The humble light bulb, little changed for over a hundred years, is due for a major overhaul, and it seems this change is on the horizon in the form of LED bulbs. LED lighting offers much greater efficiency, along with other qualities too, and will in the future be the first choice for homes and in various devices, such as flashlights.

Lighting has been dominated by the incandescent bulb for a long while now. While they have undergone some improvements, they remain very inefficient, and less than 10% of the energy that they consume is converted into useful light. The energy which they waste is apparent in the level of heat that they produce, and the heat is one of the reasons that they burn out fairly quickly.

With environmental and energy concerns almost certain to grow, a more efficient bulb is needed. CFL bulbs are a lot more efficient, and are replacing incandescent bulbs in many uses, however, they have a few drawbacks, such has taking about a minute to reach their full brightness.

LED bulbs are a much better long-term alternative. Their only real disadvantage is cost, but their price will come down as they become more widely used. Their high level of efficiency is a result of their their special, solid-state design and way of producing light.

LED lighting is based upon the movement of electrons through a semiconductor material, which consists of both positively and negatively charged components. The positive layer contains slight openings that ‘free’ electrons from the negative component can pass through.

When an electric charge is applied to the semiconductor, a flow of excited electrons passes through the openings. Since they are passing from a higher to lower energy state, they emit energy in the form of photons, which can be directed to produce light.

LED lighting offers many advantages. Being solid-state and without filaments (which can burn out), LED bulbs will last much longer (some can last as long as 50,000 hours). Also, they are much more durable, and can withstand shocks that other bulbs cannot.

As they are more efficient, they run at a lower temperature. This reduces the risk of being burned by touching a hot bulb, and also cuts down on cooling costs in the summer, since the bulbs are not producing less heat.

Unlike CFL bulbs, which take time to reach their full brightness, LED bulbs come on almost instantly. They are also fully dimmable, can produce colored lighting without filters, and create a highly directional light, that is great for task lighting.

Their durability and efficiency mean that they are great for other purposes too, such as for use in flashlights. Since flashlights must contain their own power source, and are often dropped, the durability and efficiency of LED bulbs make a real practical improvement.

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See ‘Best LED Flashlight‘ for information about LED flashlights, including Dorcy, Coast, and SureFire flashlights, aswell as LED bulbs.