LED

A light-emitting diode (LED) was first invented in Russia in the 1920s, and introduced in America as a practical electronic component in 1962. Since then Manufacturers have installed them in all sorts of devices as indicator lights just like on your television set at home. Up until the early 90's LED's have still not been bright enough to be considered as a serious light source.

However the development of LED technology has caused their efficiency and light output to increase exponentially, with a doubling occurring about every 36 months since the 1960s and a massive boost in intensity output in the early 90's with the invention of high output LED's. The advances are generally attributed to the parallel development of other semiconductor technologies and advances in optics and material science.

LEDs present many advantages over traditional light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size and faster switching. However, they are relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than traditional light sources.

 
LED technology is bright enough now to be used in many applications that were previously impossible. LED's have been used vastly in the entertainment industry for many years now, but due to issues in consistency of colour plus the issues with dimming, have not been a viable light source for Residential and commercial use. But this is changing, we can now address these issues and it is indeed possible to achieve the results that you have desired. The other issue of cost is currently being addressed as well with new technology that will reduce manufacturing costs by up to 90%.

So you say to yourself, "maybe I should wait until the new technology makes them much more affordable". The only problem with that is this new LED technology is still a number of years away and in the meantime, had you already started using today's LED technology then you would have already made the savings and paid back the money spent on your investment in most cases.

An Envirobrite Lighting Audit can assist you to see if this type of technology is best for your application.