Thanks largely to their technological and performance advantages over conventional incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), LED light bulbs are considered by many people in the industry to be the future of general purpose lighting. Buying LED light bulbs on your own entails learning about new terms and lighting factors—the process isn’t as simple as simply looking at a bulb’s wattage, which is seen by many people as the main indicator of a bulb’s lighting strength. With LED light bulbs, you now have to take note of lumens, Kelvin, beam spread and more. While all this may sound complicated, these factors actually make the task of choosing the best LED bulb for your needs easier.

Comparisons

LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are solid-state semiconductors that produce light without consuming high levels of energy. Comparisons between traditional bulbs and LEDs can only be understood if you look at how both devices function.

• Incandescent bulbs use electricity to heat a metal filament. Once the filament is sufficiently heat, it then glows, producing light. This design, made popular by Thomas Edison over a hundred years ago, wastes too much energy in the heating process, which is why incandescent bulbs are considered by many to be energy inefficient.

• LEDs on the other hand, not only use low levels of electricity; they also use over 90% of their energy consumption to generate light.

Buying LED Light Bulbs

Buying an LED bulb is a lot like buying a pair of shoes. You need to take into account your intended application, the "fit" and of course, your budget. Here are some factors to take note of when buying LEDs for lighting purposes.

• When you compare an LED’s energy usage to that of an incandescent light bulb and a CFL, you’ll realize that you’re saving more in the long run. Most people however, fail to understand this position, hence why the shift from old to newer bulbs is slow.

• Cheap LED light bulbs are not worth your money. Most of these bulbs are completely useless for general purpose lighting, and can potentially die after only a few months use. Lighting quality can also be subpar—unless of course you like a sickly, bluish light.

• Many manufacturers boast of their bulbs having a long life span. Anything beyond 20,000 hours should be examined closely, as most claims can be exaggerated. It’s important to remember that while LED light bulbs are long lived, they lose over 50% of their lighting strength once they reach their rated lifespan. They don’t burn out though, and they’re still fully usable.