Information for specialists

Efficiency

The light generated by LED uses the electric energy much more efficiently than in case of incandescent sources, where almost 90% of the energy is used to heat the filament to incandescence. Besides this, the optical system used is superior from the losses point of view. The efficiency of the supply sources is another extremely important factor. All of these, together, lead to an overall efficiency highly superior to the classic solutions. This shall be reflected in the electric energy consumption. The energy savings exceeds frequently 50% in relation to the traditional sources.

Lifecycle

The lifecycle of LEDs (35.000-100.000 hours) is a measure of the light level degradation. The lifecycle of LEDs exceeds substantially the lifecycle of the incandescent lighting sources (1000-2000 hours) or the fluorescent ones (8.000-15.000 hours). Moreover, the LED lighting sources are more resistant at temperature variations, vibrations and mechanic shocks, being thus more reliable than the traditional ones.

Colour

The LEDs do not require filters to produce a light of a certain colour. The colour is generated by the semi-conductor material.

The directional emission of the light

The light is directed towards where it is necessary. The traditional lighting sources emit the light towards all directions. For many applications, a large amount of light is wasted unless projectors or special optical devices are used. The LEDs, being installed on a flat surface, emit the light hemispherical, reducing thus the unused light

Size

The LED lighting sources can be highly compact; the reduced size and the directional light offer the possibility of some innovative solutions, with a compact design. To produce a light level equivalent to the one produced by the regular lighting fittings, it is necessary the grouping of several LEDs. Even the lamps generating hundreds of lumen are more compact than the gas-discharge ones with similar flow.

In parking lots/ garages and other areas with low ceiling, the characteristic of the LED lamps to be compact, can be successfully exploited. Accordingly, LED lamps can also be used for showcases or containers, without disturbing.

Resistance to shocks and vibrations

When subjected to shocks and vibrations, the filament or glass bulb does not damage, as it happens with other types of lamps. The classic incandescent and gas-discharge lamps can be affected when functioning in environments where they are subjected to excessive vibrations. For usages related to means of transport (plane, train, bus, vehicles), inside and nearby industrial areas lighting, elevators, escalators, fans, the LED lighting fittings are the perfect choice

The traditional light sources are included in glass or quartz bulbs which can be damaged during transportation, storage, handling and installing. The LED devices can also suffer damages to the junctions on the board, but not to a greater extent than other electronic devices, reason for which the LED lighting fittings are useful for usages such as sports field, children’s rooms, areas for preparing the meals, where the danger of breakage exists.

Functioning at low temperature

The LED lamps performances are improved at low temperatures. The fluorescent lamps, especially those based on amalgam, function defectively at low temperatures, requiring high voltages to turn on and having a lower light flow. For this reason, the LED lamps are useful for usages in the refrigerant areas, freezers, cold rooms, external usages.

Instantaneous lighting

No heating time is required. The fluorescent lamps, especially those based on amalgam, need up to three minutes to reach the maximum light emission. The high voltage discharge lamps have the heating time between a few minutes, for metallic halogens, up to 10 minutes, for the sodium lamps. They also need an additional time (10-20 minutes) between the moment they are turned off and before they can be turned on again, time interval that can be reduced to 2-8 minutes in case impulse turning on ballasts are used. The LEDs reach the maximum glow almost instantaneously and they can relight immediately after being turned off.

The capacity to stand many on-off cycles

The traditional lamps burn out faster if they are subjected to frequent on-off cycles, as, in case of incandescent lamps, the filaments thinned during functioning burn out when turned on, and in case of fluorescent and gas-discharge ones, the turning on voltages erode the emitting coat of the electrode. The lifecycle of the LED and its light flow are not affected by the fast cycles. This feature makes the LED lamps appropriate for usages such as presence sensors or signals.

Control

LED lamps are compatible with the electronic control devices for adjusting the light level and the colour features. The traditional efficient lighting sources have limitations regarding the control of the lighting level. The dimming can be achieved for fluorescent commercial systems only with a substantial premium. The LEDs offer potential benefits regarding the control of the light level and of the colour. As technology develops, the dimming field and that of colour control become fields of innovation in lighting. The integration of the photoelectric cells provides the potential for growing the energetic efficiency.

They lack infrared or ultraviolet emissions

The LEDs for lighting do not emit infrared or ultraviolet radiations. The incandescent lamps convert the largest part of the energy in infrared radiation, only less than 10% being converted into visible light. The fluorescent lamps convert about 20% of the energy into light, and the economic ones emit ultraviolet radiations which require special protection devices to not affect the inhabitants of the room. The infrared radiations can cause burns, and the ultraviolet ones damage the art objects, artefacts, fabrics and eyes.

Reduce impact on the environment

The LEDs preserve energy and do not include hazardous substances for the environment, as opposed to the gas-discharge lighting sources which include mercury. The much longer lifecycle makes the LED lighting sources more attractive from the point of view of the environment.

The world tendency is to give up the classic lighting sources, not efficient from the energetic point of view and to promote the performant lighting sources, category to which the LEDs belong. The European legislation stipulates the replacement of the incandescent and gas-discharge lighting sources by 2017

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