When it comes to choosing a lighting scheme and products for your residential, commercial, and industrial projects, you have many options to choose from. It’s important to understand the characteristics of different types of lighting fixtures:
- LED, or light-emitting diode
- Incandescent
- Fluorescent
- Solar, also known as outdoor lighting.
What is an LED (light-emitting diode)?
The light-emitting diode, or LED, is recognized as one of the most energy efficient lighting technologies in the modern world. It is versatile to a range of residential, industrial and commercial projects. This means that LED is often the lighting technology relied upon for rapid developments in the lighting industry.
LED lighting products can last longer, save more energy, and provide better quality than other types of lighting. LED lighting products are supporting a shift towards greater energy efficiency in many markets worldwide, and widespread use of LED technology can significantly reduce carbon footprints of urban areas.
This is because LEDs emit very little heat, and light energy is emitted in a specified direction. Compared to incandescent lighting or compact fluorescent lamps (CFL).
Different types of lighting fixtures
In this article, we outline the key characteristics of 3 different types of lighting fixtures: Smart LED lighting, Incandescent and Fluorescent, and Solar.
Smart LED lighting
As lighting technology continues to push the boundaries in innovative spaces, new ‘smart lighting’ products allow users to set specific adjustments to their lighting plan based on certain conditions in homes or buildings.
Smart lighting enables the lighting system to use automated controls, falling in line with key developments in smart home technology. By using LED lighting with smart technology, users have access to a highly efficient and environmentally conscious lighting system in occupied spaces.
Incandescent and fluorescent lighting
Incandescent and fluorescent lighting, though popular, can be between 80-90% less energy efficient than LED lighting.
Incandescent lighting can often be found in residential dwellings, due to their relatively lower upfront costs and application in many different sizes and shapes. However, these types of lights have shorter lifespans than LED lighting, and release a significantly larger level of energy through heat. This means they are more expensive to operate in the longer term.
Fluorescent lighting, a slightly more modern lighting type than the incandescent light, comes in two main lamp types: Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and fluorescent tube and circline lamps. CFLs can commonly be found in household fixtures, while the tube and circline lamps are usually used in large spaces inside commercial buildings, and for spaces that use task lighting, such as garages.
While fluorescent lighting is more modern than incandescent lighting, and is slightly cheaper, this lighting type is similarly poorly rated in terms of its energy efficiency.
Solar lighting
Finally, solar or outdoor lighting products convert sunlight into electricity, and are therefore installed outside for pathway lighting, lamps and security.
While the solar light stores electricity gained from sunlight inside a battery, which has no extra electricity cost, they are heavily reliant on specific geographic and climate conditions to operate successfully. Shaded areas, poor sunlight and other site-specific variables could greatly impact the efficacy of solar lighting.
Contact Superluce to for a comprehensive smart LED lighting solution
Different projects require different types of lighting fixtures. At Superluce, we take the time to understand your needs for your residential, commercial and industrial project, and deliver an LED lighting solution that is both energy-efficient and perfectly suited for your unique space.
Contact the Superluce team today to find out how we apply world-leading LED and smart lighting technology to deliver the best lighting solutions to our clients.