With the demise of the incandescent light bulb comes the problem of finding other ways to light your living space. Halogen lights have risen in popularity for kitchens and bathrooms in recent years, but halogen light can be too harsh for other rooms. The answer may lie in ultra modern LED lighting.
These days, you are likely to encounter LED lights everywhere, from your mobile phone to the street lights outside your home. LED has a reputation for being extraordinarily energy efficient as a source of lighting and consequently, many organisations, including local authorities and councils, are switching their offices, workplaces, streets and buildings to this type of lighting.
1. Eco and Pocket Friendly.
It was previously thought that LED lighting would be far too expensive for use as a home lighting source. However, the cost of LED lights has dropped in the past couple of years and while they are still more expensive than other lighting types, the initial investment is far outweighed by the benefits. In addition to their energy efficiency, LED lights have an extensive lifespan. A standard 60 watt LED light bulb can last for 22 years or more. Consequently, at many lighting and DIY retailers, LEDs store displays have now become a familiar sight.
LED light bulbs and strip lights operate in a slightly different way to luminescent and halogen lights, in that they will not completely fail when approaching the end of their life. LED bulbs tend to gradually lose power, fading and becoming much less bright, rather than blacking out completely. This has the advantage of giving you some warning that they are on the way out, allowing you to purchase replacements well in advance of being left totally in the dark.
2. Enhancing Home Decor.
While LED lights have great energy efficiency benefits, they are also a great tool for use in enhancing your home decor. However, it is best to avoid using only white LED fittings as this light can have the effect of washing out the colour of the room, leaving it looking flat and dull. The real beauty of LED as a light source is that it can be found in a large range of different colours, which offers the opportunity to be creative. Using different colours to highlight and complement areas in your home will really bring your rooms to life.
Sticking to more conventional types of lighting for the ceiling fittings will help to maintain the warmth and atmosphere of your ambient lighting. However, adding coloured LED lighting here and there can boost the ambience of a space and give it a fresh and modern look. While your local lighting or DIY store may have a good selection of LED lighting, it is well worth looking up an online LEDs store, as this will allow you to see a larger selection all in one place and will most likely be the cheaper option.
In the living room, as well as uplighting the shelves and fireplace with a coloured LED strip,, LED lighting can be used as a narrow beam spotlight to pick out a flower arrangement, a favourite painting or two or even the family photo gallery. Halogen spotlights have been used in kitchens for a number of years now, but using an LED strip to uplight the space above kitchen cabinets can just add that extra eye catching feature, while coloured LED strips or recessed spotlights make a great colour wash of light at floor level.
James Holden is the digital content manager of Visible Lighting and has many years’ experience in the LED Lighting industry. To find out more information on James Holden, you can follow him on Google Plus.
