Humanity has always had a need for light, and ever since the innovative work of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, artificial lighting reached new heights with light bulbs. Earlier models of bulbs involved filaments to produce their light, but today, halogen bulbs, LEDs, and more often replace such outdated light bulbs, and more energy efficient models are always being sought after and installed. Today’s customers and businesses today want better lumen maintenance for their lighting, and this is not something to ignore. Fixtures today should be as bright as possible for as long as possible, especially for commercial or industrial purposes. In fact, many official bodies in the United States today are hard at work measuring the current state of American lighting, and this ranges from lumen maintenance to LED purchases. A lot of power and electricity can be saved when better light bulbs with better lumen maintenance are installed. How can this be done?
Bulb Efficiency
One basic term to bear in mind is lumen maintenance. This is a fairly simple concept: lumen maintenance refers to the difference in the luminous flux that a light bulb currently gives off versus what it gives off when it was first used. This results in a percentage drop of luminous flux after a certain point in time, and that describes the lumen maintenance. If a light bulb is giving off just half of the light that it did after 60,000 hours of use have passed, that bulb has a lumen maintenance of 50% at 60,000 hours, just as one example. Some models of bulbs last longer than others and may give off more light, since they have different methods of creating light inside the glass.
Induction lighting elements, for example, were first pioneered by Nikola Tesla, and unlike other bulbs, they do not have any filaments or electrodes that can burn out, meaning that they may last for a very long time during use. They may last up to 100,000 if used well, and they produce light when gas inside them is excited with electricity. Often, these types of lights or halogens are popular to use for public areas such as parking garages, which are often required by law to be illuminated 24 hours a day. These areas have to stay lit for safety and convenience purposes, and a powerful and durable light bulb will be needed. Filament bulbs may burn out to soon, so maintenance convenience calls for something more durable. Halogen or induction bulbs are the answer.
Another light bulb known for its efficiency, especially for power usage, is the LED, or Light Emitting Diode. These lights do not use filaments either, and they are often made up of many smaller lights working in tandem on a platform to produce light. These lights are relatively recent compared to older models such as halogen or especially filament bulbs. But they are highly efficient where electricity is concerned, and they can produce more light than similar models while using less power. LEDs are gaining in popularity and can be used nearly anywhere, from fishing boats to flashlights. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy has stated that LED lighting ha the potential to decrease American energy usage by nearly 50% or so, and that can save a lot of money in the long run. And since most American power is still derived from power plants that run on fossil fuels, this level of energy efficiency across the nation can contribute a lot to the “go green” initiative.
Will so much power really be saved by making LEDs commonplace? Statistics from the Department of Energy show that this could certainly be the case if implemented correctly. This department has released data showing that around 22% of all generated electricity generated across the United States today is used for lighting. In particular, lighting accounts for nearly 11% of all energy used in residential buildings and about 18% of that in commercial buildings. Swapping out all of those older bulbs for LEDs could, as mentioned above, drastically reduce power needs. More lighting with less electricity satisfies all lighting needs while cutting down on fossil fuel production, and this, combined with other green power source, can help make the United States an eco-friendly place.
