LED work lights are all the rage these days, for a reason. There are many advantages to replacing incandescent or halogen bulbs with LEDs. There is no doubt that LEDs are the work lights of the future. They are rapidly replacing all other types of lighting and become the main choice on the market today. In this comprehensive guide, we will outline the many advantages of using LED work lights instead of halogen or incandescent lamps. We will also give you important information on how to choose LED work lights to meet your specific needs. Of course, we will explain in detail how to find the brightest LED work light for your application. Keep reading for more!
What Does LED Mean?
LED stands for light emitting diode. A light-emitting diode is a type of semiconductor that can produce light when current is applied to a circuit. LED lights were first introduced to the market as indicator lights, such as those that you might find on electronic devices that indicate on/off or standby mode. Today, LEDs are used in everything from chandeliers and car headlights to work lights. Compared with other types of lighting, they have many advantages, which we will discuss later.
Are LED Lights Efficient?
LED lights are very efficient. When you are buying a work light, you are looking for the brightest light to illuminate your work space. But in many applications, you may not be able to exchange five times the amount of electricity for five times the amount of light. This is where the LED really shines (no pun intended!) The power consumption of the LED lamp is about 20% of the incandescent lamp, but it emits the same amount of light. So, suppose you bought two work lights with the same 60W power, one incandescent lamp and one LED lamp. Incandescent lamps can produce about 800 lumens (lumens are a unit used to measure how much light is emitted). On the contrary, a 60W LED work light can produce up to 6000 lumens! The amazing difference in efficiency between LED lights and previous lighting technologies clearly reveals a fact: When it comes to all lighting applications, LEDs are the way of the future. Including work lights.
Do LED Lights Have a Long Lifespan?
So, at this point, you might be wondering what the pitfalls of LED lights are. If you know, please let us know! It seems that the amazing increase in efficiency of LED lighting configurations is not enough, they are also much longer than the life of halogen bulbs or incandescent bulbs. High-quality LED lights can usually be used for more than 50,000 hours. Think about this: if you run your new LED work light for 6 hours a day, it can still shine after 20 years! Of course, as a newer technology, the price of a high-quality LED work light may be more advanced than the less advanced ones Similar products are slightly higher, but with the substantial increase in efficiency and durability, the cost of saving energy and replacing equipment will be many times higher for these lamps.
Do LED Work Lights Have any Competition?
After reading the first few sections of this article, you may be completely attracted by LED work lights and are ready to skip to the following to learn how to find the brightest LED work lights. But before you do that, you may also be thinking: “Are there other types of lighting that can rival LEDs in terms of durability, brightness, and efficiency?”
The main competitor of LED lighting is fluorescent lamps. Although LED work lights may consume up to 90% less power than incandescent lamps, the power consumption of fluorescent bulbs can be reduced by up to 75%. However, although fluorescent lamps are almost as energy-efficient as LEDs, they are lacking in many other areas.
First of all, fluorescent lamps are made of glass tubes, which are easily broken if dropped on the ground. In applications such as home lighting, this may not be a big problem; but when we talk about work lights, one of the first attributes we look for is robustness and durability. You never know the circumstances under which you and your work light might find yourself, and you must be especially careful about falling or hitting the light is completely unacceptable in certain applications. This is one of the reasons why although fluorescent lamps have similar energy efficiency, they are not comparable to LED work lights.
Another disadvantage of fluorescent lamps is that, due to their design, they contain trace amounts of mercury. Although these amounts are usually small and do not cause harm to humans, most states still enforce strict recycling laws on fluorescent lamps. This can be a hassle, and you can also save your time by using LED work lights.
Types of LED Work Lights
You should now have a solid understanding of what makes LED lighting the best available technology when it comes to work lights. Before giving you tips, you need to find the brightest LED work lights. We will introduce some types of LED work lights available and why LEDs are the best technology for these applications.
LED Work Lights for Trucks and Vehicles
LED work lights for trucks and other work vehicles, such as tractors and heavy machinery, are a way to maximize the use of LED lighting. These multifunctional lights can be installed on the exterior of the car and connected to the same power source to power other lights and components on the car. Most of the LED work lights installed on vehicles and machinery are installed on some type of rotating device, which allows light to illuminate areas away from the vehicle, or in some applications, on the vehicle. For example, rotating lights mounted on the rack above the truck bed can light up the work area outwards, or swivel down to the bed itself, so tools and other items are easier to find.
A considerable benefit of LED lights in automotive applications is their incredible efficiency. Electricity is often limited when it comes from a generator or a 12v battery, so it is vital to have a light source that is both very bright and highly energy-efficient.
Portable LED Work Lights
In many rugged work applications, a stable power supply may not be easy to obtain. For these situations, you need a bright light with its own power supply. Enter: Portable, battery-powered LED work light. These rugged, battery-powered work lights can be headlights, flashlights, floor floodlights, and can illuminate the entire room. Although LED lighting technology allows bright, high-quality lights and crazy energy efficiency, new rechargeable battery technology takes these lights to a new level. Another excellent application of battery-powered LED lights is emergency work lights, which are always plugged into the main AC power source to charge the battery, and then switch to battery power when the power goes out.
How to Find the Brightest LED Work Lights
So far, you have learned that LED lighting can provide greater brightness while using less energy. You also know that LED work lights provide users with benefits such as long life, durability and robustness. So, how can you find the brightest LED work light? In order to successfully find bright light, you need to understand some key terms and how they relate to LED brightness.
Lumens
Lumens is a universal measurement method used to measure the amount of light emitted by a light source. The term “universal” is used because lumens can be used to measure the light output of fluorescent, halogen, incandescent or LED lighting. As mentioned in the energy efficiency section, LED lamps produce much higher brightness than standard incandescent lamps while using the same energy. A 100-watt incandescent lamp can produce about 1500 to 1700 lumens of light. In contrast, a 100-watt LED lamp can emit about 8000 lumens of light!
Watts
So, how much is Watt? Wattage is not a direct measure of brightness, but when buying the brightest LED work light, they are an important term to understand. Lumens measures the light output of a given light source, while watts describe the energy consumed to produce this brightness. LED work lights, like incandescent and halogen lamps, use less electricity to provide the same number of lumens.
Wattage Equivalence
“Wattage equivalent” is a term you may encounter when searching for LED work lights. Since many incandescent bulbs are advertised in wattage instead of lumens, wattage has actually become the industry standard for measuring brightness. You will see that many incandescent lamps are simply advertised by their wattage (60w, 80w, 100w, etc.). Therefore, in order to measure LED brightness, many LED lights have a “wattage equivalent” advertising number. Watt equivalent refers to the light output, but it is not strictly measured by lumens, but is measured by the wattage required by an incandescent lamp to produce the amount of light that the LED can produce. For example, a 14-watt LED work light may produce 1500 lumens. Since an incandescent lamp that produces 1500 lumens requires about 100 watts, LED lights can be advertised as “100 watt equivalent.”
Efficacy
The efficiency of a lamp is the number of lumens that can be produced for each watt of energy consumed. The higher the light efficiency number, the higher the light efficiency. Among all types of lighting, LED lights have the highest efficiency. Efficacy is a good tool to classify different LED work lights because it points to those that can generate the most light and use the least energy.
The Secret to Finding Your LED Work Light
Well, you have got the information, understood the key terms, and you are ready to find the brightest LED work light for your application. The secret? First look at the lumens and efficacy numbers. Lumens will tell you how much total light output an LED work light can produce. The higher the lumens, the brighter the light. Once you narrow the search to a few options with sufficient lumens, compare their efficacy numbers. The most efficient light beam will provide you with the most light while using the least electricity. If this work light is also the type you want (portable, car, etc.) and has great features such as durable siding, you can rest assured that this is the brightest and most efficient LED work light available.