Can LEDs be used to replace conventional incandescent and florescent light bulbs?
Based on the where and the how, the answer is yes — you can use LED lighting.
The where is a matter of logic — LED lighting is GREAT as cove lighting – in an area where an undirected beam of light (in any color you want it to be) is needed. LED "flood" lights also work well in ceiling cans – as long as the ceiling is not too high — we do not yet have the ability to beam focus an LED lamp to the precise degree we do an incandescent lamp.
Where are LED lamps the best bang for their buck? Anywhere that heat is an issue in lighting! Anyone who has spent anytime working in the field of commercial lighting knows that heat is the light bulb’s worst enemy – causing premature burnout, ballast failure in fluorescent lamps, etc.
LED lamps burn incredibly cool to the touch because of the low watts consumed relative to the light output produced – a 3 watt LED MR-16 will compare to a 20 watt halogen lamp, conserving massive amounts of power not only to run the lamp, but, in a commercial application, to cool the building.
What is the downside of LED lighting? The still relatively high price tag. Although we are looking at 40,000+ hours as compared to 4000 hours (based on a standard 20 watt MR-16 lamp), many homeowners, and even most businesses are having a difficult time allocating funds for this switch-out.
As with all technologies, as time goes on, pricing will come down, and the technology itself will only improve.
Yes and no. LEDs are increasingly being used in many different applications to replace old incandescent light bulbs. Examples include LED indicator lights for all kinds of electronic devices such as cell phone, calculators, automotive dash panel, LCD back-lighting, etc., LED seasonal decoration lights for Christmas and holidays, LED traffic signs and other LED direction signs, LED flashing lights, and so on. As currently available LEDs have limited brightness, in most cases, they can not be used to replace incandescent or florescent light bulbs for general lighting purposes. 4.
