LEDs are light emitting diodes. These are electronic components that produce light by conversion of electrical energy directly to light. 

A lumen is the measure of the total amount of “visible” light emitted by a source.

A lumen measures the power of the light being radiated, but a foot candle measures the brightness of the light at a particular spot or object.

LED lights are very safe.  In fact, they are likely safer than conventional lighting since they do not produce Ultra-violet rays and do not contain toxic mercury.

The initial purchase cost of LED lights is generally greater than that of traditional lights; however, total cost of ownership is generally much lower with LED lights.  Return on Investment is usually achieved in a very reasonable period of time with LED lights as outlined in the question on advantages of LED lights below.

• Energy Effiency

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  Conventional lighting uses 80-90% of its energy as heat – not light, so a great deal of energy is wasted.  With LED lighting it is the opposite – the energy goes to light so you use much less energy and greatly reduce your energy consumption – this saves you money!  LED Lights pay for themselves in savings.

• Long Life

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  LED bulbs and diodes have an outstanding operational life – lasting for years.  This saves on maintenance costs too because you are not always switching out lamps

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• Quality of Light

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  LED lights have crisp, clear, and accurate light that is easy on eyes, offers a variety of color temperatures to match tastes, and has exceptional color rendering so objects appear natural with high visual acuity.

• Light Dispersion

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  LED lights are designed to focus light and be directed to a specific location, achieving higher application efficiency than conventional lighting.

• Instant Lighting in Hot or Cold Temperatures

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  LED lights brighten up immediately when powered on and operate in extremely hot or cold temperatures without light degradation.

 Most insects are primarily attracted to Ultra-violet rays to help them find food, select mates and to navigate.  Since LEDs do not have UV content, far fewer insects are attracted to LED lights than those lights that emit UV rays. 

Depending on the particular light, LEDs last much longer than traditional types of light.  For example select models of SONARAY lights have a rated life time of 50,000 hours.  What this means is that if the lights were on 24 hours a day, they would last approximately 5.7 years.  If the lights were on 12 hours a day, the lights would last 11.4 years.

Typically an LED light lasts 4 times longer than a CFL and 20-25 times longer than an incandescent light.

Unlike traditional lights that just suddenly fail and go out, LED lights do not normally suddenly just stop working and go out, but the light just gradually decreases in output over time.  Normally the life time is quoted when light output is projected to decrease by 30% over time, meaning that 70% of the output remains.  You’ll sometimes see this quoted as L70 and the life time is measured in hours.

LED lights may appear whiter than traditional lights or they may also look similar to traditional lights depending on the color temperature.  Color temperature is measured using the Kelvin temperature scale.  The higher the number on the Kelvin scale, the cooler, or whiter, the light will look.