LED Lighting: A Comprehensive Guide – Benefits, Facts, Uses

Whether your focus is on efficiency, return on investment (ROI), or sustainability, light emitting diode (LED) solutions have a lot to offer. This comprehensive guide will take a deeper look into LED lighting and its benefits over other lighting solutions. In addition, we will address the various uses and applications of LED lighting and its importance in commercial markets.

Facts About LED Lights

LED lighting passes an electrical current through a microchip, which powers a light-emitting diode. An LED is a type of semiconductor which takes electrons from an electrical current and recombines them with electron holes. This releases photons in a process known as electroluminescence.

The earliest practical use of LEDs was in 1962 in remote control devices, indicator lamps, and seven-segment displays (calculators, digital clocks, electronic meters, etc.). These early LEDs were limited to the color red, but later advancements began to produce a wider variety of colors by adjusting energy levels and bandgaps in the microchips.

Here are a few additional basic facts and attributes of LED lights:

LEDs feature direct light production rather than indirect light production through heat
The lifespan of an LED light is 25,000-100,000 hours, depending on its type
LEDs emit monochromatic light and are available in nearly any color
LED lights use 84% less energy than traditional lights

Benefits of LED Lights

The lifespan of LED bulbs and their lower energy usage are certainly major benefits of LED lights, but there is a much longer list of benefits derived from the use of LEDs in place of traditional lighting. These include:

Safety. LEDs use 90% of the heat associated with light production, making them cooler and safer.
Improved CRI. The color rendering index (CRI) of LEDs is better, which draws out the true color of an object. This can be especially useful in the design and manufacturing environments.
The smaller size of LEDs saves space.
Design flexibility. Size, color, dimming, and other characteristics allow for greater flexibility in lighting designs.
Directional emission. More efficient 180° lighting with no waste behind the fixture.
Instant on. LEDs turn on and off instantly and do not degrade because of frequency.
Dimming capacity. LEDs can be adjusted from 1%-100% of their capacity.
Solid state component. LEDs do not need to be added to in order to function.
Lower voltage. LEDs can operate at a much lower voltage than other lighting types.
No UV emissions. The majority of emissions from LEDs occur in the visual spectrum, with a small amount of infrared spectrum, and no ultraviolet (UV) energy emission.
Eco-friendly. LEDs do not use any environmentally negative gases such as mercury, making them more sustainable.
Less affected by temperature. The thermal resistance properties of LEDs allow for a much broader range of temperature extremes without causing degradation.

These and other benefits of LEDs make them a viable alternative to other lighting solutions. Making comparisons between LEDs and competitive lighting types provides an even clearer picture of the advantages LED solutions provide. For an accurate comparison, note the difference in lifespan and lighting efficiency of LEDs in relation to traditional lighting types, as well as some of the other advantages and disadvantages of each.

LED vs. Incandescent Lighting

Lifespan

LED: from 25,000- 100,000 hours
Incandescent lighting: 1,000- 2,500 hours

Efficiency

LED requires 12-13 watts to produce 1000-1,400 lumens
Incandescent lighting requires 75 watts to produce the same brightness as an LED.
Incandescent lighting is omnidirectional and requires additional reflective devices to direct its beam, making it less efficient than unidirectional LED light.

LED vs. Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL)

Lifespan

LED 25,000-100,000 hours
CFL lighting 8,000 hours

Efficiency

LED requires 12- 13 watts for 1000-1,400 lumens
CFL requires 18- 22 watts for 1000-1,400 lumens

compact fluorescent lamp CFL bulb

Disadvantages of CFL

CFL lights contain mercury and phosphor, which are hazardous materials that present environmental waste issues.
They degrade rapidly when frequently switched on and off.
They are omnidirectional and require additional components to direct their beam.
CFLs require a warm-up and cooling off period, and also emit a small amount of UV radiation.
CRI is significantly lacking.

Advantages of CFL:

CFL and other types of fluorescent lighting are common in warehouses, schools, offices, public buildings and other areas where their efficiency far exceeds the cost-effectiveness of incandescent lighting.

LED lighting outperforms the two most common traditional lighting types in efficiency and lifespan. Though the initial investment into LED lighting can be significant, its long-term cost effectiveness balances out the higher initial investment with a significant amount of energy savings and substantially less frequent replacement needs.

LEDCONN’s Capabilities

LED lights are gaining in popularity due to the benefits listed above and the advantages they pose over competitive solutions. They provide lighting solutions for a wide range of architectural applications. These applications include:

Lighting designs
Signage
Retail
Product displays
Restaurants

LEDCONN has a wide range of LED products available to provide tailored solutions for specific applications. The following case studies reflect how we used our products to overcome lighting challenges for our clients, including:

Case Study: An Architectural/Commercial Solution

LED light panel application example

A client asked us to provide lighting solutions for a series of highly customized panels. The unique pattern of this client’s panel design mimicked the layout of a major L.A. freeway with perforated metal and complex wiring management. This project required sophisticated design versatility and advanced custom wiring design and management to produce the proper effect—all within a short timeline.

We used more than 90 LUXFIT light panels of varying sizes. We also had to provide a moisture protection treatment to ensure that the lights could be used indoors or outdoors.

When working with creative architectural designs, often a standard lighting solution isn’t enough. LEDCONN offers a variety of customizable products that facilitate stunning and original lighting setups. Some of these include:

Case Study: Museum Exhibit Solution

LED light panels used in museum exhibition

A 29-panel museum display of Japanese American soldiers in World War II required a unique and creative lighting solution that honored the subject while maintaining the aesthetic of the museum building—a 100-year-old Buddhist temple in the Arts District of Los Angeles.

We provided backlighting for each panel, several of which required multiple light panels used in conjunction. This is difficult to accomplish, but LEDCONN’s experience with Optimized Dot Pattern Technology enabled us to perform the installation successfully while maintaining even illumination across the panels.

This project demonstrated our capabilities to handle highly customized projects for unique commercial applications using our expansive line of LED lighting products. From museum exhibits to retail product displays, our product line of LED lights offers an effective solution that creates attractive displays.

LED Lighting for Retail

Retail Lighting Versace Store Display

Retail spaces often take advantage of LED lighting to optimize products and signage without exceeding their budget. Space on the retail shelf is at a premium, so it’s important to find lighting solutions that occupy a minimal area. Our LUXFIT and LUXFLEX solutions are ideal for this purpose.

LED light sunglasses display store

Lighting shelves in a retail space with LED lighting is simple because LED solutions:

Feature dimming and brightening options
Illuminate displays without adding heat
Provide even illumination for products
Offer a longer lifespan

Lighting every shelf and adding a significant amount of LED lighting to a retail space produces measurable results. Some applications have produced 2%, 6%, and 12% sales increases in specific areas of the store. The overall effect of boosting LED lighting in a retail space increases the number of shoppers who enter the store or who gravitate toward the light-enhanced area.

POP Display LED Light Too Faced

Due to its longer life span and greater efficiency, a broader range of architectural and commercial applications are making use of LED lighting. Its low-cost, high-impact installation allows for greater flexibility and creativity in lighting design and provides added illumination to exhibits or products in a retail space.

LEDCONN produces lighting solutions for a broad range of architectural, signage, retail, and other applications. Contact us to learn more about our LED lighting products or request a quote from one of our experts.