Comparison LED Lamp to other lighting technologies
* Incandescent lamps (light bulbs) create light by running electricity through a resistive filament, thereby heating the filament to a very high temperature so that it glows and produces visible light. A broad range of visible frequencies are naturally produced, yielding a pleasing warm yellow or white color quality. Incandescent light however, is highly inefficient, as approximately 98% of the energy input is emitted as heat.[3] A 100-watt 120 VAC light bulb produces about 1,700 lumens, about 17 lumens per watt. Incandescent lamps are relatively inexpensive to produce. The typical lifespan of an AC incandescent lamp is around 1,000 hours[4] They work well with dimmers. Most existing light fixtures are designed for the size and shape of these traditional bulbs.
* Fluorescent lamps (light bulbs) work by passing electricity through mercury vapor, which in turn produces ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light is then absorbed by a phosphor coating inside the lamp, causing it to glow, or fluoresce. While the heat generated by a fluorescent lamp is much less than its incandescent counterpart, energy is still lost in generating the ultraviolet light and converting this light into visible light. If the lamp breaks, exposure to mercury can occur. Linear fluorescent lamps are typically five to six times the cost of equivalent incandescent lamps but have life spans around 10,000 and 20,000 hours. Lifetime varies from 1,200 hours to 20,000 hours for compact fluorescent lamps.
The latest development of the T8 tri-phosphate lamps produced by Osram, Philips, Crompton and the some of the other producers has life expectancy extended to 75,000 hours if coupled with a warm start electronic ballast. The lamp efficiency of these new lamp is around 100 lumen per watt. Fluorescent tubes with modern electronic ballasts commonly average 50 to 67 lumens/watt overall. Most compact fluorescents rated at 13 watts or more with integral electronic ballasts achieve about 60 lumens/watt. Those with “iron” ballasts flicker at 100 or 120 Hz, and are less efficient. Most fluorescent lamps are not compatible with dimmers. All fluorescent tubes contain a small amount of mercury.