Originally developed over 40 years ago and first years commercially as indicator lights in electronic components, LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes have come a long way to where they are now being touted as the light source of the future due to their high efficiency, compact size and durable construction. Today LEDs are used for a huge variety of general lighting tasks, electronics and backlighting of LCD screens & displays, and even for large screens and video applications. Lighting is currently the fastest growth area for LED technology.
LEDs are a microscopic chip encapsulated in a lightweight, study epoxy resin enclosure that is more durable than traditional glass lamps or fluorescent tubes. Because they have no fragile or moving parts they are resistant to vibration and virtually indestructible. The epoxy resin enclosure also allows them to withstand moisture and temperature extremes.
Nexxus lighting have just released the latest in LED replacement lamps with their new Array lamp line. Array ultizes a unique "Selective Heat Sink" made from recycled plastic to further remove the energy cost of producing LED lamps. with a luminous output of 95lm/w, Array lamps are available in for sizes from 1 to 8 watts.2W - now LEDs are available in most common bulb and pin configurations.
The only downside to LEDs for general domestic lighting is the perceived cost, and when retrofitting LEDs transformers may need to be changed to meet the transformers minimum load requirements. Like any emerging product, there are many inferior products on the market that do not live up to manufacturers output claims or life expectancy. There are calls for industry regulation and universal performance and output measuring standard to be introduced. not all LEDs are created equal, and while saving money on the inital investment cost of purchasing LEDs, using inferior quality products can often result in costly replacments and will decrease consumer confidence in LED technology. LED manufacturers are currently developing diodes manufactured from silicon based materials, which are non toxic and led expensive to manufacture than current gallium & sapphire based diodes that will not only help in the performance of LED chips but also help reduce their manufacturing cost.
There is no doubt that LEDs are more energy efficient in their running than both compact fluorescent, and incandescent bulbs, however little research or information is available on the true energy costs of producing LED chips or their heat sinks, nor on the effects of disposal of some colour LEDs (red & IR) which contain toxins and harmful materials. LEDs do not however contain mercury like compact fluorescents - a harmful toxin present in all compact fluorescent and requiring special disposal to prevent this heavy metal entering our waterways and environment.
Much like computer chips, LEDs are doubling in their output every 2 years, while research and development is being done on alternative, lower cost materials to further help reduce production costs and help them become the lighting choice for the 21st century. If LEDs can be manufactured using no more energy than common incandescent bulbs, then they will help reduce the electricity consumption from lighting by as much as 90%, reducing carbon outputs, alleviating the need for hundreds of new power plants and helping to turn our world into a brighter place.
Let's face it... light pollution and sea turtles just don't go together. Many species are on the verge of extinction... and improper outdoor lighting is a major cause. Not quite sure how this can be? Let's look into this a little further...
Female turtles return to the same area to nest each year. If they return and find bright outdoor lighting, one of two things happens.
1) The female will simply swim on by... essentially removing herself from the breeding population.
2) She lays her eggs, and then several weeks later the hatchlings emerge under cover of darkness and begin their journey to the sea. They've evolved through millions of years to seek out the brightest horizon. This is generally the ocean... with crashing surf and moon and star light reflecting on the water. Unfortunately, if bright lights were installed along with some recent development, the hatchlings emerge and crawl towards the bright lights... and away from the ocean and a chance at survival. These then get run over by cars as they cross streets, wander till exhausted and are eaten by predators or simply roast in their own shells in the heat of the sun. In excess of 80% of hatchlings can die on light polluted beaches.
Many communities have enacted outdoor lighting regulations designed to come to the aid of declining sea turtle populations. These generally require the use of full cutoff fixtures. Full cutoff fixtures simply control the output of light... forcing it down towards the ground where its needed... and preventing it from shining up into the night sky... or horizontally when it can cross property lines... and illuminate turtle nesting beaches.
Starry Night Lights has a greatly expanded selection of turtle friendly outdoor lighting solutions. Working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, they've combined the largest selection of full cutoff outdoor lights with "monochromatic" turtle safe lights to offer a number of solutions to communities that border sea turtle nesting areas. They offer bollards, wall packs and pole mounted solutions for businesses and municipalities as well as a huge selection of fixtures for homeowners and condo associations. The combination of full cutoff fixtures and monochromatic lights has been found to be least disruptive to sea turtle hatchlings.
Both Mike Brunt & Anthony Arrigo are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mike Brunt has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Health and Swimming Pool. Mike Brunt is a director of Specialized Lighting Concepts, a New Zealand owned company that has been at the forefront of introducing Fibre Optic, LED and solid state lighting technologies to the local market.. Mike Brunt's top article generates over 1000 views. to your Favourites.
Anthony Arrigo has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Politics. Anthony Arrigo is an avid astronomer and night sky activist His Company, Starry Night Lights Specialize In Night Sky Friendly at. Anthony Arrigo's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.