Lighting has been dominated by the incandescent bulb for as long as most us can remember. While they have seen some improvements, they remain very inefficient, and less than 10% of the energy that they consume is converted into useful light.
With energy and environmental concerns almost certain to grow, a more efficient bulb is needed. CFL bulbs are a lot more efficient, and are already replacing incandescent bulbs in many uses, however, they have a few drawbacks, such has taking about a minute to reach their full brightness.
LED bulbs are a much better alternative in the long-term. Their only major disadvantage is cost, but their price will come down as they become more widely used. Their high level of efficiency is a result of their their unique, solid-state design and way of producing light.
LED lighting works with the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material, which consists of both negatively and positively charged components. The positive layer has small openings that ‘free’ electrons from the negative component can pass through.
When an electric charge is applied to the semiconductor, a flow of electrons passes through the openings. Since they are moving from a higher to lower energy state, they give off energy in the form of photons, that can be directed to produce light.
This kind of lighting offers numerous advantages. Being solid-state and without filaments (which can burn out), LED bulbs will last much longer (some can last as long as 50,000 hours). Also, they are significantly more durable, and can withstand shocks that other bulbs cannot.
Since they are so much more efficient, they run much cooler. This minimizes the danger of being burned by touching a hot bulb, and also saves on cooling costs in the summer, since the bulbs are not producing so much heat.
Unlike CFL bulbs, which take a while to reach their full brightness, LED bulbs come on almost instantly. They are also fully dimmable, can produce lighting in any color without filters, and create a highly directional light, that is great for task lighting.
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See ‘Best LED Flashlight‘ for information about LED flashlights, including Dorcy, Coast, and SureFire flashlights, aswell as LED bulbs.