| An LED lamp (LED light bulb) is a solid-state lamp that uses light-emitting diodes(LEDs) as the source of light. The LEDs involved may be conventional semiconductorlight-emitting diodes, organic LEDs(OLED), or polymer light-emitting diodes(PLED) devices, although PLED technologies are not currently commercially available.
Since the light outputof individual light-emitting diodes is small compared to incandescentand compact fluorescent lamps, multiple diodes are often used together. In recent years, as diode technology has improved, high power light-emitting diodes with higher lumenoutput are making it possible to replace other lamps with LED lamps. One high power LED chip used in some commercial LED lights can emit 7,500 lumens for an electrical power consumption of 100 watts. LED lamps can be made interchangeable with other types of lamps.
Diodes use direct current(DC) electrical power; to use them from standard ACpower they require internal or external rectifiercircuits. LEDs are damaged by operating at high temperatures, so LED lamps typically include heat managementelements such as heat sinksand cooling fins. LED lamps offer long service lifeand high energy efficiency, but initial costs are higher than those of fluorescent and incandescent lamps. |
