- Longer Lasting \u2013 An average LED bulb lasts 30,000 hours. That’s 15 times longer than a typical incandescent.<\/li>
- More Efficient \u2013 An average LED bulb uses 1\/6th the energy of an incandescent to produce the same amount of light.<\/li>
- More Durable \u2013 There is no filament to break in an LED bulb. LEDs can withstand much more shock during operation without any adverse effects.<\/li>
- Switching Won’t Shorten Life \u2013 An LED bulb will not see a shortened lifespan from frequently switching it on and off. This is especially important in residential applications where lights will be cycled on and off multiple times in a day.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Incandescent Advantages<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- Gives Off Heat \u2013 For some applications (heat lamps), the heat incandescent lights give off is useful.<\/li>
- Price \u2013 Incandescent bulbs are still significantly cheaper than LED bulbs.<\/li>
- Constant Light Output \u2013 An incandescent bulb will operate at full brightness up until the point it burns out. The LED bulb will slowly fade.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The LED bulbs are vastly technologically superior to the incandescent bulbs. The only reason you would choose an incandescent in most applications would be to save a few dollars up front. However, there are a few niche applications where the qualities of incandescents are desirable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LED Bulbs Vs CFL<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Initially, when incandescent bulbs began getting phased out, CFLs were the “chosen” successor. That was before LED technology was developed enough to be price competitive in the home lighting market. That is no longer the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LED advantages<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- Longer Lasting \u2013 The average rated lifespan of an LED bulb is 4x greater than a CFL bulb.<\/li>
- More Efficient \u2013 An average LED bulb uses 2\/3 the energy of a CFL bulb.<\/li>
- More Durable \u2013 Like incandescents, CFLs are fragile.<\/li>
- Switching Won’t Shorten Life \u2013 CFL life is severely shortened by frequently switching them on and off. The LED bulbs suffer no negative effects from switching.<\/li>
- Usable In Freezing Temperatures \u2013 The LED bulbs work in the cold. The CFLs don’t.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
CFL advantages<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
- None. Although CFLs are still slightly cheaper than LEDs, there is no reason to buy CFLs at this point.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
A couple years ago, the advantages of LED bulbs over CFL bulbs were apparent, but the prices of LEDs were too high to call LEDs the clear winner. Today, the prices of LEDs have fallen and the quality has continued to increase. There is very little reason to purchase CFLs anymore. The LED bulbs are far superior and generally only slightly more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n[adinserter block=”2″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow Efficient Are LED Lights?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LED lights are the most efficient type of light bulb available today. They can produce more light with less energy than any other type of bulb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A typical 60W incandescent bulb puts out about 800 lumens. An equivalent brightness LED bulb will only require about 10W of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An average LED bulb today will produce 80 lpw (lumens per watt<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are some high-efficiency LEDs available right now that can eclipse 150 lpw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experimental LEDs<\/a> have broken the 300 lpw barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the residential LED lighting industry matures, you can expect them to keep getting more efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Long Do LED Bulbs Last?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LED bulbs last a very long time. The average consumer LED bulb available today will last 30,000+ hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The LED bulbs won’t suddenly burn out like the light bulbs you’re used to. However, over time they will become less effective at giving off light. Their brightness will fade the same way your mobile phone battery fades as you charge it many times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Typically, manufacturers consider the lifespan of the bulb to be the amount of time the light operates before it fades to 70% of its original brightness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Switching LED bulbs on and off frequently doesn’t have any impact on their lifespan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heat will cause an LED bulb to age much more quickly. If you pick up an LED bulb, you will usually notice that the base end is significantly heavier than a typical light bulb. This is because there is a metal heat sink in the base designed to pull heat away from the LED.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The LED bulbs can withstand a lot more shock than other types of light bulb. The component that produces the light is called a diode. It’s just one solid chunk of electronics so there isn’t much to break. Of course, the glass bulb surrounding the LED is still fragile so don’t go around dropping them just to see if they’re really as tough as I say they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Much Do LED Bulbs Cost?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LED bulbs have fallen in price drastically the past few years. I recently bought a 6 pack for under $20. If you want to replace all the bulbs in your house you can get even better deals by buying in bulk. This 16 pack from Philips is available on Amazon<\/a><\/strong> for under $2\/bulb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Philips](\"http:\/\/thesmartcave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/41mX1dK1WGL.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAre LED Bulbs Dimmable?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yes. LEDs can be dimmed but how effective the dimming is, depends on the model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dimming may not work very well with a standard dimmer switch. Fortunately, you can buy dimmable LED bulbs that have the dimming function built directly into the bulb (see smart bulbs below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The light will stay the same color as it dims. If you have a bright white LED, it will shine bright white at full power and when it’s fully dimmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most common method for dimming an LED is called pulse-width modulation. Basically, it involves switching the light on and off really fast (so fast that the human eye can’t detect it). If you want to make the light appear dimmer, you just increase the amount of time the bulb is switched off relative to the amount of time it’s switched on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do LED Bulbs Get Hot?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yes and no. If you try to grab an LED bulb by the bulb after it’s been on for awhile, it may only be slightly warmer than room temperature. However, if you unscrew the bulb and grab the metal base of the bulb, it will be a lot hotter. You might even burn yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the heat of an LED bulb is produced inside the base where the LED is housed. The metal base works as a heat sink to pull heat away from the electric circuitry that runs the bulb, so that’s why it gets so hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Are Smart LED Bulbs?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Smart LED bulbs let you plug your home lighting into your smart home<\/a>. You will be able to control your lights with your smartphone or even utilize other smart home sensors to automatically control them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Do Smart Bulbs Connect To Your Smart Home?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Some smart bulbs have WiFi built directly into the bulb. Connecting them to your home WiFi is as simple as screwing them in and using the mobile app to type in your WiFi password. TP-Link makes a popular line of smart bulbs that work like this. I personally own some and took the time to write up a review of the TP-Link smart bulbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"TP-Link](\"http:\/\/thesmartcave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/smart-bulb.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nOthers use different types of wireless communication. If they don’t use WiFi, they will require a special hub to connect. This is how the extremely popular Philips Hue smart bulbs work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Check out the Philips Hue Smart Bulb Starter Kit on Amazon<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Do LED Smart Bulbs Have That Normal LED Bulbs Don’t?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Generally, smart LED bulbs have 3 lighting features that you don’t see with standard LED lights. In order of increasing cost, they are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Adjustable Brightness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Some smart LED bulbs have dimmers built directly into the bulb. You can control the brightness with a slider on its mobile app or through rules set up with your smart home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Adjustable Color Temperature<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A popular feature for LED smart bulbs is adjustable CCT (correlated color temperature<\/a>) bulbs. They are also often called tunable LED smart bulbs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s not easy to explain CCT in simple terms. It’s a measure of the light spectrum that a given light emits. The simplest way to explain CCT is with a picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"room](\"http:\/\/thesmartcave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/color-temperatures.jpg\")
Example of variable color temperature white lights Image Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n The cool bright light given off by office space fluorescent lighting has a high CCT (4200K) compared to the warm glow of an incandescent lamp (2400K) or even a candle (1800K).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In order to achieve the tunable effect, these bulbs will contain 2 different LEDs. One will operate at a cool CCT and the other will operate at a warm CCT. Then, by adjusting the intensity of each LED you can get a full mixture of CCT in the range between the two LEDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tunable range will depend on the bulb. You will have to check the specs. of the bulb to make sure you get your desired range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using the correctly tuned light at the right time of day can have a positive impact on your alertness and sleep schedule<\/strong>. My article about tunable light and your circadian rhythm<\/a> explains more about how this works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Adjustable Hue<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The most expensive smart LED bulbs can actually change their hue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- None. Although CFLs are still slightly cheaper than LEDs, there is no reason to buy CFLs at this point.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"man](\"http:\/\/thesmartcave.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/415EFTCh0fL.jpg\")