Light Emitting Diodes have been available for over thirty years.
LED's are the dominant lighting systems for indication and panel display. High Brightness LED's are rapidly gaining market share for area illumination.
LED's are all around you - torches, signage, indicators, car brake lights
Specialist suppliers, such as EuLED, have now developed high power lighting able to illuminate large areas in workplaces, retail, and streets.
LED's consume much less power than other types of light
LED sources are small and directional - unlike large halogen, florescent or incandescent lamps - the light goes where you want it.
LED's are solid state devices - there is nothing to suffer from shock or vibration
LED's can be tuned to provide different wavelengths of light. This allows a much more natural spectrum of light than other types of lamp with a positive effect on human reaction (Maas, Jayson, Kleiber - Effects of spectral differences in illumination on fatigue) (Blackwell - Effects of light source spectral distribution upon visual functions)
LED's typically last up to 100,000 hours. A typical incandescent lamp for less than 1000 hours and a compact florescent lamp 10,000 hours - much lower maintenance costs.
LED's are flicker free - tests have shown that fluorescent lights with conventional ballast increase the rate of errors administrative tasks (Rey & Rey Comparison of the effects of two fluorescent lights on visual tasks and fatigue tests) LED's will cold start instantly - cold stores and warehouses are lit instantly so lights can be switched off in periods of inactivity without loss.
LED's appear to help with health and fatigue compared to many fluorescent lights (Wilkins, Nimmo-smith, Slater, Bedocs - Fluorescent lighting headaches and eye-strain)
