LED Light Bulbs Review

A LED light bulbs review indicates that this lighting technology provides a great way to save energy, money and make positive impact on the environment. LEDs, which stands for light-emitting diodes are becoming more commonly available for every day household use. In fact, since there are now LEDs available to replace 75 to 100 watt incandescent light bulbs, many of the big box stores are beginning to stock them and as the technology continues to evolve, they will almost certainly replace the standard incandescent and give compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) a run for their money.

Benefits
The benefits uncovered in an LED light bulbs review are abundant. LEDs are touted to last for approximately 50,000 hours. To put that huge number into perspective, consider putting an LED bulb into a lamp and leaving it on for eight hours each day for ten years before you would need to replace it, on the other hand the comparable incandescent light bulb would need to be changed two to three times in just one year. In addition, to power that light the energy cost would be approximately $2 per year as compared to $20 per year for the comparable incandescent bulb. Spread those savings out overall of the lights in your home and imagine the savings in your monthly electricity bill.

In addition to the energy savings, LED light bulbs:
• Are shatterproof, which makes them safer
• Don't get hot, which saves money in an air conditioned environment where the use of incandescent bulbs can increase power usage for AC by a watt or more
• Contain no mercury which is considered to be a hazardous substances like CFLs
• Are fully illuminated as soon as you turn them on without needing to warm up like CFLs
• Produce light that is pure of color, known as monochromatic light. Other light sources produce of a number of colors which must be filtered out, which is a waste of energy.
• Do not produce any ultraviolet (UV) light, unlike fluorescent and halogen light bulbs, which causes fading of fabrics, artwork and other materials

The Falling Costs of LEDs
While LED technology has been around for a long time, they've been used primarily in night lights, holiday lights, and other novelty type lighting needs. In the recent past, a LED light bulbs review pointed out the bluish hue of light emitted from an LED was relatively dim. In addition, as recently as one year ago the cost was prohibitive at $120 per bulb for an LED that was comparable to a 60 watt incandescent.

However, the major light bulb manufacturers are now introducing much more affordable options. The LEDs that are now becoming more readily available and affordable include the type of bulbs used for down lighting in spot lights, track lights and accent lighting, which are a perfect application for the directional capabilities of LED lights.

GE is one manufacturer who has created bulbs for these uses as well as a type for chandeliers. Sylvania is introducing a LED that can replace a 40-watt incandescent that's available online for approximately $29.99; but unfortunately none of the major players have a realistic replacement for the popular and most-used, 60-watt bulb used on end table lamps.

To spur more rapid development of LEDs for common household use, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) is sponsoring a contest for manufacturers to develop a realistic replacement for the 60-watt incandescent. The government is sponsoring this development because the energy savings in one year's use of LED lamps instead of the standard 60-watt bulb would be enough to power lights in 17.4 million households.

In addition, there are new regulations governing efficiency for light bulbs that will require that incandescent bulbs be phased out beginning in 2012. With a time line like this, it's no wonder that the speed at which new and better LED options are coming to market is so quick. In fact, a GE representative has been quoted as saying that, "Every three to six months improved LEDs that offer more light for the package or lower cost per package."

LED Light Bulbs Review and Buying Guidelines
When purchasing LED light bulbs the color of the light is similar to regular light bulbs, ranging from cool white to soft white to warm white light. The specifications are as follows:
• 2500 - 3000 = Warm White
• 3000 - 3500K = Soft White
• 5500K = Cool White

A word of caution however, retail stores use the color temperature provided by the manufacturer of the LED which can often be inaccurate, or the range is so wide that there can be a huge difference in color. To ensure you get the color light you want look for side-by-side comparison photos to get a better idea of the hue of the light the bulb will emit.

If you're using LEDs in directional lighting, keep in mind that how the beam angle is measured is not standardized. Therefore if you have two LED bulbs from two different makers that say they are the same angle, they may in fact look very different. Again, your best bet is to look at comparison photos as well as the bulb's description to ensure you get the light spread you're looking for.

To determine the correct replacement for an incandescent bulb keep in mind that LEDs tend to use about one-fifth the energy of an equivalent incandescent and one-half the energy of their equivalent CFL. So, you'd need a 10 watt LED bulb to replace a 50 watt incandescent and a 7 watt LED bulb would replace a 15 watt CFL bulb.

While LEDs have been rated to last up to 50,000 hours, LED bulbs die or burn out in a much different way than incandescent which just quit illuminating when the filament inside breaks. Instead, LEDs lose their brightness and when they reach the end of their "lifetime" they will provide only 70 percent of the original brightness level. This is one reason that some manufacturers are revising the life span of their LED bulbs to 30,000 hours or even fewer.

Finally, when purchasing LED bulbs look for a product for which the manufacturer offers at least a one-year warranty. Sellers that truly believe in and stand by their products quite often offer two-year warranties on their LED bulbs. Stay away from LEDs that offer anything less than a 12-month guarantee. Think about it, if the manufacturer claims a 50,000 hour bulb life, yet only offers a one-year guarantee, they are not very confident in their products quality. The math tells the story. An LED bulb that is lit continuously for an entire year would burn for just 9,000 hours or less than one-fifth of the time the manufacturer boasts on its packaging. If the manufacturer isn't confident in their product, there's no reason you should be confident in it either.

Visit this website to read about LED light bulbs.