Truth about LED lighting

Operational life of traditional bulbs

The industry standard way of measuring traditional bulbs states that, typically, HPS/MH and Fluorescent bulbs have a average ‘life’ of around 15,000-20,000 hours. In other words - HALF of these bulbs have failed

Operational life of LED bulbs

LED's are measured differently. The operational life of an LED is measured by how long it is before the light dims to 70% of its original brightness. The light still works, but has dimmed.

Dialight extensive testing has shown that 100,000 hours is realistic. This is how we guarantee our lights for 5 years – and we say that by this time they will not be producing less than 70% of the light they did when they were new. 100,000 hours, that's almost 12 years at 24/7 operation - or 24 years if you use it for 50% of the time.

How to make cheap LED lights

Unfortunately, some foreign manufacturers of LED lights try to ‘cheat’ a little – they run the LED’s at the very limit of their power (which means they can get away with using less LED’s for the same amount of light), some even resort to 'cooling fans' to keep them cool, and they don’t manage the energy delivered to the LED's carefully. This often leads to LED’s dimming before they should, or (as is often the case) failing completely.

How to make good LED lights

The key to creating LED lights that last a long time is managing the thermal and power requirements carefully.

To this end – all of our Dialight lights run at around 70% of maximum capacity (thereby reducing the load on them), we have created Intelligent Thermal Controls so that should an LED become hotter than is good for it – then it automatically reduces the power gently until the heat is stabilised. Our lights are designed to work in environments up to 65 Degrees C.

This is how we can – with certainty, provide a 5 year warranty on all of our Dialight lights.

What is a REAL waste?

In a traditional bulb – 80% of the energy becomes HEAT. Only 20% lights your building! - LED's generate very little heat - this is especially important in a refrigerated enviroment. Switching to LED's will DRAMATICALLY reduce the energy you use to refrigerate your building.

Whilst an LED bulb may – at a glance, seem costly – remember, for at least FIVE YEARS you won’t have to change a bulb and it's using a lot less energy while it's on.

So what does buying LED's mean?

• No maintenance costs for AT LEAST FIVE years (and realistically – 10 years or more)
• No more bulbs to buy (and store)
• Dramatically lower energy bills
• Better light (so you may need less bulbs anyway)
• You hit your Carbon reduction commitment (in one easy sweep)
• If you’re in refrigeration – you're even better off
a) LED’s perform better in the cold (so they last even longer and are brighter)
b) They produce much less heat than standard bulbs – so you can turn down your cooling systems (and save even more energy)
• Did I mention that they're Dark Sky Approved
• Did I mention that we have a variety of ATEX certified versions

For those of you who like (saving) money

Let’s assume you run a 24 hour operation and you're charged 10p/KWh

A standard 400W high bay costs you around £350 in electricity each year.

£280 of that simply heated up your room

£70 actually gave you light.

(Oh – by the way, it’s quite possible that the light didn’t last the year, another had to be purchased, and your electricians had to get up there and change it)

The equivalent 100W LED would have cost you £87.50 in electricity

around £70 of that was used to light the room.

And......

That light is still there AT LEAST 5 years later – you haven’t touched it, it’s almost the same brightness and you have saved ...... £1312.50 (PER LIGHT)