Ever Wondered How LED Lights Work?

LED lighting is becoming increasingly common, offering domestic and commercial buyers a more efficient and convenient solution to their illumination needs.

If you are in the dark about LED lights and how they work, this brief introduction should give you the details you need.

LED lighting manufacturers are upping their output each year and traditional alternatives are having to compete, so getting the lowdown sooner rather than later will help you to take advantage of the changes that are coming to the market.

LED History and Basics.

LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, have been around for 50 years, although it is only recently that they have become affordable and capable enough to enter the lighting industry.

LEDs can produce light across the whole spectrum of colours and even go beyond what the human eye can see, into the world of ultraviolet and infrared. This means they have many practical applications, as well as being able to form displays and screens.

The light is produced when electricity passes through the semiconductor housed within the LED’s body. Because a filament is not required, there is no need for an LED unit to be anywhere near as large as a standard light bulb, which means they are not only more energy efficient, but also easier to install and offer longer lifespans.

LED Applications and Advances.

You will probably have encountered LED lighting without actually realising it, although once you are familiar with its distinct luminosity, you will probably be better able to recognise it when you are out and about.

Many modern TVs and monitors use LED backlighting, which allows them to have a much thinner construction than older, fluorescently illuminated screens.

Modern traffic lights and other road signs also use LEDs, because they provide much needed resilience and reliability, along with a greater brightness and less waste, since a smaller proportion of the electricity that they consume is converted into heat.

The thermal properties of LEDs are particularly valuable in scientific and technological industries where older bulbs that emit large amounts of heat are simply unviable. There are tens of thousands of products that require LEDs, without which they simply could not exist, so we owe a lot to this relatively simple lighting solution.

The LED market is expanding to include organic LED (OLED) technology that has perhaps even more potential for future developments.

OLED displays do not require a separate backlighting solution and thus consume less energy, while producing improved contrast ratios and colour saturation than found on other types of displays. In addition, OLEDs are allowing for the manufacture of flexible screens, which could usher in an era of entirely new types of gadgets and even clothing.

Because LED lighting still requires an electrical charge to operate, it is relatively easy to assimilate it with the infrastructure supporting traditional solutions and still benefit from the advances that it offers.

You will probably be hearing a lot more about LED lighting over the coming years and future generations will accept it as a sustainable and affordable solution.