LED’s and Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting has seen many changes over the years. Even though lighting for outdoor areas has seen changes some things have remained the same. From the earliest forms of lighting put in place by King Louis the XIV of France in 1700 to the newest lighting technology of today, security has remained a primary reason for adding light outdoors. While we don’t want to sacrifice the security of our property by eliminating the lighting, the electrical costs for operating outdoor lights can add up. This is one reason that so many people are excited about the advances in LED (light emitting diode) technology as LED’s are very energy efficient.
While LED”s have been around since the 60’s, it’s only in the last few years that technology has allowed for the use of LED’s in a wide variety of applications. Whether you are looking for landscape lights, patio lights or lights that highlight your garden, you will most likely find a fixture that makes use of LED bulbs. You will find many new outdoor light fixtures that are sold with LED’s and you can also retrofit many existing fixtures including low voltage fixtures. While they are somewhat expensive, there are LED bulbs for 120 volt fixtures as well.
Although the initial cost might make you hesitate to purchase LED bulbs to replace other types of bulbs, they will save you money down the road. LED’s last much longer (up to 25%) than regular incandescent bulbs and are much more energy efficient. They use up to 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and produce little to no heat. When LED’s do burn out they don’t just suddenly quit like other types of light bulbs. Instead and LED will gradually decrease the amount of light it puts out as it reaches the end of its useful life.
Improvements in LED’s have resulted in more widespread use and lowered costs. As the technology continues to improve we should see even lower costs and greater mainstream use of LED’s. Because LED’s are so energy efficient and long lasting, many people believe LED’s will be the light bulb of the future not only for backyard lights but for all our lighting needs.
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