Although on the face of it, LED lights appear costly, they are still extremely popular because they are not only strong, lasting as much as 22 years, but also excellent energy savers, converting 80% of energy into light.

As against this, usual luminous bulbs have very short life and also consume a lot of power. That is why electricians strongly suggest LED lights. What is LED?

LED is an abbreviation for light emitting diode. They are encapsulated in tiny plastic bulbs that are just about one to two mm. As opposed to standard incandescent bulbs, LEDs do not have filament that can burn and emit light. They emit light when electricity passes through them releasing photons in an external direction.

Although LED light was red in color when it was first introduced, it is now available in extensive range of colors covering the entire color spectrum. These unique features make LED light most suitable for a large number of applications.

History of Light Emitting Diode

The history of LED can be traced to the year 1907 when the British scientist H.J. Round discovered ‘electroluminescence’ as a phenomenon. His discovery was followed by Oleg Vladimirovich Losev creating the first LED in 1927. However, it was several decades later that the first red.

LED was produced at General Electric Company by Nick Holonyak Jr. in 1962. In view of his outstanding contribution, Holonyak is, at times, called the ‘father of the LED’. However, the technology that was adopted at that time in making LEDs was prohibitively expensive making it unfeasible to produce on a large scale. It was only in 1970 that LEDs came into prominence.

Consume Less Electricity

Even though LEDs are more expensive than the standard light bulbs, people still prefer to change over to them because of their energy saving potential. LEDs not only emit more light per watt than a normal incandescent bulb, but also convert 80% of energy into light.

On the other hand, an ordinary incandescent bulb converts into light at only 20% efficiency. Besides lower energy consumption, it has a longer life with over 100,000 hours depending upon the heat and light factors and is more robust than a normal incandescent bulb. This means that a LED light bulb lasts an unbelievable 22 years.

What Can LED Do?

As compared to ordinary bulbs, LEDs are more robust and dependable. The plastic housing makes LEDs better shock resistance products. As they can emit colored lights without any filters, LEDs can also be turned into diffused lights whenever required, besides generating a little heat.

Surprisingly, the emission efficiency of LEDs increases in colder temperatures. As LED lights can be switched on or off quickly, they are ideally suited for use when cycling.

Earlier, LED lights were used as indicator lights for appliances. However, with the increase in energy efficiency and reduced costs, LEDs are now being used almost everywhere from aviation, automobiles to traffic signals.

LEDs being small in size are widely used in circuit boards. As they do not generate excessive heat they are also employed in making ‘heat sensitive’ products.

The LED has made rapid strides since its introduction in 1927. Even though relatively more expensive than the standard lighting, its energy saving potential and other strengths of the LED light make them a favorite product of many individuals, electricians and industries. They find variety of applications in televisions, computers or even in airplanes.

If you want to have an energy efficient home and keep your home from electricity related accidents, then you should not hesitate to seek the services of an expert electrician.

Electricians not only guide you about the safety of your electric gadgets but also show you how to make your home energy efficient. They normally inspect closely your energy needs, such as heating and cooling system, lighting, inspect the condition of the wires and accordingly make recommendation which you need to implement. Such steps have proved very effective in reducing your energy bills.

1) Conduct home energy audit.

Normally an expert electrician will start with a home energy audit, this is very important as after inspecting everything like heating and cooling system, lighting , wiring and other electric appliances which you use at home.

The electrician will determine the current energy use in your home and guide you how can you save the energy and subsequently reduce your energy bills. They will also guide you how can you enhance the life of electric appliances with minimum maintenance.

2) Maximize heating and cooling efficiency.

Electrician will mainly focus on the area which has higher electric consumption; one such area is heating and cooling system of your home. They will normally recommend use of thermostat which is already programmed as this saves lot of energy.

Such programmed thermostat work automatically and can be set by you; this will ensure minimal power consumption when you are not at home. Instead of using air conditioners, the electrician may recommend use of ceiling fans and also tank less water heater, such steps have proved to consume less power.

3) Analyze your home lighting requirement.

Nearly 10% of electricity is consumed in lighting the house; this can be redesigned with the recommendation of an electrician. He may suggest you to use the CFL or LED lights instead of conventional bulbs. He may also recommend use of motion sensor switches, dimmers and photocell sensors.

The biggest danger is seen in faulty wiring, the electrician can spot this issue and can guide you how can you be safe with proper wiring at home. It has been seen that people use surge protectors thinking that these can protect their costly appliances like computers and home theater system.

The electrician can guide you about the places where these protectors can be placed and the usage mechanism. You must always let the experts do the job, many home owners normally avoid in seeking the guidance of an expert electrician, this they do because they are quite confident that they can do this job themselves and can save money.

Such a step sometimes proves very risky and can be even life threatening. Improperly installed circuits often lead to very serious accidents; expert electrician can guide you about the safety as they are well trained. Their top priority is safety of your home and your family, therefore their guidance can help you to protect your costly appliances and probably lives.

Always remember faulty wiring or any other carelessness can cause fire and can lead to huge losses. Any home maker who believes in safety of the home and the people around should always seek the services of an electrician. This will ensure both safety and will make your home energy efficient and subsequently reduce your energy bills.

The natural light of the sun is always welcome; it not only lights up the interiors of your building but also keeps it warm and comfortable, thus filling you up with energy and vigor, always. However, there is a flip side of the prolonged exposure to the sunlight.

Though it generates a fair amount of Vitamin D in individuals; the Ultra Violet (UV) rays can cause several types of skin cancers if you are exposed to the direct sun rays for a considerable length of time.

Moreover, apart for the health hazard, the rays of the sun can increase the indoor temperature significantly, thus compelling you to use the air conditioners, overtime. This will cause the energy bill to shoot up; additionally the rays can leave behind faded household items and can put you off through distracting glares.

You must be thinking that are there any ways to protect your home as well as yourself from these harmful effects of the sunlight? You will be glad to know there are a number of ways, which you can implement not only to save yourself, but at the same time can enjoy limited warmth of the sun rays.

The best among these is tinting the windows of your house, using window films. The window films tint your house windows in the same manner as these do for your automobile windows, thus filtering the sunlight and protecting your family, you and your household items.

Apply a sleek, subtle film directly to your window panes and apart from enjoying other benefits, make your house visibly appealing and energy efficient. Some of the other benefits that you can derive by tinting your windows are:

• Up to 99% of the harmful Ultra Violet (UV) rays get deflected.
• Block the solar heat to keep the interior of your house cool and save on energy bill.
• Protect not only the furniture but also the interior from fading.
• Protect your family as well as yourself from skin damage.

Take a moment, examine the current color of your sofa or carpet and judge yourself as to whether these look the same way when you had purchased these! They do not and like your wooden flooring, old photographs and wallpaper these look washed out and faded.

One more thing; compare the condition of the furniture in the rooms which receive relatively more sunlight to those which have lesser exposure to the sunrays. You will be surprised to see the negative effect of the UV rays on the furniture with more sunlight.

Apply these films to your windows and protect not only the new furniture that you are planning to purchase, but also the existing ones from further damage in the same manner that these films do to protect your car audio components, navigation systems and leather seats from the harmful rays of the sun.

You can manage and control the humidity inside your house with a central air system, but it can do very little to restrict the sunrays from coming inside; thus the temperature shoots up and the air conditioner works over time to keep the temperature down. As a result, you not only end up paying more on energy bill but it also harms the environment; leading to global warming.

Tint your windows, save on energy cost and do your bit not only to save the environment but also to protect your family as well as yourself.