LED (Light Emitting Diodes) are the latest and most exciting technological advancement in the lighting industry. LEDs are small, solid light bulbs and operate differently than traditional incandescent light bulbs.
Durable Electricals Chief Executive Helen Njeri says countries like Nigeria and Dubai are rapidly transitioning to LED using legislation and there is no reason why Kenya cannot follow suit as a way of bringing down power bills and freeing up energy for expanding industries.
Durable Electricals have been spearheading a silent revolution in LED lighting as a way of cutting power bills by up to 80 percent and saving up on acquisition cost in the long run.
In an interview with Capital FM Business, Njeri gives five reasons of why one should use LED lighting.
LEDs are extremely energy efficient and consume up to 90 percent less power than incandescent bulbs – Since LEDs use only a fraction of the energy of an incandescent light bulb there is a dramatic decrease in power costs. Also, money and energy is saved in maintenance and replacement costs due to the long LED lifespan.
Long life time stands out as the number one benefit of LED lights. LED bulbs and diodes have an outstanding operational life time expectation of up to 100,000 hours.
This is 11 years of continuous operation, or 22 years of 50 percent operation. If you leave on the LED fixture for 8 hours per day it would take around 20 years before you’d have to replace the LED bulb.
Improved safety may be LED’s most important benefit – LED lights generate virtually no heat therefore they are cool to the touch and can be left on for hours without incident or consequence if touched. LED’s produce 3.4 btu’s/hour, compared to 85 for incandescent bulbs.
In comparison, incandescent lighting expels 90 percent of the energy it consumes via heat, making the bulbs hot to the touch. LEDs reduce the potential for safety risks such as burns and fires.
LED lights are free of toxic chemicals – Most conventional fluorescent lighting bulbs contain a multitude of materials like mercury that are dangerous for the environment. LED lights contain no toxic materials and are 100 percent recyclable, and will help you to reduce your carbon footprint by up to a third.
The long operational life time span mentioned above means also that one LED light bulb can save material and production of 25 incandescent light bulbs.
A low-voltage power supply is sufficient for LED illumination – This makes it easy to use LED lighting also in outdoor settings, by connecting an external solar-energy source and is a big advantage when it comes to using LED technology in remote or rural areas.
