LED Lamp Application
LED lamps are used for both general lighting and special purpose lighting. Where colored light is required, LEDs come in multiple colors, which are produced without the need for filters. This improves the energy efficiency over a white light source that generates all colors of light then discards some of the visible energy in a filter.
White-light light-emitting diode lamps have the characteristics of long life expectancy and relatively low energy consumption. The LED sources are compact, which gives flexibility in designing lighting fixtures and good control over the distribution of light with small reflectors or lenses. LED lamps have no glass tubes to break, and their internal parts are rigidly supported, making them resistant to vibration and impact. With proper driver electronics design, an LED lamp can be made dimmable over a wide range; there is no minimum current needed to sustain lamp operation. LEDs using the color-mixing principle can produce a wide range of colors by changing the proportions of light generated in each primary color. This allows full color mixing in lamps with LEDs of different colors. LED lamps contain no mercury.
However, some current models are not compatible with standard dimmers. It is not currently economical to produce high levels of lighting. As a result, current LED screw-in light bulbs offer either low levels of light at a moderate cost, or moderate levels of light at a high cost. In contrast to other lighting technologies, LED light tends to be directional. This is a disadvantage for most general lighting applications, but can be an advantage for spot or flood lighting.