact fluorescent light (CFL), an electric current flows between electrodes at each end of a tube filled with gases. This reaction gives off heat and ultraviolet (UV) light. When the UV light hits a phosphor coating on the inside of the bulb, it changes into light that we can see. Find out more about CFLs.
Incandescent bulbs give off light by using electricity to heat a metal filament until it “incandesces” or gets “white hot.” Because of this, 90% of the energy from incandescent bulbs comes out as heat.
Final Words
With all the improvements in lighting technology, we’ve moved into a new era of lighting where we have more good options than ever before. Even though the traditional incandescent light bulb has been very successful, it does have its own set of problems. Overall, standard bulbs could be better at saving energy, and how they are made causes them to give off a lot of extra heat. More and more people think and act in ways that are good for the environment, so lighting companies and consumers are turning to newer, more energy-efficient light bulb designs like the LED light bulb. Currently, LED bulbs are the most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly light bulbs you can buy.
