Future Looks Bright for Consumer and Industrial Applications of LEDs
For many reasons, use of LEDs in both consumer and industrial applications looks bright. So believes Richard Evans, an engineer who has talked to environmental groups about consumer use of LEDs and has been specifying LEDs for a leading manufacturer of industrial automation equipment for over 10 years.
Consumer products to use more LEDs in the future
In the consumer sector, he is very optimistic about the growth of LED use, especially when it comes to LEDs replacing incandescent and fluorescent lighting and the use of LEDs in television sets. He predicts “the trend toward LED back lighting in TV sets will continue for several more years.”
Industrial applications for LEDs have been established
In the industrial sector, he notes that industrial consumers were some of the first users of LED technologies in the 1970s because LED technology worked very well for these applications.
“In the equipment they were making, they used primarily low voltage computer circuitry. Improvements in LED efficiency have allowed manufacturers of industrial equipment to eliminate specialized drivers for LED and drive them directly from the same circuitry that drives other circuitry,” points out Evans.
Evans cares about the environment and notes that it is important that LED lighting is now lead free, using no lead solder. “Lead solder was used in the past to make soldering easier. Lead solder is bad for the environment because lead pollutes ground water when it goes into a landfill. Today’s lead-free technology is much better for the environment.”
LED lighting uses no lead solder due to the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS). This directive restricts the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
LED lighting often outshines other options
In comparing incandescent, halogen, compact fluorescent, and LED technologies, Evans points out that LEDs have many benefits.
Concerning the life of a light, again LEDS are superior. An incandescent light has a life of about 1000 hours. A halogen light has a life of about 3000 hours. A compact florescent light has a life of about 5000 hours. An LED light has a life span of about 20,000 to 60,000 hours.
Frequent on and off cycling can dramatically reduce the light of a compact fluorescent light shortening the life span even more.
Lumens are important
In his talks with consumers, Evans points out that lumens not watts, determine light brightness. “The consumer should not go to a store and ask for a 100 watt bulb as they did in the past. Instead the consumer should go to a store and look for a lamp with a certain lumen value. The consumer should start thinking in terms of lumens not watts. That is the whole point of that magnet.”
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