LED lighting has numerous benefits, with just one being their ability to help keep your home and business energy bills low. We at A-Star would not recommend anything else for lighting your Calgary home or business. LED fixtures are a smart way to illuminate both your indoor and outdoor spaces, and are actually more beautiful and flexible than you might expect.
How LED Lights Work
LED stands for “light-emitting diode,” and LED bulbs are everywhere. First developed way back in the ‘60s, for a long time they were mainly used only for smaller devices and fixtures. Indicator lights on vehicles have long been LED. The light on your digital alarm clock is LED. The tiny infrared bulb that operates your remote control is LED. The screens of your computer monitor and cell phone are lit with tiny LED lights. New cars are being manufactured with LED headlights, and many outdoor signs and traffic lights have been switched to LED as well.
What LEDs different from old-fashioned other lightbulbs is that they have no filament, which is why they don’t get overly hot. Incandescent bulbs work by heating up a tungsten filament, and everyone knows to avoid touching one after it’s been on for awhile. Fluorescent bulbs are comprised of a glass tube coated with phosphor powder and containing mercury and an inert gas. A current is passed between two high-voltage electrodes at each end of the tube, which causes a chemical reaction that releases light. They don’t get hot, but can be dangerous to handle when broken (you should open windows and leave the room for at least ten minutes if you break one, and never vacuum up the debris) and must be properly disposed of. Small quantities of fluorescent lights can be dropped off at designated Calgary firestations and landfills.
LEDs are 100% recyclable and can be placed in Calgary blue boxes once they have worn out.
Cost and Efficiency
LEDs didn’t become readily available until the early 2000s, and were seen by many as cost-prohibitive. They also came in funny shapes and sizes that didn’t always fit into lighting fixtures. But as they have become much more common and sizes have been standardized, prices have come down. They are still more expensive on the shelf than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, but they more than make up for that in energy efficiency.
Some estimates put the lifespan of an LED bulb at 100,000 hours, which would be 11 years of continuous operation. Although that may be a little high, even a more conservative lifespan estimate of 60,000 hours is impressive. Considering incandescent bulbs last for 1,500 hours at the most, you would have to buy 40 of them to last as long as one LED bulb. What makes them really remarkable, though, is their incredibly low consumption of energy. They use up to 90% less power than incandescent bulbs, which lose most of their energy through heat. That can make a massive difference in your energy bills.
Durability
LEDs don’t break as easily as incandescent bulbs and also work well in extremely hot and cold temperatures, making them perfect for the Calgary climate. They can also be turned on and off numerous times without causing any harm, and are better able to handle shocks, vibrations, surges and exposure. They are being used more and more often in remote areas and in conjunction with solar panels. Also, due to their longevity, they are very low-maintenance – a big help if you own a business.
Adaptability
One of the really cool features of LED lights is their adaptability. Since they can be made so small they can fit virtually anywhere, and people are getting really creative with their placement. A-Star’s lighting design service will provide numerous options for location of your fixtures to maximize their usage. We carefully plan directioning and focus, and also add some interest to your rooms and outdoors spaces.
Choose A-Star for Your Residential and Commercial Electrical Service
For commercial and residential service in Calgary, A-Star’s Electric’s certified professional home electricians can design lighting to make your home or business beautiful and functional. Maximize the benefits of your lighting fixture choices with A-Star.
