Lighting for the future

With the current looming energy crisis in South Africa, and pressure exerted on governments and businesses alike for more sustainable energy solutions, LED lights have a bright future in space lighting solutions.

LED lighting isn’t a new technology; in fact, it has been around since the 1960’s. LED light bulbs were originally used as a replacement for incandescent indicators and displays in laboratory equipment and eventually in TV’s, watches, radios and calculators.

The lighting efficiency of the new high power LED light bulbs is nearly eight times that of incandescent lights, and twice as high as compact fluorescent lights. LED bulbs also emit a much higher percentage of light in the desired direction. This makes them extra efficient for task lighting, desk lamps, reading lights, spotlights, flood lights, and track lighting.

Any colour you like

The light output from LED bulbs can be any colour. They have a higher color rendering, so everything under them looks more vibrant and life like. With other light sources, much of the light produced consists of unwanted colours, which must be filtered out. LED light bulbs also generate very little unwanted heat. The energy savings may be doubled in air-conditioned environments where each watt of incandescent lighting can add another watt or more to the power needed for air conditioning. The EPA encourages the use of innovative light source technologies, such as LED light bulbs.

90% less energy wastage

LED lighting is safe, environmentally friendly and contains no toxic mercury. It uses 90% less energy than conventional incandescent lighting and less than half the energy of compact fluorescent lamps. Consuming less energy results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions being released into the environment. LED bulbs also operate at much lower temperatures, whereas Halogen and incandescent lights are hot enough to cause fire. LED lights also emit no damaging ultraviolet so they will not cause fading and aging of artwork or other sensitive materials.

These products are designed to last for 50,000 or more hours, which means there is less waste generated from used or burnt out light bulbs. Operating 12 hours per day, led light bulbs can last 7 years or more. The high reliability of led light bulbs increases safety and security. There is no waiting for led light bulbs to warm up. Led bulbs light up instantly at full brightness, even in the coldest weather.
LED lights can be used in a variety of applications, such as:

• Garden LED Lighting
• Landscape LED Lighting
• Office Lighting
• Ceiling Lighting
• Outdoor Spot Lighting
• Water Feature Lighting
• Signage Illumination
• Staircase LED Lighting
• Walkway Lighting
• Under Cabinet Lighting
• Swimming Pool LED Lighting
• Spa & Jacuzzi LED Lighting

A local company called Futurelight manufactures LED bulbs with light output that is comparable to that of a 40 to 100 watt incandescent light. Their LED lighting provides efficiency and enables consumers to save money without compromising beauty or the environment. Take a look at their range here.

With rising energy costs and the need to reduce our impact on the environment it is time that everyone starts making the change - even if it is one room at a time!