LED light bulbs have many advantages, the manufacturers tell us. So, we decided to compile a list. You can see that list directly below. But, nothing is ever as simple as that, there are always some negative points when a new technology arrives, and although none of them are, in our opinion, “show stoppers” for LED lighting, we thought them worth publicizing here as well. Scroll on down and you will find the LED lighting disadvantages list below the not insignificant list of advantages.
Effectiveness- LEDs give off more lumens watt for watt than standard incandescent light bulbs. The performance of LED lighting components is not affected by lamp geometry and dimensions, unlike fluorescent lamps or tubes.
Color– LEDs can send out light of a designated color without utilizing any color filters as conventional lighting approaches require. This is more reliable and can lower preliminary costs.
Size- LEDs can be really small (smaller than 2 mm2) and are easily attached to printed circuit boards.
On/Off time- LEDs illuminate very rapidly. A normal red sign LED will certainly achieve complete brightness in under a microsecond. LEDs made use of in interactions devices can have even faster response times.
For Use When Biking- LEDs are perfect for uses subject to regular on-off biking, unlike incandescent and fluorescent lamps that fail faster when cycled often, or High-intensity discharge lamps (HID lamps) that require a long time prior to restarting.
Dimming- LEDs can very quickly be dimmed either by pulse-width modulation or lowering the forward present. This pulse-width modulation is why LED lights, specifically headlights on vehicles, when seen on camera or by some people, appear to be flashing or flickering. This is a kind of stroboscopic impact.
Cool light- In contrast to most light sources, LEDs radiate hardly any heat in the form of IR that can cause damage to delicate items or fabrics. Wasted energy is dispersed as heat through the base of the LED.
Progressive failure- LEDs primarily fail by the loss of intensity (brightness0 over time, rather than the sudden “click” or flash often heard, or seen, at the moment of failure of incandescent bulbs.
Lifetime- LEDs can have a fairly long helpful life. One guide quotes 35,000 to 50,000 hours of beneficial life, though time to total failure might be longer. Fluorescent tubes typically are rated at about 10,000 to 15,000 hours, depending partly on the conditions of use, and incandescent light bulbs at 1,000 to 2,000 hours. Several DOE demonstrations have shown that minimized maintenance costs from this extended lifetime, as opposed to energy cost savings, is the main factor in identifying the payback duration for an LED item.
Shock resistance- LEDs, being solid-state components, are hard to harm with external shock, unlike incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, which are delicate.
Focus- The solid package of the LED can be created to concentrate its light. Incandescent and fluorescent sources commonly need an external reflector to gather light and direct it in a functional way. For bigger LED bundles overall internal reflection (TIR) lenses are frequently utilized to the same result. When large quantities of light are required numerous light sources are usually deployed, which are challenging to concentrate or parallel to the very same target.
High purchase cost- LEDs are currently more expensive, rate per lumen, on a preliminary capital cost basis, than many traditional lighting innovations. The added cost partly stems from the reasonably low lumen output and the drive circuitry and power materials required.
Temperature level dependence- LED performance largely depends on the ambient temperature of the operating environment, or “thermal management” properties. Over-driving an LED in high ambient temperatures may result in overheating the LED bundle, ultimately resulting in device failure. A sufficient heat sink is had to keep long life. This is particularly crucial in automobile, clinical, and military uses where devices have to run over a vast array of temperatures, which require low failure rates. Toshiba has actually produced LEDs with an operating temperature level range of -40 to 100 ° C, which fits the LEDs for both outdoor and indoor use in applications such as lamps, ceiling lighting, street lights, and floodlights.
Voltage level of sensitivity- LEDs need to be provided with the voltage above the limit and a current below the rating. This can include series resistors or current-regulated power products.
Light quality- Most cool-white LEDs have spectra that differ considerably from a black body radiator like the sun or an incandescent light. The spike at 460 nm and dip at 500 nm can trigger the color of challenge be viewed differently under cool-white LED illumination than sunlight or incandescent sources, due to metamerism, red surfaces being rendered especially severely by normal phosphor-based cool-white LEDs. Nevertheless, the color-rendering homes of typical fluorescent lamps are often inferior to exactly what is now readily available in state-of-art white LEDs.
Location light source- Single LEDs do not approximate a point source of light giving a round light distribution, however rather a lambertian circulation. LEDs are challenging to use to uses requiring a spherical light field; however, various fields of light can be controlled by the application of different optics or “lenses”.
Electrical connection current flow direction- Incandescent light bulbs, work at any direction of flow of current electrical (polarity setting), LEDs are different. They will only illuminate when connected with right electrical polarity.
Safe blue light intensity exceedance risk- There is a concern that blue LEDs and cool-white LEDs are now efficient in going beyond safe limitations of the so-called blue-light danger as specified in eye safety specs such as ANSI/IESNA RP-27.1– 05- Recommended Practice for Photobiological Safety for Lamp and Lamp Systems.
Blue light pollution- Due to the fact that cool-white LEDs with high color temperature send out proportionally more blue light than standard outdoor lights such as high-pressure salt-vapor lamps, the strong wavelength dependence of Rayleigh spreading ways that cool-white LEDs can cause more light pollution than other lights. The International Dark-Sky Association discourages making use of white light sources with associated color temperature above 3,000 K.
Efficiency droop- The luminous effectiveness of LEDs reduces as the electrical current increases. Heating likewise enhances with greater currents which jeopardizes the life time of the LED. These effects put practical limitations on the current through an LED in high power applications.
Influence on bugs in the air- Standard white light LEDs have been shown to be much more attractive to airborne pests than sodium-vapor lights, so much so that there has been speculative issue about the possibility of interruption to the insect ecology. (Special LED lamps for outside use, which provide light visible to the human eye, but not considered to be visible to insects, are now available which remove that concern.)
Don’t be put off buying by these disadvantages though. LED light bulbs are a big improvement on Compact Fluorescent Lamps which have many far more serious drawbacks.