Advantages of LED Rope Light
Advantages of LED Rope Light
What is Rope Light
Rope light is a string of lamps connected in series which emit various colors of light and which is covered in a round, clear, flexible plastic coating. Rope light is usually sold in bulk lengths that can be custom cut. Rope light has traditionally used small incandescent lights but now energy-efficient and long-lasting LEDs are being used.
90% Increased Efficiency
Our LED rope lights use less than one watt per lineal foot. In comparison, standard incandescent rope light consumes between 5-6 watts of electricity per lineal foot.
By way of example, letâ€™s assume a restaurant wants to install a 100 ft. section of rope light as accent lighting around its bar. Letâ€™s further assume that the rope light will be illuminated for an average of 8 hours per day for 6 days a week and 350 days a year. If the restaurant owner uses incandescent rope light, it will consume 1540 Kwh of electricity each year. At an average cost of $.11 per kilowatt hour the annual cost of electricity along would be $170. Incandescent lighting will only last for about 1500 to 2000 hours so it is likely that the restaurant owner will have to replace the rope light before the end of the year.
In contrast, if the restaurant owner chose LED rope lighting for the same application the annual cost would only be $23.10 with a total annual energy consumption of 210 kilowatt hours. Additionally, at the end of the first year the LED rope light will not need to be replaced and will have 15 or more years of lamp life left before it will need replacing. This can add up to significant cost savings to the restaurant owner in terms of electricity costs, replacement costs, and labor costs over the course of a period of years.
50,000 Hour Lamp Life
A good quality LED will last for 50,000 hours or more. A standard incandescent lamp will last only about 1500 hours. Even if the LED rope light is operated for 8 hours a day all year long it should last for more than 15 years. A comparable incandescent rope light would have to be replaced at least 7 times during that same period.
Safety and Low Heat Output
Unlike incandescent lamps which produce light as a by-product of heat, LEDs produce very little heat. In fact, the average LED operates at only 1 degree above ambient temperature. In contrast, an incandescent lamp can reach temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. The heat created by incandescent lamps can be a serious fire hazard and limits the locations where it can safely be used. In addition, especially with larger applications, the heat created by the incandescent light can increase cooling costs.
Incandescent lamps are made of extremely fragile components such as glass and thin tungsten filaments. These fragile components are easily damaged by relatively minor shock which can occur as a result of dropping the product or other common exposures. In contrast, LEDs are extremely durable. An LED is a solid-state device, and has no fragile moving parts. LEDs are also covered in an extremely tough epoxy plastic which renders them virtually indestructible and not susceptible to damage from shock or vibration. LED rope light can easily be used for years, stored, moved around, bumped, and exposed to other common hazards in standard applications without suffer damage which is common in incandescent rope light.
Incandescent and fluorescent lamps contain harmful and toxic heavy metals such as lead or mercury. These heavy metals are extremely bad for the environment and are difficult, if not impossible to recycle. LEDs contain no harmful elements and can easily be recycled at the end of their useful life.
LED rope light is available in a wide variety of colors including, pure white, warm white, green, red, blue, yellow, multi-color, pink, and purple. However, the color of an LED can significantly impact its cost. This is because color in LEDs is created by adding different phosphors to the semi-conductor. The difference in cost of the phosphors and the manufacturing process involved in adding the phosphors to the LED greatly effects the cost of the LED. In most cases, white is the most expensive LED.