Why Use LED Light Bulbs?

LED lamp/bulbs are a type of solid state lighting (SSL) that utilizes light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a source of illumination rather than electrical filaments or gas. They do not use Mercury.

LED lamps (also called LED bars or Illuminators) are usually clusters of LEDs in a suitable housing. They come in different shapes, including the standard light bulb shape with a large E27 Edison screw and MR16 shape with a bi-pin base. Other models might have a small Edison E14 fitting, GU5.3 (Bipin cap) or GU10 (bayonet socket). This includes low voltage (typically 12 V halogen-like) varieties and replacements for regular AC mains (120-240 V AC) lighting. Currently the latter are less widely available but this is changing rapidly.

You probably own many products already that use LED light bulbs. LED lights, formally called light-emitting diode lights, are long-lasting and energy-efficient lights. These lights can be found in a wide range of products, including digital clocks, traffic lights, microwave ovens, digital watches, big-screen televisions and many more items. LEDs are the lights of the future; they are helping phase out incandescent light bulbs. Incandescent bulbs get hot quickly and easily burn out. LEDs on the other hand, are fairly cool to the touch and take much longer to die. This is because LEDs have no filament like older incandescent bulbs do. Incandescent lights are much more likely to break, as they are glass. LED lights are plastic, so they are much more dependable.

In the past, LED lights were much more pricey than they are currently. Mainly, this was to do with the fact that semiconductors were much more expensive. More recently (over the past 10 years or so), semiconductor pricing has dropped, causing LED lights to become a lot more affordable to the average person. Although it seems that an LED light purchase is more expensive than buying an incandescent bulb, it really is cheaper over the span of the bulb. This reiterates that LEDs are cost-effective due to a longer bulb life.

Cons

• The standard LED is generally less bright than a traditional bulb.
• The LED also has the major drawback of featuring a very direct field of light, which makes it most useful only when aimed directly at what you want to light. Standard floor and table lamps equipped with an LED tend to offer streams of light aimed at the ceiling, which may not help with that book you're reading.
• Cost. LED bulbs are the most expensive.
• LED bulbs are still harder to find than other options.