Getting Started with LED Lighting

Profoundly Change the World with Just One LED Light Bulb

LED Light Bulbs

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The best way to start using LED light bulbs is to try one bulb first. Swap a regular bulb on your porch, in a ceiling can, task or accent light, or maybe replace a bulb that you leave on at night. To get familiar with LED light bulbs, we recommend you experiment with different lighting combinations and see how their reduced light output works for you. Please share your successes and comments with us.

LED Light Bulb Benefits

LED Energy Efficiency

Here's how LED light bulbs compare to ordinary bulbs: A regular 40 Watt incandescent bulb burns through a lot more energy than it needs to produce the light you see. Remember those toy ovens that used an incandescent light bulb to bake brownies? A large percentage of the energy that goes into a 40 Watt bulb is wasted as heat - great for baking brownies, not so great for conserving electricity and saving money. LED light bulbs, on the other hand, generate very little heat as they glow, instead transferring most of their energy directly into light.

The latest LED light bulbs now produce about the same amount of light per watt as compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL). However, unlike incandescent bulbs and CFLs, which splash light in all directions, LED bulbs are directional. They drive their light in one direction, so that you have light exactly where you want it. This directional lighting equals savings in yet another fashion. LEDs don't waste light (energy) on areas you don't need illuminated, which is also why they're perfect task lights.

Prior to the introduction of LED light bulbs, if you wanted to use a low watt (less than 4 watts) bulb for ambient lighting, you had to settle for a hard-to-find, expensive, incandescent light or an unsightly florescent. Current LED bulbs are designed to fit standard bases, range from 0.85 to 7.3 watts, and are made for low light situations. In addition to low wattage, you get the bonus of long life and energy efficiency, which all adds up to a 90% savings over standard bulbs.

Vibration Resistant

In a garage or basement under heavy foot traffic, incandescent bulbs are just too fragile to last very long. Too much vibration and the filament breaks and you're left with darkness or the hassle of changing another bulb. Not so with LED light bulbs. Since LED light bulbs have no filament, there's nothing to rattle apart and break. So they'll not only save you money in the cost of bulb replacement, they'll save you the trouble of climbing onto a chair or rickety ladder to swap out that incandescent bulb that keeps burning out.

A Cool, New Color of Light

LED light bulbs bring a white light into a room. Unlike the yellow light we're so used to seeing from incandescent bulbs, the white light cast by LEDs is closer to the color temperature of daylight. The white light of LEDs is easier on your eyes and also provides the added benefit of lifting your mood in the summer and winter time. The white light also mixes in wonderfully with ordinary lights around your home or workplace, and it's a great light to read by.

LEDs In Your Home

We're constantly finding new ways to put LEDs to work around the home. Following is just a sampling of some of the best applications we've found for LED light bulbs. If you've got some successes or suggestions, please feel free to share them with us.

Reading Lamps

Use an LED light bulb in a task or reading light, and you'll have a bright, white light to work by. LEDs not only produce light more efficiently, they have a tiny mirror that reflects light in one direction. A directed light means less wasted light.

Ceiling Cans

Ceiling cans (or recessed lighting) have become one of the most common styles of lighting for homes in the U.S. They are typically installed in groups simply for symmetry. Ceiling cans are an ideal place for LED light bulbs. Our Suns Dusk LED Accent Light Bulb (featured in this image) provides exceptional ambient lighting and it even works with dimmer switches.

Porch/Outdoor LED Lighting

LED light bulbs cost just pennies a day to run, so they are perfect for those always-on or accidentally-left-on lights like on porches. Since they last up to 60,000 hours, LED light bulbs are also great for those hard-to-reach places where it's difficult or dangerous to change the light bulb.

Normal temperature fluctuations can unscrew a bulb from its fixture. If your LED bulb goes out - make sure it is screwed in first.

Art Lighting

LEDs emit monochromatic light therefore any harmful ultra-violet or infra-red light has been eliminated making them safe to illuminate paintings and other types of art. The bluish color of LED light bulbs adds a whole new and exciting dimension to artwork.

Marine Artist Jim Clary, owner of Cap'n Jim's Gallery in Port Huron, Michigan, supplements his tungsten display lighting with the LEDs during business hours, but switches to total LED lighting to brighten his window displays and all interior walls after dark.

LED Night Lights

We think nightlights should be cheap to operate, and we think the bulbs should last a long time — which is why we designed our very own LED night light. Runs cool, won’t shatter like glass bulbs, and is super energy efficient — using less than 1 watt of power. 120 Volts and lasts up to 60,000 hours. Fits most standard night light fixtures.

Children's Rooms/Bedside Lamps

Our Color Changing Party Light Bulb is particularly popular with children. It is a fun light that changes from red to blue to green at a gentle pace. The Color Changing Party Light Bulb is the only man-made object that produces the colors as pure as stained glass.

LEDs at Work

Using LEDs at work and saving money while maintaining good lighting requires thought and some basic change. Most work areas need at least two types of lighting:

1. Light to navigate the work space safely.
2. Light to carry out the task at hand (task lighting).

Since LED light bulbs are directional, they are perfect for task lighting. With a little planning and experimentation, once you achieve the setup that is right for the job the only difference you will notice will be the 90% savings on your electric bill.

At work, LED light bulbs can be real money and headache-savers. Install them in hard-to-reach areas to cut down on maintenance costs, or in areas where a vibration-resistant light is of the essence - like in an emergency corridor, in a workshop, or down by a fuse box.

Why LEDs?

An LED light bulb can last you up to 60,000 hours. That averages out to 12 hours of light per day for 12 years.

LED light bulbs are so energy efficient that, depending on how often you have them on, they'll actually pay for themselves in just over a year.

The best way to conserve energy is to use less of it. LED light bulbs are directional - which means that they only put the light where you aim it or where you need it. Incandescent bulbs, on the other hand, just sit there and throw their glow all over the place - wasting electricity and generating heat.

LED light bulbs run cool, so they're safer to use than fragile, burning hot halogen and incandescent bulbs.

LEDs turn on instantly - which has been a big benefit in car brake lights and is also a welcome feature when testing lights in a dark basement.

LEDs do not use mercury like CFLs - so disposal concerns aren't the same.

Recent studies suggest that the light produced by LED light bulbs can help people stay more alert.

Hey, Bob, how come you like LED light bulbs so much?

LED light bulbs are not like ordinary lights. Not only do they last thousands of hours longer than incandescent bulbs and cost less money to run, they also produce a cool white light that's more pleasant around the house and at work.

If you've got ceiling cans, take a look at where they aim their light. Do all those lights in the ceiling really need to be hot-burning, yellow lights? Or are there a few spots up there where it's just the balance of fixtures that called for a can to be installed? If there's a spot like that in your ceiling, it's an ideal place to put an LED spotlight. With LED light bulbs you can create your own lighting design for your home. Best of all, when you install an LED light bulb you're instantly saving money on your electricity. LED light bulbs are also perfect as that always-on light you use around your home. No matter how long you keep it on, it's only warm to the touch (not burning hot like standard bulbs) and it won't use a lot of electricity.

LEDs and the Future

As different states adopt different energy efficiency policies, you'll see more and more incentives for using LED light bulbs in your home. Some states even offer rebate programs that might even help you offset the cost of installing LED light bulbs in more places throughout your home.

History of LED Light Bulbs

LEDs have been around since 1962, and you've probably seen those little red and green bulbs in your radios, TVs and other electronics over the years. Everything changed in the world of LEDs when white LED bulbs were invented in 1993. The new white LEDs were so bright, in fact, that C. Crane CO. figured they might just work in flashlights. So that's what they did.

Back in 1997, C. Crane was the first company to introduce a flashlight that used two, bright White LEDs instead of your typical incandescent bulb. It was a revolution in lighting, and within just a few years thousands of people discovered the wonder of white LED flashlights.

Today, C. Crane is bringing the same wonderment of an original LED flashlight to 120V standard bulbs that you can use around your home, workplace, or even outdoors. These bulbs are so energy efficient and durable. You can expect them to last up to 60,000 hours, so long you could pass them on to your grand kids. Their many benefits and long life span make LED light bulbs the new way to light your home and save money.