Answers to Common LED Light Questions

LED Light Questions

Even though LED lights are gaining in popularity, there are still a lot of LED light questions about how they work and the terminology that goes along with LED technology. Fortunately, LED technology is pretty straightforward and understandable.

Answers to Common LED Light Questions

What are LED lights?

LED lights, or light emitting diodes, were first invented in 1907 by the British scientist H. J. Round. Since then, LED technology has improved dramatically. Today, LED lights convert electrical energy directly into light using the movement of electrons within a diode. LED lights are important for their energy and cost saving benefits, and they are becoming increasingly common as they replace more traditional light sources.

What does solid state lighting mean, and why are LED lights classified as solid state?

Unlike other sources of lighting like fluorescent or incandescent, LED lights don’t rely on any movable parts to produce light. They don’t contain any gas or filaments that are subject to breakage or are harmful to the environment. Because the electrons in LED lights are embedded within the bulbs, the light is produced directly from solid materials.

What does future-proofing of LED products mean?

LED light technology is constantly changing and advancing as improvements continue to be made. Future-proofing in LED models allows manufacturers to interchange and move forward with next generation LED products without major changes to their manufacturing system or equipment. It offers manufactures and consumers backward compatibility with drivers and fittings.  

What is binning?

Because LED lights are mass produced in the millions, there inevitably is slight variation between each of the chips. Variations can be in the color and light output of the chip. In the binning process, chips are sorted so that all the chips in a bin have a similar look in the light they put out.

What is a light engine?

In LED lights, the light engine is the equivalent of a traditional lamp. Typically, it is a LED chip mounted on a circuit board that has the fixings needed and is ready to be attached to a light source. A light engine may contain more than one chip and can contain an array of 9 or 16 chips.

What makes LEDs more robust than other light sources?

LED lights make use of solid state technology. That means they don’t have any gasses, filaments or other moving parts to wear out. They produce light through a one-step process within the diode.