LED BULBS COMING TO A FIXTURE NEAR YOU
Posted By STEVE MAXWELL, FOR TORSTAR SYNDICATION SERVICES
Posted 2 days ago
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Judging by how often I see compact fluorescent bulbs these days, a lot of people are willing to make at least a few lifestyle changes in the interests of the environment. But I doubt we'll see many of these fluorescent bulbs ten years from now. That's because a more efficient, safer and longer lasting light bulb technology is emerging. It's starting to appear on store shelves, and as prices drop we'll see it configured for more and more applications.
The technology is called light emitting diode (LED for short), and until four or five years ago, just about the only place you'd see them was on VCR screens, microwaves and the occasional ancient calculator from the 1970s. The first high profile breakout from traditional LED applications appeared in Christmas lights. That happened in 2002, and nowadays an entire string of colorful LED holiday lights uses less energy than a single incandescent holiday bulb did from yesteryear. The working life of LED lights is measured in tens of thousands of hours, too, not just thousands. All this has me watching and waiting. How long before LED bulbs became available for serious, interior lighting applications in lamps an overhead fixtures?
LED bulbs are particularly efficient and long-lasting because they produce light in an entirely different way than other kinds of bulbs. Instead of using electricity to heat up a metal filament or excite a conductive gas, LEDs produce light by channeling electric current through a semiconductor. In the most efficient examples, this approach converts almost 100% of the electricity into light, with virtually no waste heat produced.
It's now possible to buy LED equivalents for retrofitting various types of household and specialty light fixtures that were originally designed for incandescent bulbs. You won't see many of these new LED bulbs on hardware store shelves in a big way yet, but leading Canadian specialty suppliers are beginning to offer a growing line-up of promising LED bulbs. The only problem is cost, though that's changing.
The price of an MR16 LED to replace traditional halogen designs runs from $35-$60 for a single bulb. That's about five to eight times more money than a regular halogen bulb, but the LED lasts 20 to 25 times longer while using 90% less energy. Facts like these are why LEDs do make especially good sense in applications where lights stay on a lot, where the heat build-up of traditional bulbs is a problem, or where it's difficult to change bulbs after they burn out.
Commercial and high-rise residential applications are one area where lights are switched ON in hallways, stairwells or elevators 24/7, and this is where LEDs make good sense. They're also useful for exterior residential applications, especially when the work of changing a bulb involves climbing up a ladder. LEDs last for years and function well in cold temperatures. Studies have shown that unlike halogens, fluorescents and incandescent bulbs, LEDs don't attract insects. They don't emit UV rays, either, so they won't cause fading of fabrics and surfaces.
All the changes that ripple through our modern world can be traced back to the same dynamic: a new pressure triggers a subsequent response. LED lighting is a response to the pressures we're all feeling as electricity costs rise. The cheap, convenient and plentiful sources of energy we've built our world upon are starting to crumble. We've also developed a keener sense of the hidden environmental costs of extravagant energy use. Some day our kids and grandkids will smile and shake their heads as we tell them about light bulbs in the olden days that burned so hot you couldn't touch them. Changes like these are a lot closer than you might think.
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