Panel Lighting – The LED Alternative In a fast-paced world where we need to perform, we also need access to all those important services we rely on to drive our businesses, and also to make our lives at home easier. This means we need electricity, as much of it as our demands dictate, at all those times that we are dependent on it. Without electricity, i.e. without lighting, we would be lost. The first light bulbs were produced in 1879 when the Edison bulb, the incandescent bulb, was introduced. This technology immediately changed how things were done. Now it was possible to press buttons and have light, both at home and at work – in offices, in factories, in places of entertainment, everywhere.
Later came CFL technology and also halogen, an improvement on previous systems. It did not only bring better quality light and more choices, but also savings. Newer generations were introduced with cost-saving ability since CFL uses less power than incandescent bulbs, and halogen, again, is cheaper to use than CFL and incandescent. The best technology as yet is LED, introduced in the early 1960s with certain limitations at first. However, it quickly developed into the most favoured of all the options. Buying LED is more expensive; however, when used over time it records massive savings, both in terms of electricity use and replacement value. LED is far cheaper to run, and the bulbs outlast any other option. Some of these LEDs last more than 30 000 hours, more than 40 000 and even 50 000 hours before they have to be replaced. This is of real value where LEDs are used to illuminate large areas such as hospital rooms and passages, your child’s school hall, walkways and classrooms, or any of the banks, shops and official buildings we visit every day. LEDs for the mentioned spaces are normally offered in easy-to-fit LED panels of different sizes, the most popular being the 600 x 600mm panel. The panels offer cost savings, and therefore they are often used to replace older options such as CFL. They are also used more than ever before in new build projects. The benefits of using these LED panels are not limited only to saving on the electricity bill – it also helps preserve our environment and reduce our carbon footprint, which is the result of using less electricity, thereby contributing to the ideals of a more sustainable environment. All of this is possible with LED, not with the older, more traditional options. LED panels are practical, they are easy to fit in the same spaces where CFL is removed, and they require only the very minimum of maintenance. These panels are available from leading suppliers and manufacturers, and these days also from leading websites. In addition to the 600 x 600mm LED panels you can buy from a good retailer or another source, you may also find those that measure 1200 x 600mm. A good retailer, also on the internet, may actually meet your personal requirements and provide them for you in a number of other choices too.