Reasons why we should start using
light bulbs or
LED lighting in our kitchen areas
ü Energy
efficiency (lumens/watt) – 50% savings over fluorescent, 90% over halogen or
incandescent today and improving rapidly. This translates into energy cost
savings.
ü Longer bulb life – e.g. halogen 1,500 hours to
LED 30,000‐50,000 hours, which also equates to a lower maintenance cost in
commercial/industrial environments.
ü LED bulb costs coming down whilst energy costs
are going up.
ü Many LED bulbs are dimmable, unlike
fluorescents.
ü Colour temperature – LEDs available in a range
of ‘warm’ to ‘cold’ light versions as well as a range of colours for specialist
uses (e.g. night lighting of Millennium Bridge in York).
ü Flexibility– not only available in bulbs but
bendable strips and sheets, range of beam angles, fitting types, frosted vs
unfrosted, etc.
ü Excellent for off‐grid installations – because
(a) limited power is available and the cost per watt of energy delivered is
high, and (b) LED is widely available in 12V DC.
ü No start‐up delay when switching on, unlike
many fluorescents.
ü Works better in cold environments than
fluorescents.
ü Less heat output than other technologies –
especially important in hot climates, in refrigeration lighting, and to reduce
electrical fire danger.
The bulbs must be made
specifically to be regulated, in order to be able to function properly with
alternating energy, otherwise they would blink and melt. While the LED bulbs
that work with energy continue can be regulated without any problem or flicker.
The bulbs that work by
means of alternating energy, produce that flicker since normally the electric
wave of this type of energy always oscillates between the negative pole and the
positive pole, but so quickly that the human eye does not perceive this
fluctuation.
The problem occurs
when we lengthen this wavelength, something that occurs when we lower the
intensity of light, then the change from the negative pole to the positive
happens more slowly and becomes perceptible to our eyes.
