LEDs (light-emitting diodes) may be the future of lightingThese solid-state semiconductor devices have been used for years in a variety of applications like stop lights on automobiles, traffic lights, display screens, and exit signs. Unlike incandescent bulbs, they have no filament and produce little heat. Because their light generating components are encapsulated in solid epoxy, they are extremely durable and long lasting reducing maintenance costs in many applications. And because they are small points of light, they are more efficient than incandescent bulbs in directional applications where they use only about one-tenth the electricity. In traffic signals for example, a 135 watt incandescent lamp can be replaced with a 12 watt LED.
As the technology has improved, LEDs are now being used in such applications as decorative, landscape, marine, emergency, and architectural lighting. Recent breakthroughs have added more color options for products, including the development of white LEDs. Their light is a bluish-white and is preferred over yellowish incandescent light in some applications. Compact fluorescent bulbs have become the popular choice of consumers wishing to replace conventional incandescent light bulbs with more energy efficient bulbs, and it's not clear that LED bulbs for consumer applications will beat out compact fluorescents on the cost and efficiency front. But research continues to improve the prospects for LEDs and the "new LEDs" organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. These latest offshoots are made from plastics and other organic molecules, and have the potential to transform our traditional concept of lighting. OLEDs can be produced on flat sheets of plastic or glass. Rather than light bulbs, consider light emanating from a flat, flexible surface; a foldable "lamp," or a ceiling covered with illuminating wallpaper. Plus, the physics that makes OLEDs glow is reversible, so that in outdoor applications, they can be used to produce electricity like solar photovoltaic devices during the day, and as lights at night. The technology has a ways to go, however. For now, OLEDs are not very energy efficient and have a short life span, but their cost to produce is extremely low since they are essentially printed on low-cost substrates. According to the Department of Energy, solid-state lighting has the potential to more than double the efficiency of today's lighting systems and could save more than $98 billion in energy costs over the next two decades. The advantages of LEDs ? cost savings in maintenance and energy efficiency ? may make them the next generation of lighting. Related links: | ||||
