Brush up on your pub quiz trivia know-how with our quickfire LED facts!

1) LEDs Aren’t Technically Light Bulbs!

We have an entire range of retrofit LED bulbs, but these are classified as solid-state lights (or SSLs), which means they’re not actually light bulbs in the traditional sense! Most bulbs make use of electrodes and gases to create light, but LEDs don’t.

The actual bulb shape that our LED bulbs offer is simply a cover or lens with the actual light emitting diodes inside it. That cover isn’t necessary for the LED actually functioning, but it can ensure a good spread of light.

2) LEDs Are Better For Food!

LEDs don’t emit nearly as much UV radiation as incandescent and other filament bulbs do. While this normally falls under safe doses for humans, it can cause complications around certain materials.

For example, UV radiation can break down the nutrients in food. This can lower their shelf life and make them less good for you. LEDs produce far less (or even none) of this radiation, making them a great choice for markets, fridges and supermarket lighting!

LEDs have also been proven to breed significantly less bacteria compared to halogen and incandescent lights, further improving the shelf life and food hygiene of your groceries.

3) LEDs Attract Fewer Bugs

LEDs produce a huge amount of light, which might make you think they’re a beacon for insects, particularly at night! However, this is not the case, because LED lights produce a lot less UV and infrared radiation! We can’t see these forms of energy, but insects and other pests can.

If you use an LED light on your porch, or in your room at night, you’ll see a marked decrease in the number of bugs flying around! This makes LEDs particularly amazing outdoor lights, especially if you have a bug problem in your area.

4) LEDs Turn On Faster

Most LEDs boast a feature known as Instant On. In simple terms, this means that less than a second will pass between you flicking the switch and the light producing its full brightness. This is great for general use, but it also makes LEDs particularly good security lights, there’s no delay between them detecting motion and switching on.

As an added benefit this also is why LEDs tend to have longer lifespans compared to filament and CLF bulbs. CFLs in particular can have their lifespans massively reduced if you switch them on and off within 15 minutes of them heating up.

5) LEDs Are Tougher

LEDs, as a rule, aren’t subject to serious damage if they’re dropped or suffer from some other kind of external shock. They tend to be made out of more durable materials, like aluminium or resin.

Incandescent and halogen bulbs are made of glass, which can result in a complicated clean-up if they’re dropped. Likewise, CFLs contain toxic mercury, so if they break you’ll need to undergo a decontamination process to avoid any health complications.

6) Happy Birthday LEDs!

LEDs may seem like a new-fangled technology, and it’s true that they’ve come into their own within the last decade or so. But did you know that LEDs were actually invented in 1962? That means they’re over 60 years old!

If you have any more questions, get in touch by calling us on 0116 321 4120 or sending an email to cs@wled.co.uk. You can also follow us on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.