Conventional incandescent lamps must convert electricity into thermal energy and then to light. In contrast, LED illumination, which is used in the LED light bulb, is attained when a semiconductor crystal is activated to directly produce visible light within an ideal wavelength range.
As lighting technologies advance, like a trimless downlights a better future LED applications can be expected. Below are pros and cons of using LEDs.
Advantages of LEDs
1. Long Lasting
Conventional incandescent lamps have a lifetime of 3, 000 – 4, 000 hours. On the other hand, the Estimated Time to Failure of a LED can be as long as 100, 000 hours. A LED that works 4 hours a day, for instance, can go for over 60 years specially if you have a wall switch inside a bathroom.
2. Low Cost and Energy Saving
LEDs are designed to run with only 12-24V and they emit more light per watt than typical incandescent bulbs do. High efficacy, coupled with low voltage, makes LEDs easily gain an advantage over conventional incandescent lamps, with 80% less electrical power consumption. While High-Brightness mono-color LEDs can be more expensive than conventional incandescent lamps, these LEDs save much electrical power in the long-run, possibly offsetting the price gap.
3. Environmentally Friendly
Since LEDs do not use a filament that might burn out, disperse toxic gas, or become overheated, they can withstand external shock and are therefore considered more environmentally friendly.
4. Environmental Adaptability
LEDs can handle an extensive range of temperature, from -40 to +85, and with humidity below 65%, which makes LEDs usable in relatively harsh environments.
5. Various Applications
From the use of LEDs in indicator lights and numeric displays, LEDs have advanced to a number of new potential applications, including traffic lights, architectural lights, accent lights, task lights, wall scones, down lighting, outdoor lighting, signage, etc.
Disadvantages of LEDs
1. Single LEDs Power remains low
Since a single LED has low power, the luminance is fairly low. This means that more LEDs need to be connected in parallel, for instance, in automobile backlights. This can be costly, as a single high-power LED is relatively expensive, but only has a luminous intensity of about 5, 000 mcd.
2. Short Illumination Range
While various methods have been developed to enhance the brightness of the LED light bulb or source, extending its illumination range remains a great challenge. Since LEDs produce scattered light, and only illuminate up to tens of meters range. Therefore, LEDs are more suitable for lighting application within a short-range.
3. Poor Color Revivification
Generally, the color-rendering index of LED devices has remained relatively low in the past. In addition, the color reversion of LEDs cannot match that of incandescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs have excellent lighting quality (CRI 100%) while that of white LEDs is between 70-85%. However, the technological upgrade of materials used in LEDs and improvement of phosphors has led to some LEDs hitting a CRI of 90%.
4. Yellow Ring Element
Yellow Rings, which are difficult to get rid of, commonly appear in white LED light bulb and sources, and configuring the reflective cup and lens can be erroneous due to the immature process. Recently, the adoption of blended phosphor has helped produce white light that is ideal and with high CRI
5. Heat Dissipation
LED’s light emitting chip generates heat, which must be absorbed in order to maintain normal operating temperature to help prevent over-heating and possibly damaging the chip.
Despite all the numerous imperfections of LEDs which can be improved in the coming future, these devices still possess several advantages than conventional incandescent lamps. In the modern world, durability, compactness in size, energy-efficiency and long lifespan make LEDs a light source of choice among many countries and geographical regions. With the robust advancement in LED technology worldwide, LEDs’ imperfections can only be expected to reduce in the future.