Simply put, the 50,000+ hour lifespan of high quality LED lights means that the initial cost of a light (bulb) is a smaller percentage of the Total Lighting Cost or "TLC" (the total cost of providing lighting to a space.)  But, there is actually more to it.

However, there are also many differences that are important that can be easily seen by the naked eye. One example of this is the directional nature of the light that is produced by LED lights.  This enables the energy being produced to be emitted focused in a particular direction, rather than in all directions as with most traditional light sources. One side effect of the way traditional light sources emit light is that much of the light often is emitted in a (or many) direction(s) other than that which is desired.  This is extremely inefficient because much of the brightness of the light is lost in the process of redirecting the light back toward the desired direction.  

Another of the most obvious differences that occurs immediately when you turn on an LED light is the simple fact that the light turns on essentially immediately.  In contrast, many traditional lights can take several seconds up to many minutes to turn on, and even longer if they are turned on and off, then back on again.  
So, why is this?

So, what does all of this mean?  A rough rule of thumb to use is that, in order to compare an LED light source to a traditional light source, one must reduce the lumen results of the traditional light source by up to 50% or greater to account for brightness lost getting to the observer's eye.  I call this "Usable Lumens."  Who knows, maybe the industry will pick this term up to help better explain how two lights compare to each other.  Either way, it is in part because of this difference in "Usable Lumens," that a traditional light rated at 20,000 Lumens would be observed to be less bright that a 10,000 Lumen LED light under the same conditions.  

Another common way to measure light intensity that is often used in regulations such as OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards is the unit of measure foot-candle.  I'll discuss the difference between this and a Lumen in a future post.  In the meantime, you can learn more about the latest in LED light fixtures at our website, www.LED-ltd.us.  Please post a comment or question on the blog, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.  

     Light Emitting Diodes, or LEDs as they are commonly referred to, use a different technology than traditional, incandescent light bulbs.  LEDs, as their name would suggest, emit light.  But instead of this happening through the heating of a lighting element such as Tungsten that occurs in an incandescent light, LEDs emit light through the movement of electrons and the resulting release of photons.  To learn more, see this Wikipedia entry.  What is important about this is that it occurs at an atomic level and requires much less energy for the light to be emitted.
     As referenced earlier, another key characteristic of LEDs that contributes to their reduced energy usage is the fact that they do not radiate heat in the same way that incandescent light bulbs do.  This not only is more efficient in the production of light, but also, the lack of heat being generated in producing the light means that very little or no energy needs to be consumed to cool the light or the surrounding area when the light is being used.  This calculation is typically not included when overall energy savings achieved by an LED is considered, but could be significant if many lights that produce a lot of heat are replaced by LEDs producing relatively very little heat.
     Increasingly, LEDs are also being referred to as Solid State Lights or Solid State Lighting, which refers to the type of computer technology that is used to drive the lights.  Also, it alludes to the durable nature of the technologies used in these lights.
     To learn more about LED terminology, see our terminology page.