Europe has always been ahead of the US when it comes to energy efficiency and green building design, so it's no surprise that our friends across the pond have been enjoying the benefits of LED lighting for a while now. However, there are still plenty of misconceptions and false information out there when it comes to LEDs. Yes, they are a lot more efficient than incandescents and even CFLs, but you probably aren't aware of all the advances that make LEDs a viable option for lighting your home.
Dr. Stephen Shephard is the owner of Casatech Europa S.L., a company based in Spain that supplies LEDs for use in the home, specifically in kitchens. We asked him a few questions about LED technology and best uses:
Q. LEDs were very directional in the past, but that's not so anymore. Are these lamps now adequate for lighting an entire room?
A. While LEDs are still directional, there have been several approaches to combat this to create beam angles similar to normal spot lights and bulbs. For spot or down lights, a special lens is normally used, which will either narrow or widen the beam. It is possible now to get LED spotlights with beam angles from 25 to 60 degrees. The lens is either incorporated into the LED package or is added on during final assembly of the spot light. For more conventional lighting, companies often use either a special cover that helps to spread the light out more evenly, making it look more like a frosted incandescent bulb. Another method is to use what is commonly called a "corn
cob light," which resembles a corn cob on which a frosted or clear cover had been added to give the bulb a more traditional appearance.
It is now possible to use LED lighting for entire rooms. My bathroom uses LED spot lights. All of our outside lights are now LED, (except for one so clients can see there is no difference between conventional and LED). And our kitchen will soon be all LED lighting.
Q. Another LED myth is that the lamps only emit very cool light, which isn't always flattering or inviting in the home. How has the color output of LEDs changed recently?
A. While this is still true, to a certain extent, it is now possible to get warm white or cool white LEDs. True white LEDs are still a bit of a holy grail for LED manufacturers. Virtually all white LEDs are actually blue LEDs with a special phosphor coating which converts the blue light to white, hence the cold light from white LEDs. Warm white LEDs have a slightly different phosphor coating and produce a light that is more like a conventional bulb. I think that these days, standard warm white LED bulbs are pretty good.
Other methods to produce or improve the white light include:
- Using an RGB LED. When the red, green and blue are fully on, this produces a white light. The good thing about this method is that you can fine-tune the light to give you the exact type of white light. Problems with this method are sometimes it is possible to get a nice white spot, but the edges of the beam can appear as other colors, and the beam angle can be very small. Brightness has been an issue but this is steadily improving.
- Using an amber LED with the white/warm white LEDs. This has its own problems, too, as the optics for the LEDs need to be able to mix the light together, otherwise you get a nice warm patch, a yellow patch and a white patch. Not very nice.
- Mixing warm white and cold white LED bulbs or modules. This can be done either by having every other bulb in a room as cold white and the others as warm white, (I've done this in our bathroom). Or use warm white and cold white LED modules and a special dimmer controller to mix the two together.
Q. The kitchen is one of the easiest rooms in which to incorporate LEDs in the home. What are some creative lighting applications for this space?
A. Have a look at the lenses for LEDs in our catalogue. Also consider under-cabinet lighting; we recently created a Youtube video to explain how this product works.