With Christmas having just gone by, it is nearly impossible that you missed seeing the LED Christmas lights that were on display as part of every festive decoration. From buntings across streets and shop fronts, wrapped merrily around Christmas trees and mangers, to drape across windows, these lights have become part of nearly every celebration today. Surely holidays would not feel like the holidays if they were not around. Read on to find out more about how LED works and also how the use of these lights helps the environment compared to other regular bulbs. Here we will also tell you the best way to store them so that they are as good as new when you want to use them in the next holiday season.
How LED Works
LED’s or Light Emitting Diodes are not only used in festive lights as you might assume, but they are also a part of almost every electronic device that has been manufactured in recent times. From remote controls, watches and clocks, microwaves and ovens to even the little light that shows when the power button is on for your camera. Yes, even something as small as that is powered in many cases by LED lights. Because of their small size, they can be fitted neatly into electronic devices no matter how tight the fit. And because they do not get heated and do not have a filament inside them like the regular bulbs, they last longer. And in some cases much longer than the appliance that contains them, which is a real miracle considering how small they are.
How the technology works is that it is based on the semiconductor diode. First introduced into modern practical appliances in 1962, they were only capable of emitting one kind of light. And that was a low red light that was used in the first electronic appliance made with this technology. Gradually however with developments in the field, the light emitted by a LED got brighter and now you can have them in almost every colour that you fancy.
How the LED works is that it consists of a piece that is semiconductable and is made to replicate what is called a p-n junction. This is one that is formed by p-type and n-type semiconductors when they are placed very close together. And when current flows through the chip, electrons and electron holes (the opposite of an electron) a difference in energy levels is created which then causes emission of light. By changing the manipulating the differences in the energy levels within the junction, different intensities of light and different colours can be created.
The Benefits Of Using LED Christmas Lights
When you pick LED Christmas lights over others, you know that you have picked something that is different from other kinds of lights and that will give you a better performance. You also know that they will last longer than the other variety. And this is what makes you pick them at the store. While in most cases you might not know the exact details of why you have made this choice, you will most certainly have heard about the benefits of LED lights versus the other types. And though it might just be a murmur, it is near impossible to have missed it in the electronic world.
Firstly LED Christmas lights need very little power to run; they have been designed that way. About 30-60 milliwatts of light is all they needed in the beginning and now most of them need only about one watt to run. If you were to make a comparison, they use about 90% less electricity than regular lights. And considering that you might want to have them on for prolonged durations of time during the holiday season, their use does make more economical sense. They are also highly efficient. But this we mean that they produce a larger amount of light per unit of power they consume than other varieties of lights. Because of the way they have been created they do not emit any heat. And this makes them ideal to be used near flammable materials as well as at close quarters to children.
The bulbs are also made of plastic and not of glass. This ensures that they do not break while you are putting them up or even if you put them in a box for storage. And you can use them both for indoor and outdoor displays without any hesitation. However, it helps to know that to obtain the maximum benefit from them; you should check with the store whether the ones you are purchasing are indoor or outdoor ones. There are minor differences in the two and they all have to do with durability.
You are more likely to be able to use your LED lights for several Christmases compared to other incandescent ones. And because the technology that is used to develop these lights has advanced to a large extent, the price of LED’s is also marginally low. You can buy a large size box for under $10 before the festive season begins, and after that you might even get it for a much lower price.
Once Christmas is over and you have taken off all the decorations, it helps to know how to best to store your LED Christmas lights. A simple cardboard box will do though you will need to make sure that it is large enough to fit in all the lights comfortably. If they are getting crushed then you might need to find another box. Store them like you would store any other decoration, keeping in mind how often you might like to use them. If you want to bring them out for Easter then you should keep them somewhere within easy reach.
Despite all the benefits of LED lights it is important to note that all the bulbs in a string need to be intact for the entire string to light up. While this is a disadvantage especially when you have to find which bulb in the string is the problematic one, they are very easy to unscrew and replace. Therefore buying extra bulbs when you make your initial purchase is always a good idea. In the end this is just a minor inconvenience compared to the hours of joy you will get once you finally have the LED Christmas lights up and running.
