eLightBulbs Lighting Blog > LED Light Bulbs Are The Next Best Thing

LED light bulbs are certainly turning out to be the next best thing in lighting.  The technology is making inroads in every market, with an LED bulb for every application.  It reminds me of how compact fluorescent technology slowly dominated incandescent technology.  There is a similar roadblock, as well; LEDs have outlandish high prices.

LEDs have a long list of advantages over incandescent and CFL lighting.  A common complaint about compact fluorescents is the ramp-up time to full brightness.  Instant-on CFLs provide light instantly, but still require time to reach full brightness.  LED light bulbs provide full illumination from the moment they’re turned on.

 

This lack of ramp-up time makes them great for rooms or applications where power is cycled often (power cycling refers to turning on and off).  CFLs and incandescent lights can be harmed by repeated power cycling, but LEDs are unaffected.  LEDs are great for bathrooms and closets and similar applications.  LEDs are also fully capable of being dimmed like incandescent lights, another advantage over CFLs.

The advantages of LED light bulbs continue on through the entire life of the bulb, including the death of the bulb.  Consider when incandescent and CFL lights die; it is a direct and instant failure which can result in explosions or shattering.  The bulb sockets can get stuck, creating real possibility of nasty cuts or ruined fixtures.  LEDs have done away with such failures.  As an LED light bulb reaches the end of its life, it begins to dim until it finally produces no light.  There are no explosions or shattered bulbs.  They are easily removed and thrown away, with no toxic materials to consider.

 

It’s fairly unlikely you would ever even need to replace LED light bulbs.  Their estimated life spans are 35,000 to 50,000 hours.  If you place them correctly and avoid such hazards to the bulb life as extreme heat where it is being operated, you can easily reach those numbers.  Compare that to the life span of an incandescent bulb, which is 1000 to 2000 hours, or the more impressive 10,000 to 15,000 hour life of CFL which isn’t so impressive next to an LED. 

 

With the many advantages and few disadvantages of LED light bulbs, I’m looking forward to trying them out in my home when the prices drop.  LEDs really do seem like the next best thing, and I expect to see them proliferate quickly at lower prices.