LEDs (light-emitting diodes) have been in our lives for a long time. In the simplest of examples, they are commonly used on electrical appliances to indicate that the unit is on, for example the little red standby light on the front of your television. Now, manufacturers have expanded the product line of LEDs to everyday home lighting fixtures, such as GU10 spotlight bulbs.

But what about the cost? Yes, they are not the cheapest bulbs available. But there is much more to this story than just the initial cost of this bulb.

• Long useful life: The lifespan of LED lights definitely stands out as one of its main benefits. The LED bulbs and diodes have an excellent operational lifespan of up to 50,000 hours. To put it in a time frame, an LED bulb could last up to 11 years in continuous operation or if used for 8 hours per day it would take 20 years before it needs to be replaced.
• Energy efficiency: LEDs are undoubtedly the most efficient form of lighting, with an estimated energy efficiency of 80%-90% compared to traditional incandescent bulbs that work at 20%. The remaining percentage is lost and converted to other forms of energy such as heat. Here’s an example to put it into perspective: if you use traditional lighting and have a £100 electricity bill, then £80 of that money has been used to heat the room, not light it! Using 80% efficient LED bulbs, your electricity costs would be around £20 and you would have saved around £80.
• Environmental friendly: While conventional fluorescent bulbs contain hazardous materials like mercury, LED bulbs contain no toxic materials and are 100% recyclable. So not only do they help reduce your carbon footprint by up to a third, but the long lifespan means one LED bulb can save material and produce 25 incandescent bulbs.
• Durability: LED bulbs are built with heavy-duty components that are highly durable and can withstand even the harshest of conditions. Because they are resistant to shock, vibration, and external impacts, they are excellent outdoor lighting capable of withstanding harsh conditions and exposure to weather, wind, rain, or even external vandalism, public exposure related to traffic, and construction sites. or manufacturing. LED bulbs are also ideal for operating in cold environments and low outside temperatures. In the case of fluorescent lamps, low temperatures can affect performance and present a challenge, but LED lighting also works well in cold environments, such as outdoor winter environments, cold rooms, etc.
• Design Variety: From different color temperatures, beam angles, dimming options, and shapes, LEDs continue to produce highly efficient lighting. LED ambient lighting is a good example of how design technology is used. It is already being used in airplanes, classrooms and many more places and we can expect to see a lot more LED ambient lighting in our daily lives in the years to come.

Another important question to ask yourself: Are incandescent light bulbs being phased out?

Although for the most part incandescent light bulbs were never banned, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) established that any lamp that did not meet its energy standards could no longer be manufactured.

An FAQ document published by Energy Star explained these restrictions this way:

“The standards are technology neutral, meaning any type of light bulb can be sold as long as it meets efficiency requirements. Common household light bulbs that traditionally use between 40 and 100 watts will use at least 27% less energy by 2014.” “.

Putting it simply, if a manufacturer wants to sell incandescent bulbs beyond 2013, they would have to come up with a more energy-efficient technology.

However, lighting manufacturers have another hurdle ahead of them with EISA. By 2020, light bulbs will need to be 60-70% more efficient.

So do the 2020 standards set by EISA mean the end of incandescent light bulbs?

With the significant price reductions of CFLs and LEDs in recent years, as well as the drastic difference in energy efficiency and their drastically different lifespans, it’s not too hysterical to predict that incandescent bulbs will go out of production altogether in the future. 2020s.