The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : LED lamps coming of age

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Saturday, Jan 31, 2009
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

LED lamps coming of age

LED lamps give the best results in common areas, walkways, garages, lobbies, studios and showrooms.

— Photo: Vipinchandran

New generation: LED lamps on display at a Kochi showroom.

LED (light-emitting diode) lamps are a wise choice, as fast-paced research improves its technology and widens the range of applications.

Awareness of the utility value of these lamps has grown. More people are willing to use them than before. But the change has not been fast and wide enough, says Georgekutty Kariyanappally, a dealer in Kochi.

Elaborating their energy-saving potential, he says replacing the estimated eight lakh so-called zero-watt incandescent bulbs in use in Kerala with LED lamps is equivalent to setting up a 9.11-MW power plant.

The incandescent lamp has stood the test for a century and a half, but it wastes energy in the form of excess heat.

The LED lamps use less energy.

A new avatar of these lamps is surface mount diodes (SMDs). They have started coming in rolls and soon, people will ask for them in terms of length, Mr. Georgekutty says.

The LED lamp is the future of lighting because of the tremendous energy savings.

The fears related to global warming have accentuated the need for a global campaign to increase it use.

More than CFLs

These lamps save more energy that compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which are increasing being used in place of incandescent lamps.

The evolution of LED lamps over the years has made them favourites among interior designers.

The various colours are an attraction. They were earlier used as indicators alone.

They give the best results in common areas, walkways, garages, lobbies and studios. In showrooms where a large number of small light points are used to create effects, their presence is unchallenged.

However, these lamps are yet to be perfected for reading rooms and libraries, laboratories and operation theatres.

The quick pace of research is expected to help to overcome this barrier in the near future.

One of the factors that has held back the wider spread of LED lamps is the cost. Though they cost much less now than before, the initial investment in installing them may turn away potential users.

Even in this, the mass production bases in China, Taiwan and Korea hold solutions. These centres have imported technology from Europe, Japan and the U.S. to churn out cheaper products to suit everyday needs.

Affordability

As applications and production bases spread, LED lamps are expected to be affordable and popular, leading to energy-saving and environmental protection.

K.A. MARTIN

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