The history of man-made light is based on heat. Wax, oil and gas burn to produce light. The filament in an incandescent bulb heats up to produce light. Gas in a fluorescent tube is zapped to illuminate. The basic method is "Heat it up, and it glows." For more than 120 years, incandescent light bulbs have brightened and literally warmed our lives. Electric-powered bulbs were a major improvement over candle, gas and oil light sources, but they are extremely inefficient. Bulb-based light sources are far better at producing heat than light, up to 90 percent of the power going into a bulb is converted to heat.
Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) are more efficient, and are an excellent alternative to incandescent bulbs for Edison-socket light fixtures. However, they contain a small amount of mercury, making them hazardous waste when they break or burn out.
LEDs
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are solid-state lighting components. They have no moving, fragile parts and can last for decades. LEDs can be many times more energy efficient than light bulbs, depending on the application. Just as vacuum tubes in televisions were replaced with solid-state components, the last remaining vacuum tube light bulbs are being replaced by solid-state components.
Ann Arbor installed more than 1,000 LED streetlights in 2007. The City anticipates a 3.8-year payback on its initial investment. The LED lights typically burn five times longer than the bulbs they replace and require less than half the energy. Each fixture draws 56 watts and is projected to last 10 years, replacing fixtures with bulbs that use more than 120 watts and last only two years. Full implementation of LEDs is projected to cut Ann Arbor?s public lighting energy use in half and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,425 tons of CO2 annually, the equivalent of taking 400 cars off the road for a year.
Indoor directional and down light solutions are also becoming available.
According to the University of California, Santa Barbara, widespread deployment of LED-based lighting could SAVE $115B in electricity costs in the U.S. alone by 2025.
The history of man-made light is based on heat. Wax, oil and gas burn to produce light. The filament in an incandescent bulb heats up to produce light. Gas in a fluorescent tube is zapped to illuminate. The basic method is "Heat it up, and it glows."
For more than 120 years, incandescent light bulbs have brightened and literally warmed our lives. Electric-powered bulbs were a major improvement over candle, gas and oil light sources, but they are extremely inefficient. Bulb-based light sources are far better at producing heat than light, up to 90 percent of the power going into a bulb is converted to heat.
Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) are more efficient, and are an excellent alternative to incandescent bulbs for Edison-socket light fixtures. However, they contain a small amount of mercury, making them hazardous waste when they break or burn out.
LEDs
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are solid-state lighting components. They have no moving, fragile parts and can last for decades. LEDs can be many times more energy efficient than light bulbs, depending on the application. Just as vacuum tubes in televisions were replaced with solid-state components, the last remaining vacuum tube light bulbs are being replaced by solid-state components.
Ann Arbor installed more than 1,000 LED streetlights in 2007. The City anticipates a 3.8-year payback on its initial investment. The LED lights typically burn five times longer than the bulbs they replace and require less than half the energy. Each fixture draws 56 watts and is projected to last 10 years, replacing fixtures with bulbs that use more than 120 watts and last only two years.
Full implementation of LEDs is projected to cut Ann Arbor?s public lighting energy use in half and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2,425 tons of CO2 annually, the equivalent of taking 400 cars off the road for a year.
Indoor directional and down light solutions are also becoming available.
According to the University of California, Santa Barbara, widespread deployment of LED-based lighting could SAVE $115B in electricity costs in the U.S. alone by 2025.
Is that blue light bulb one large LED? Amazing, though the fan-like structure around it looks like a heat sink. They do that with computer processors to help dissipate the heat that is generated by electric current.
A bunch of smaller ones are nice because of the fact that if one or two go out most of the light is still there. In other words those type of traffic lights are more energy efficient while having many backups in case one or two or several go out.
The curly fluorescent bulbs generate heat though should not be as hot as the regular incandescent bulbs. They should be safer in that regard.
Is that blue light bulb one large LED? Amazing, though the fan-like structure around it looks like a heat sink. They do that with computer processors to help dissipate the heat that is generated by electric current.
A bunch of smaller ones are nice because of the fact that if one or two go out most of the light is still there. In other words those type of traffic lights are more energy efficient while having many backups in case one or two or several go out.
The curly fluorescent bulbs generate heat though should not be as hot as the regular incandescent bulbs. They should be safer in that regard.
LEDs are a real passio to me. I sutudy it for the last 4 years, and it is incredible how they are improving. Last August I went to China and visit some companies on the business. They still have some issues to solve but you just can't believe how fantastic they are. Last year the New York for the first time used the Led lights for the New Year count down, 9,576 LEDs replaced the 600 incandescent and halogen bulbs of the previous Ball. The new Ball is more than twice as bright and capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns. Yet, the entire Times Square Ball was lit with approximately the same amount of electricity as it takes to power ten toasters or a single oven/range. Big Hug, Lisi
Elaine,
LEDs are a real passio to me. I sutudy it for the last 4 years, and it is incredible how they are improving. Last August I went to China and visit some companies on the business. They still have some issues to solve but you just can't believe how fantastic they are. Last year the New York for the first time used the Led lights for the New Year count down, 9,576 LEDs replaced the 600 incandescent and halogen bulbs of the previous Ball. The new Ball is more than twice as bright and capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns. Yet, the entire Times Square Ball was lit with approximately the same amount of electricity as it takes to power ten toasters or a single oven/range.
Big Hug,
Lisi
Quoting: Originally posted by optimyst In the UK Standard light bulbs will be phased out and no longer manufactured by 2010. We all have to go to the energy efficient CFL type but at Virtual points out they are a toxic waste and cannot be disposed of with normal household waste. This fact is not known by many and it will be interesting to see how the UK deals with this potential hazard and who will have to pay for the costs of disposal
Optimyst!
I study a lot about Leds and its uses, and they are making HUGE progress I am going from Incandescent to Led at home!! And really working a lot to make people more aware of the advantages of Leds!!
Quoting optimyst:
In the UK Standard light bulbs will be phased out and no longer manufactured by 2010. We all have to go to the energy efficient CFL type but at Virtual points out they are a toxic waste and cannot be disposed of with normal household waste. This fact is not known by many and it will be interesting to see how the UK deals with this potential hazard and who will have to pay for the costs of disposal
Optimyst!
I study a lot about Leds and its uses, and they are making HUGE progress I am going from Incandescent to Led at home!! And really working a lot to make people more aware of the advantages of Leds!!
They are becoming better by the day, they can have a guarantee of 5 years. The Led of the Stop Lights are just the beginning. The Leds are getting better by the day the Manufacturers I visit in China now use high intensity Leds it is completely different. They are still expensive to buy but the savings are HUGE on the planet and on electrical power.
Rob,
They are becoming better by the day, they can have a guarantee of 5 years. The Led of the Stop Lights are just the beginning. The Leds are getting better by the day the Manufacturers I visit in China now use high intensity Leds it is completely different.
They are still expensive to buy but the savings are HUGE on the planet and on electrical power.
Why do the compact flourescent bulbs seem to get so hot? I wonder about using them with some lamp-shades as a fire hazard.
I had one of the "curly" ones light up and pop just as I turned it on. The tip of glass broke off and I wondered what happened. Are those the mercury types?
Lisi:
Why do the compact flourescent bulbs seem to get so hot? I wonder about using them with some lamp-shades as a fire hazard.
I had one of the "curly" ones light up and pop just as I turned it on. The tip of glass broke off and I wondered what happened. Are those the mercury types?
We had many of the LED stop lights installed here in Atlanta where I live last couple of years. Sadly though, on many of the lights, you can see some of the individual LEDs have burned out or otherwise become defective. I guess time will tell what the real MTBF(mean time before failure) is on these.
We had many of the LED stop lights installed here in Atlanta where I live last couple of years. Sadly though, on many of the lights, you can see some of the individual LEDs have burned out or otherwise become defective. I guess time will tell what the real MTBF(mean time before failure) is on these.
In the UK Standard light bulbs will be phased out and no longer manufactured by 2010. We all have to go to the energy efficient CFL type but at Virtual points out they are a toxic waste and cannot be disposed of with normal household waste. This fact is not known by many and it will be interesting to see how the UK deals with this potential hazard and who will have to pay for the costs of disposal
In the UK Standard light bulbs will be phased out and no longer manufactured by 2010. We all have to go to the energy efficient CFL type but at Virtual points out they are a toxic waste and cannot be disposed of with normal household waste. This fact is not known by many and it will be interesting to see how the UK deals with this potential hazard and who will have to pay for the costs of disposal
Build your Millionaire dating site / affiliate
