Craft Data’s core business for over 26 years now has been electronic displays. Gas Plasma, LCD’s, LED’s, Electroluminescent material and OLED’s all fulfill a market need but now LED’s are leading us into a whole new market sector – LIGHTING. Many of us sensitive to the cause of Global Warming and “Saving the Planet” are even more enthusiastic about saving money, so are busy installing fluorescent bulbs and tubes in place of the traditional incandescent bulbs, which, I believe, are to be phased out over the next few years. To a lesser degree we are also starting to realize the benefits of LED lighting as an alternative to both. For about the same light output an LED (light emitting diode) uses around 20% of the power taken by a fluorescent lamp and will last at least 5 times as long.
Another very important point to consider is this – “is our increasing use of fluorescent lighting storing up a serious problem for the future as regards disposing of them?” To function, fluorescent lamps require mercury, even though with smaller bulbs, only a very small amount is necessary, but our steadily increasing use of them means that in the future we will be trying to dispose of millions of such bulbs on a continuous basis and we can not really just bury them in landfill I would have thought. Perhaps LED and in some cases electroluminescent lighting may be the answer.
Disposing of fluorescent tubes is already something of a problem but now LED equivalents offer an alternative. We can supply LED tubes from 600mm to 1500mm in length which fit into existing standard housings. It is not practical to offer them on a retail basis because neither the choke (ballast) or the starter is required any more. You can just take the starter out but you do need to short circuit (bridge) the choke, which is best left to a qualified electrician. Companies with factories or super markets who use large amounts of fluorescent tubes would probably have the right staff on the payroll already and can benefit the most from the power savings. At this time, like for like, the LED tubes are slightly more expensive than the fluorescent tubes but the gap is closing as production levels rise and with only a fifth of the running costs and extra long lifetime, its money saved.
For further information or to discuss Fred’s thoughts on LED lighting please contact us on 01494 778235 or email us at sales@craftdata.co.uk