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Led Lights
by Robert Brown
Among the most versatile and cool lights, the light-emitting
diode or LED lights are new, tough, and seem to last forever.
You can find them in mini-flashlights, in jewelry, penlights,
and dozens of small applications. Larger bulbs are quite
expensive because they are such a new technology, but the small
bulbs give a significant amount of light, and in larger displays
can light an area quite brightly.
LED lights seem to last forever. Regular incandescent bulbs
only last about a thousand hours, and fluorescent about 10,000
hours. LEDs last for up to 100,000 hours. That’s more than
eleven years, with continual use! LEDs also use about a tenth
the electricity of an incandescent bulb because they produce
almost no heat. The red LED bulbs are as much as 90% efficient.
Compare that with a standard incandescent light bulb, in which
only about three percent of the energy used is transformed into
light, while the remaining 97% becomes heat.
LED lights have been used more and more over the last few
years, in decorations, in small flashlights and night lights,
even in novelty ice cubes and license-plate holders. The most
popular use for LED lights is illumination for specific things
– how neat would it be to have LED lights in your fish tank?
LED earrings and body jewelry are common at raves.
But it’s also becoming more common for LED lights, with their
clear, long-lasting illumination, to be used in special
fixtures for lighting rather than decoration. For instance,
LEDs make great travel and book lights, with their low power
requirements and tiny size. LED lights used in outdoor
spotlight-type illumination last so long, it makes sense to put
them up in the hardest to reach spots. LEDs in light bars are
being used in ATM machines and other places where bright,
stable light is necessary in public areas. If you use a
prismatic diffuser or other method for scattering light, an
array of LED lights provides excellent indirect lighting for
medium or large areas.
Still, the most common use for LED lights is in decoration. And
why not? These pinpoints of light can be used in your hair, in
tongue studs, on clothing. Magnetized LED lights will stick
literally anywhere on your clothing. And many LED lights aren’t
limited to only one color but instead change strobe or change
colors, depending on how they’re designed.
When looking for decorative lighting or for stable,
long-lasting light, LED lights should be on your list of
options to investigate. The cool factor is unbeatable, the
energy efficiency incredible, and the light that results from
these little lights is anywhere from usable to excellent. As
time passes, look for LED lights to be used more and more
frequently in applications from kitchen lighting, to dance and
rave light shows. Still, the best use found so far for tiny LED
lights is the pinpoint light you need to find keyholes in the
dark. The keychain LED flashlight is unbeatable.
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