A Guide To LEDs In Lighting Design

Given the efficiency, lifespan, and ability to provide wonderful quality of light, LED lighting has become the go-to source for residential lighting design. In fact, LEDs are used in almost every single lighting design project nowadays.

But why have LEDs become such a widespread light source? And what makes them so much more appealing than the traditional halogen and incandescent bulb? In this article, we explain everything you need to know about LEDs in lighting design.

What is LED lighting and how does it work?

LED stands for light emitting diode and produce light up to 90% more efficiently than incandescent bulbs. It’s a semiconductor light source that emits light when an electrical current flows through a microchip. To prevent performance issues, the heat produced from LEDs are absorbed into a heat sink.

The lifetime of LED lighting products

The lifetime of LED lighting products are determined differently to other light sources, such as incandescent bulbs. LEDs typically don’t ‘burn out’, but instead experience ‘lumen depreciation’. This relates to the brightness of the LED and how it dims slowly over a certain amount of time. The lifetime of an LED is established on the prediction of when the light output decreases by 30 percent.

How LEDs are used in lighting design

Given LEDs are small in size, they provide lighting designers with the ability to innovate and provide unique designs. Some LED solutions are made to physically resemble familiar light bulbs, matching the appearance of an incandescent bulb for example. You can also opt for a hybrid approach, where a non-traditional bulb or replacement light source format is used and specially designed for a unique fixture.

In short, LEDs offer fantastic opportunity to create a lighting scheme like no other.

The advantages of using LED lighting

LEDs offer several advantages over traditional light bulbs, including:

1. Long lifetime – On average, LEDs live above their 70 percent light output for 35,000 to 50,000 hours. This is around 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs, and 15 times longer than halogen bulbs.
2. Energy Efficiency – Because of their high output per watt, LEDs can turn around 70 percent of their energy into light, making them a lot more energy efficient than traditional bulbs. To put things into perspective, it takes only a 6-watt LED bulb to produce the same amount of light that 40-watt incandescent bulb does. We explain this further in a recent blog where we uncover energy efficient lighting
3. Exceptional colour range – LEDs offer an extremely wide range of colours that maintain their shade over their entire lifespan. This is due to the actual diode (or its phosphorus coating) being altered. Incandescent bulbs on the other hand require gels or filters to modify the colour, which burn out and fade over time.
4. Reliability – Where traditional bulbs contain filaments and other fragile parts, LEDs do not. This means they can withstand more impact and vibration than any other form of lighting. LEDs are an all-round durable and reliable source of lighting.
5. Low radiated heat – Using a special heat sink, LEDs absorb any heat generated and disperses it safely away from the diodes. Whereas incandescent bulbs operate by heating its filament to a certain temperature in a way of producing light.

LED lighting design

At Hampshire Light, we have many years’ experience designing superior lighting schemes using LED lighting solutions. Making use of controls and technologies that allow users to dim, change the colour, and turn on/off their LED lights, gives our customers the control and flexibility their space deserves. To find out how Hampshire Light could use LED lighting to transform your space, contact us today and arrange your complimentary design consultation.