Transcript Document 7282909

LED Lighting Technology
By: Dan Kaser
9/17/2007
What Are LED’s?
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LED is an acronym for Light Emitting Diode
Instead of a filament they use a semiconductor diode which emits narrowspectrum light.
Depending on the composition & condition of the semiconducting material
used (Silicone, germanium), they come in either Infrared for sensing heat,
Visible for every day use, or Near-Ultraviolet for spotting stains at a crimescene.
An LED consists of a chip of semiconducting material that has been “doped”
with impurities in order to create a p-n junction.
A p-n junction is basically a junction between an anode and a cathode.
Current flows easily from the p-side to the n-side, but never in the reverse
order.
The wavelength and color of the LED depends on the band-gap energy of
the materials forming the p-n junction.
Where do we see LED’s?
Everywhere!!
Current uses of LED’s
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Status indicators on all sorts of equipment: your cell phone, computer, monitor, stereo
Traffic lights
Architectural lighting
Exit signs
Motorcycle and bicycle lights
Railroad crossing signals
Flashlights
Emergency vehicle lighting
Message displays at airports, railways, bus stations, trams, trolleys and ferries
Military and Tactical missions utilize red and/or yellow lights to retain night vision.
Movement sensors
LCD backlighting in televisions
Christmas Lights
Lanterns
LED’s Vs. Incandescent’s
Incandescent
Positives
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Cheap to manufacture & buy
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Easier to come by
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Generally stronger light output
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Better for seeing through Fog and Smoke
Negatives
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VERY breakable
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Horrible patterns in light
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Hot burning
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Heavy on battery consumption
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Short lifespan
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Yellowish color filters out anything with
yellow in it, IE: White looks yellow, yellow
doesn’t show, red looks brown, green looks
black.
LED
Positives
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Virtually indestructible
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100,000 hour lifespan
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Low energy consumption
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Symmetrical beam with little-to-no artifacts
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Cheap to manufacture
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Available in a multitude of colors without
requiring a filter.
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Pure white light means no color will be
filtered out.
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Low functioning temperature
Negatives
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Less potential output (for now)
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Slightly more expensive to purchase
Potential uses in the future
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LED’s are already being used in tail-lights for cars, and some companies like
Lexus are experimenting with LED headlights
Home lighting: Imagine a “light-bulb” with 100,000 constant hours of use. In other
words:
100,000 hours/24 hours a day = 4,166 days
4,166 days/365 days a year = 11.4 years.
Not only will the light bulb last for 11.4 years, but it will also require much less
current than a traditional light-bulb. If one LED-light bulb requires half the energy
of one Incandescent light-bulb, we may not have to suffer through rolling blackouts
ever again!
LED’s are already getting brighter. Here is an example of one of the most recent
LED’s to hit the market titled the “Luxeon Rebel”. It is both twice as bright, and
uses half the current of it’s predecessor of only 2 years.
Technology will eventually dictate that LED’s are the light source of the future.
How of
will
this on
affect
the business
Impact
LED’s
the world
of Business
world?
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With the horizons of LED technology broadening, many light manufacturer’s
are putting their top scientists to work:
Maglite, for instance, always made Incandescent lights, but have
recently begun creating drop-in LED modules for their incandescent
torches.
If one car company comes out with LED headlights that manage to function
at a higher efficiency and also increase output, it is inevitable that all other
car companies will follow. Nobody likes a burnt out headlight!
Energy is an expensive commodity! The more money we can save on
energy, the more money we can spend on more important business
aspects. One office building that solely uses LED bulbs could save
thousands a year in Energy use alone.
When the sun explodes we won’t be able to make anymore energy and we
will have to rely on LED’s and their efficiency to find food in the pitch black.
THE END!