A "green" Source of Light

With the government becoming more and more conscientious about trying to clean up the atmosphere, the lighting industry has come up with a source of light that meets the requirements of the United States Green Building Council or more affectionately known as USGBC. This updated technology is utilizing the well established expertise of light emitting diodes or LED's. With it getting increasingly popular to come up with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation from a marketing vantage, it has become increasingly popular to find a "green" light source. With the advent of the development of LED Outdoor Lighting, design professionals are able to get one complete point in the process of attaining LEED accreditation by the use of this technology for external illumination.

There are several reasons why utilizing an LED light source is good for the environment. One reason is that it lasts approximately five (5) times as long as the traditional incandescent and fluorescent light sources. They also last twice as long as the High Intensity Discharge (HID) light sources of high pressure sodium, mercury vapor or metal halide lamps. With the longer lamp life, maintenance costs for a facility can be diminished.

Another reason why the use of LED Outdoor Lighting is good for the atmosphere is that they are not as bright as some of the more traditional light sources and their light is directed down to the ground where it is needed. As a result, they can meet the Illuminating Engineering Society's (IES) full cutoff criteria. This makes them "dark sky" compliant. Since the illumination of an LED light source can be made to propagate light out rather than straight down, the problem of light trespass onto adjacent properties can be minimized. With this wider spread of light, a more uniform illumination level can also be achieved.

One thing that an owner needs to be aware of when selecting an LED Outdoor Lighting fixture for their project, is to make sure that the manufacturer of the LED lamps obtains LED's from a reputible source. A lot of LED manufacturers are out of the country and subject to less stringent quality control requirements. As a result, the color of light from an individual LED may be different from an LED that is directly adjacent to it.

By using an LED Outdoor Lighting fixture, an end user can utilize a more environmentally friendly light source for their exterior lighting distribution system.