Lighting load in our home .

Diff models of LED bulbs, replacing incandescent,
flourescent and CFLs

Two weeks back I purchased a pack of 3 LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamps of 7 W and  10 LED lamps of 3 W each from Amazon.in.

It cost me not more than Rs 450/- but now I can proudly say that the whole lighting load in my house is less than 100W. ie. if I put all the lights for full 10 hours, I come up with 1 KWh consumption, ie. 1 unit.

What happens inside an LED bulb..

But mostly at home, not all bulbs burn from 6 to 11 PM. On average I can say that the average lighting load is about 80W, ie, 5 hours of lighting is just 400 W. After two and a half days burning, we consume 1 unit of power.By introducing LED bulbs, the lighting load has got reduced by 75% !!

How does an LED bulb work ? The electroluminiscence of LED bulbs produces light but no heat while the incandescent bulbs produce heat and light, hence very inefficient ..

CFL and flourescent (the UV light generated in a flourescent bulb gets converted to visible light in the presence of gases) bulbs due to the inclusion of Mercury in its design, is environmentally hazardous to dispose and is not advisable in households in the long run.

An LED, or otherwise semiconductor lighting, does not need a vacuum or any gas to work. The electrons that move from cathode to anode move from higher orbits to lower orbits in the semiconductor material, releasing energy in the form of light (and not heat). The reflective cavity focuses this light and emits as a straight beam of light which is diffused by the epoxy casing of the LED bulb. A 7.5 W LED bulb emits the same lumens as a 60 W incandescent bulb.

 An LED bulb lasts on an average for about 50,000 hours and since there are no delicate parts like filament etc, needs no maintenance.  On an average it is said to be 400 % efficient over incandescent bulb, ie. a 7.5 W LED is equivalent in brightness to a 60 W incandescent bulb, 400% efficient...

If an incandescent bulb lasts for 750 hours, an LED bulb can last for 50,000 hours, ie a 20 year period !! As per latest research on LED lighting from Uty of Cambridge, over the present Gallium Arsenide Phosphide base material, Gallium Nitride based semiconductor LED bulbs can increase LED lamp life to 100,000 hours, or roughly about 40 years and generating 300 Lumens of light per watt of electrical energy..

Get to know more from How things work site ..

An LED bulb thus, has many advantages -
1. it is less power consuming
2. generates no heat
3. highly efficient compared to incandescent bulbs
4. because of long life of 5-20 years, very low disposal problems and
5. no environmentally damaging chemicals in the bulb makes LED bulbs ideal choice for homes.

If the whole city of Bangalore and the nation goes for LED lighting, the savings it can bring is enormous.

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