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BenefitsanddrawbacksofLEDs
BenefitsanddrawbacksofLEDs
LEDsofferahugevarietyofbenefitsbutatthesametimetheycannotbeviewedasthe
optimumsolutionforeverylightingrelatedapplication.Here,innoparticularorder,welist
someofthemainadvantagesofLEDs,togetherwithsomeofthechallengesfacedbythese
devices.
ByTimWhitaker
CommentsonthisarticlearewelcomepleasesendthemtoTimWhitaker,theEditorof
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/2005/01/benefitsanddrawbacksofleds.html
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BenefitsanddrawbacksofLEDsLEDs
LEDsMagazine.
Lifetime
Assolidstatelightsources,LEDshaveverylonglifetimesandaregenerallyveryrobust.
Whileincandescentbulbsmayhaveanexpectedlifetime(tofailure)of1000hours,LEDs
areoftenquotedofhavingalifetimeofupto100,000hoursmorethan11years.However,
thisfigureisextremelymisleadinglikeallotherlightsources,theperformanceofLEDs
degradesovertime,andthisdegradationisstronglyaffectedbyfactorssuchasoperating
currentandtemperature.
Atpresent,thereisnostandarddefinitionoflifetimeforLEDs,althoughvariouspartieshave
suggestedthatlifetimeshouldbethetimetakenfortheLEDsoutputtofalltosome
percentage(suchas70%or50%)ofitsoriginalvalue.
Standardization
ThegenerallackofstandardizationintheLEDfieldisanongoingissue.Variousstandards
relatingtoLEDsexistinareassuchasautomotivelightingandtrafficsignals.Otherefforts
arebeingconductedbybodiessuchasCIE,NEMAandIES.
Lowmaintenance
ThelonglifetimeofLEDsreducestheneedtoreplacefailedlamps,andthiscanleadto
significantsavings,particularlyinthecostofsendingoutmaintenancecrews.Thisalso
makesLEDfixturesusefulforinstallationinrelativelyinaccessiblelocations.However,if
taskslikecleaningthelightfixtureorperformingelectricalchecksneedtobecarriedout
regularly,thenthelightsourcescouldbereplacedatthesametime,negatingthe"low
maintenance"advantage.
Efficiency
LEDsarehighefficiencylightsources.WhiteLEDswithefficaciesof25lm/Wandupare
commerciallyavailable,exceedingtheperformanceofincandescentandsomefluorescent
sources.ThedirectionalnatureoflightproducedbyLEDsallowsthedesignofluminaires
withhigheroverallefficiency.
Lowpowerconsumption
ThelowpowerconsumptionofLEDsleadstosignificantenergysavingsthatcanoftendrive
theinstallationofLEDbasedsystems,forexampletrafficsignals.Nationalprogramsto
developeffectivesolidstatelightingindustriesintheUSandJapanhavebeendrivenby
thepotentialenergysavingsassociatedwithusingLEDs.
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BenefitsanddrawbacksofLEDsLEDs
Brightness
AlthoughLEDshavehighefficiencyandconsumeasmallamountofpower,thedevices
produceasmalltotalnumberoflumens.Forexample,a60Wincandescentbulbwithan
efficiencyof20lm/Wproduces1200lumens.AonewattLEDwithanefficiencyof30lm/W
producesonly30lumensi.e.40suchLEDsarerequiredtoproducethesameamountof
lightastheincandescentbulb.
Heat
LEDsdon'tproduceheatintheformofinfraredradiation,whichmakesincandescentbulbs
hottothetouch.TheabsenceofIRradiationallowsLEDfixturestobepositionedin
locationswhereheatingfromconventionalsourceswouldcauseaparticularprobleme.g.
illuminatingfoodortextiles.
However,LEDsdoproduceheatatthesemiconductorjunctionwithinthedevice.Thewall
plugefficiency(opticalpoweroutdividedbyelectricalpowerin)ofLEDpackagesis
typicallyintheregionof540%,meaningthatsomewherebetween60and95%oftheinput
powerislostasheat.
Withoutveryefficientthermalmanagementandheatsinkingthiscausesthejunction
temperatureoftheLEDtorise,whichcausestheLEDcharacteristicstochange.Driving
LEDsabovetheirratedcurrentcausesthejunctiontemperaturetorisetolevelswhere
permanentdamagemayoccur.
Cost
Inmanyapplications,LEDsareexpensivecomparedwithotherlightsources,when
measuredbymetricssuchasdollarsperlumen.LEDmanufacturerscontinuetowork
towardsreducingtheirproductioncostswhileatthesametimeincreasingthelightoutputof
theirdevices.
However,thehighinitialcostofLEDbasedsystemsisoffsetbylowerenergyconsumption,
lowermaintenancecostsandotherfactors.
Smallformfactors
LEDsareverysmalltypicalhighbrightnessLEDchipsmeasure0.3mmby0.3mm,while
highpowerdevicescanbe1mmx1mmorlarger.Therearemanyexampleswherethe
availabilityofsmall,highbrightnessdeviceshaveenabledsignificantmarketadvancement.
Theobviousexampleisinmobilephonehandsets,whereblue,greenandwhiteLEDsare
nowusedinmostmodelstobacklightkeypadsandliquidcrystaldisplay(LCD)screens.
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BenefitsanddrawbacksofLEDsLEDs
Instantaneousswitchon
LEDsswitchonrapidly,evenwhencold,andthisisaparticularadvantageforcertain
applicationssuchasvehiclebrakelights.
Color
LEDsareavailableinabroadrangeofbrilliant,saturatedcolors(althoughperformance
variesacrossthespectrum),andwhitedevicesarealsoavailable.Modulescontaining
differentcoloredLEDs(typicallyred,greenandblue,orRGB)canbetunedtoahuge
rangeofcolors,andeasilydimmed.RGBmodulesprovideamuchwidergamutofcolors
thanwhiteLEDsorothertraditionalwhitelightsources,whichisaparticularadvantagein
applicationssuchasbacklightingliquidcrystaldisplays(LCDs).
RGBLEDsandcolormixing
LEDcharacteristicschangewithtime,temperatureandcurrent,andfromdevicetodevice.
ForRGBLEDs,theperformanceofdifferentcoloreddeviceschangesatdifferentrates.
Thiscanresultinvariationoflampcolorandintensity,andpoorreproducibility.
WhiteLEDs
ThecolorofwhiteLEDscanbeveryinconsistent,althoughmanufacturershavenarrowed
theirbinningranges.WhiteLEDswiththesamecorrelatedcolortemperaturecanhave
differentcolortintsperceptibletothehumaneye.
Semiconductorprocessing
FabricatingLEDsisacomplexhightemperatureprocessinvolvingthegrowthofcrystalline
layersacrossthesurfaceofasemiconductorwafer.Thequalityoftheselayersdetermines
thepropertiesoftheLED.Reproducibilityisdifficulttoachieveacrossasinglewafer,or
fromwafertowafer,orfromdaytoday.SomeLEDsprocessedfromawaferwillyieldhigh
qualitydevices,whileothersfromthesamewaferwillhavemuchlowerqualityandwillend
upinlowendapplicationssuchaschildren'stoys.
Designability
LEDsopenupmanynewdesignoptions,someofwhichwerepreviouslyinconceivable.
Environmental
LEDsdonotcontainmercuryandinmanycasesstepsarebeingtakentoreplacelead
containingsolders(usedmainlytofixLEDstocircuitboards)withleadfreematerial,inline
withEuropeandirectives.TheenergyefficientnatureofLEDsalsomakesthem
environmentallyfriendly.
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BenefitsanddrawbacksofLEDsLEDs
Drivers
LEDsarelowvoltagelightsources,generallyrequiringaconstantDCvoltageorcurrentto
operateoptimally.Designingandimplementinganeffectivedriveriskeytoobtainallthe
benefitsofLEDs.
Knowledgegap
Ingeneral,thereisagapinunderstandingbetweentheLEDmanufacturersandthelighting
community.Theformergroupdonotincludethelatterintheirproductdevelopment
activitiesanddonotprovideinformationthatisdirectlycomparabletotheinformation
availableforcompetinglightsources.Thelatterdonotunderstandahugeamountabout
LEDsandareunfamiliarwithcrucialissuessuchasthermalmanagement,orwhywhite
LEDperformanceisnothighlyconsistent.
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