Why Choose LED Landscape Lighting?
When it comes to outdoor landscape lighting, LEDs (LED stands for the light emitting diode) has become the gold standard, and with good reasons. LED is simply superior to traditional lighting types, such as incandescent or CFLs, in almost every way. If you want a gorgeous outdoor lighting installation using high-quality LED bulbs, Decorating Elves should be your next call at 727-474-2628. Our expert team of lighting designers will work with you to create a stunning LED landscape lighting design that keeps heads turning all year long.
LED lighting is preferable for outdoor applications over other lighting types because (source and source):
LED Lighting is More Energy Efficient
To reach a brightness of 700 lumens, an LED bulb only needs 8 watts of power. CFL bulbs require about 15 watts to reach 700 lumens, and incandescent bulbs require about 60 watts. This means that LED lights are almost 8 times more efficient than incandescent and two times more efficient than CFLs.
LED Lighting Lasts Longer
Most LED lights have a lifespan of around 25,000 hours, compared to 8,000 hours for CFLs and just 750 hours for incandescent lighting.
LED Lighting is Brighter
Even though they consume much less energy, LED bulbs can reach brightness levels far beyond incandescent and even higher than CFLs. An average LED bulb can put out 89 lumens per watt of power, while incandescent put out 16 lumens per watt and CFLs put out 70 lumens per watt.
LED Lighting is More Affordable to Operate
The reduced energy consumption of LED lighting also means they’re cheaper to run. An LED bulb costs about $1.30 per year to run on just 10 watts of power. For that same wattage, CFLs cost $1.70 per year and incandescent costs around $3 per year. While none of these are large amounts, when you have a large home with multiple light fixtures in each room, these differences really add up.
LED Lighting is More Versatile
LED lighting is by far the most versatile of all the lighting options available for your outdoor landscape lighting design. LEDs come in more sizes and shapes, offer a huge array of colors, and can be focused on a certain area to complement the design and theme of the landscape. Compare this to CFLs or incandescent, which are limited in size and shape, offer a smaller range of colors, and typically cast light in a wide pattern that makes spot or any other type of focused lighting technique impossible. Additionally, LED lights don’t require a warm-up period like other lighting types, so as soon as you flip the switch, you’ve got your full landscape illuminated at the desired brightness.
LED Lighting Colors are More Vibrant & Natural
Not only do LEDs offer more colors than other lighting types, but the colors are also more vibrant and natural to the eye. This is because LEDs have a higher color rendering index or CRI. The CRI determines how similar the light bulb shows colors compared to natural light. CFLs and incandescent simply cannot compete with the high CRI levels of LEDs, so LED lighting colors are more pleasant to view.
LED Lighting is Safer (For You and the Earth)
Another benefit of LED lighting consuming less energy is that it also puts off less heat. Incandescent bulbs lose about 90% of their energy as heat, and CFLs lost about 80%. All this lost heat can build up and ignite flammable materials, causing devastating fires. LEDs lose a minimal amount of energy as heat and are much less likely to start a fire than these older lighting types.
LED bulbs also omit some of the harmful chemicals contained in older lighting types, like mercury in CFL bulbs. This is great for the environment, which has carried a hefty load of pollution since human industrialization. The coal burning required to produce electricity to light up any type of bulb releases some pretty nasty greenhouse gasses, so switching to solar power is another nice way to reduce the environmental impact of your landscape lighting.
Gorgeous LED Outdoor Landscape Lighting in Tampa Bay
Are you ready to turn your Tampa Bay yard into a work of art? Then call 727-474-2628 or contact us online to schedule an estimate today!