LED lights getting increasingly popular

If you think that LED (light-emitting diode) is new technology, think again. LEDs were actually invented in 1962, so they've been around for the past 49 years.
Introduced as a practical electronic component, early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, and now with very high brightness.
What makes LED technology truly unique is the extremely low amounts of DC (direct current, as opposed to AC or alternating current) power they consume. LEDs are even more interesting once you start learning more about the technology.
A typical LED that can be used for example as a small indicator light on a small electronic device such as a mobile phone draws typically less than 10 milliamps (0.010 of an ampere), making it very suitable for battery-operated equipment.
The smaller LEDs (circa 1975 to 1980) can easily output light 24 hours a day for close to one year on one single AAA penlight battery.

Eager to reduce their energy bills, many consumers in the U.S. and elsewhere have already converted to compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) years ago. But LED bulbs are even better, consuming just a small fraction of what CFLs consume.
        Additionally, a very unfortunate feature of CLFs is that you seriously impact their durability and overall life expectancy if you turn them on and off all the time, something that won't affect LEDs one bit. LEDs have been turned on and off millions of times in real life and for many decades and still emit the same bright light they did when they were new.
Under normal utilization, CFLs use about 21 percent of the energy of incandescent bulbs and will last about 8 to 10 years, according to Consumer Reports tests. But for now at least, LEDs are still more expensive. A 60-watt incandescent replacement costs almost $40. But they have been good CFL replacements and are a lot more efficient per lumen (lumen = the measure of light intensity).
For example, some LEDs that give off as much light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb or a 14-watt CFL, consume just 12 watts of power. It will take a long time based on energy savings compared with CFLs to recoup the initial cost, however.


          Some say that device and bulb makers are taking advantage of LED's superior technology and artifially keeping selling prices of LEDs way too high. It costs less than about $1.50 to produce one typical LED bulb that is the equivalent of a 60-watt incadescent light.
And LEDs can easily last more than 18 years and more. But on average, LED replacement for incadescent or CFL bulbs are generally harder to find, since still many stores don't carry them yet. But in the last few weeks, a couple of new LED makers have emerged however, and one anticipated product is expected in stores soon.
The design of modern LEDs reflects how manufacturers today are trying to improve the products so that they are suitable for many more uses in a typical home or office building. Until now, LEDs have excelled at directional lighting uses, such as spotlights or downlights in recessed cans in a ceiling. But now General Electric has an "omnidirectional" LED bulb where the heat sink actually diffuses light.
And other manufacturers are also working on a 60-watt replacement LED bulb that prioritizes even light along with efficiency (less than 10 watts) and much longer service life. The other significant change in buying LEDs is choosing a color temperature, as LED manufacturers typically offer a 3,000 Kelvin (very white-blueish) and a warmer 2,700 Kelvin (a bit yellowish) temperature.
And some bulb makers are already advertising how their products can be recycled or taken back, another desirable feature.
Purchase prices between $30 and $40 for lightbulbs are obviously a strong barrier to wide-scale adoption for now, but in the U.S. some state and manufacturer rebates are already available and some consumers will be willing to consider the energy savings, environmental benefits and other features, such as longer life and the ability to work with dimmer switches. Some CFLs will work with dimmers, but not all of them, so you need to check that when shopping.
Lower prices and improving the performance of LEDs puts people in a similar situation to buying a PC, mobile phone or SmartCar, where the technology is always improving and there's an argument for waiting.