LED home lighting has been touted by interior and exterior designers for years now. The technology is finally here and the costs are finally starting to be in line with the benefits of replacing all your home and business incandescent and fluorescent bulbs with LED options.
Most people are used to the traditional yellowish color of incandescent bulbs creating a warmth in their homes. Over the past few years, 'daylight' colors of incandescent lights have become popular. The difference is that a traditional incandescent light bulb looks yellow and creates a warm glow, while the new daylight white (also called pure white) creates a more pure color that is intended to mimic natural outdoor sunlight.
Even with the advancements in LED light technology and color, incandescent lighting may still have place in homes and businesses that prefer a warmer, traditional glow that LED lighting does not yet completely mimic.
Fluorescent lighting options were the first viable energy saving lighting option and many people use them. They are much less expensive that LED options. However, fluorescent lighting can be difficult to dispose of because they contain mercury and are usually prohibited for disposal through municipal landfills without special handling being implemented.
Both of these popular colors are now available in LED versions and are available in either warm white or daylight white as well as a variety of common shapes and sizes including the most popular A19, or standard light bulb. They are also available in a variety of low wattage variants that emulate various incandescent wattages.
LED bulbs are available to replace just about any existing incandescent type and base size. So what are the benefits?
The are cool to the touch.
Because they do not generate heat, they help keep your home or business cooler during the warmer months of the year
They emit a clean light color and are available in warm white - to imitate the look of incandescent light bulbs or daylight white, which is a more glow lights pure light similar to natural daylight.
They are rated to last anywhere from 35,000 to 200,000 hours compared to a measly 1,000 hours for an incandescent bulb
They use as much as 90% less energy than their incandescent equivalents.
Some practical applications of LED home lighting might include:
task and reading lamps
stairway and stairwells
closets
accent lighting
outdoor
flood
spot
holidays
In short, the time is right to experiment with replacing your outdated home and business lighting technology with LED home lighting that will last seemingly forever, lower your energy consumption for lighting, lower your energy consumption for cooling and provide a more natural lighting experience.