LIGHT EMITTING DIODES (LED)By: Chris GrimmMegdi Morina

Mike OsterTony Joe Chupela

What exactly is a LED?

• A light-emitting diode (LED) is an electronic light source.

• The LED was first invented in Russia in the 1920s, and introduced in America as a practical electronic component in 1962.

• All early devices emitted low-intensity red light, but modern LEDs are available across the visible, ultraviolet and infra red wavelengths, with very high brightness.

ADVANTAGES

• LEDs present many advantages over traditional light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size and faster switching. However, they are relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than traditional light sources.

• LEDs can last tens of thousands of hours if used at rated current

• No annoying flicker like from fluorescents • LEDs are impervious to heat, cold, shock and vibration • No breakable glass is used, and LED lights can be

waterproofed for marine use

How its used/works• Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have been around for years in red, yellow

and green. New technological advances have given us incredibly bright blue and white versions--the white LEDs on our products page are state-of-the-art in brightness. The rated brightness varies by how wide the beam angle is. LEDs with a super-high brightness rating also have a very narrow beam angle. Wider-angle LEDs have a lower brightness rating, but may put out just as much light.

• LEDs can last tens of thousands of hours if used at rated current • No annoying flicker like from fluorescents • LEDs are impervious to heat, cold, shock and vibration • No breakable glass is used, and LED lights can be waterproofed for

marine use

How can this effect homes, businesses and schools as an alternate form of energy?

• Light emitting diodes, commonly called LEDs, are real unsung heroes in the electronics world. They do dozens of different jobs and are found in all kinds of devices. Among other things, they form the numbers on digital clocks, transmit information from remote controls, light up watches and tell you when your appliances are turned on. Collected together, they can form images on a jumbo television screen or illuminate a traffic light.

• Basically, LEDs are just tiny light bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. But unlike ordinary incandescent bulbs, they don't have a filament that will burn out, and they don't get especially hot. They are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, and they last just as long as a standard transistor.

Cost and Availability

• LED Lights are rather expensive

• Very Cheap to use, but the bulb itself expensive

• Availability, they are around and people have been tending to use them more and more

WHERE ARE LED LIGHTS USED?

• Lamps (of all kinds)• Traffic Lights• Christmas Lights• Alarm Clocks• Watches• Remote Controls• Cars

Environmental Concerns• Researching LED lights, I

found no signs of concern for the environment. Many sites mentioned that using LED lights, will actually benefit the environment more than hurt it.

Why its not being used?

• The cost is a main reason why a lot of people are not using them.

• Also people do not care about the environment as much as they should