The modern market is oversaturated with all kinds of light sources, and giving preference to one of them is quite difficult. Experiments comparing fluorescent lamps and LEDs have proven the greater efficiency of the latter. But for a fair assessment, you need to understand the features of their work, areas of application and calculate which of them are most profitable to use in everyday life.
History of a gas discharge light source
The official date of invention of the fluorescent lamp is 1859. Although the prototype of the first daylight was invented 100 years before by Mikhail Lomonosov. A glass ball filled with hydrogen ignited under the influence of electricity. Prominent personalities such as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, Karl Friedrich Moor and Peter Cooper Hewitt participated in the stages of development of the production of discharge lamps.
However, the final modification of daylight sources was the device of Edmund Germer in 1926. He and his team were asked to cover the glass flasks with a phosphor that converts ultraviolet light into uniform white. Later, the patent was bought by General Electric, the lamps were distributed among consumers in 1926.
Principle of operation and classification
Unlike LED, fluorescent lamp types, the most common in production, require special ballasts. An arc discharge is burning between two electrodes at different ends. Penetrating through gases and vapors of mercury, the current forms UF radiation imperceptible to human eyes. The phosphor on the walls of the flask absorbs ultraviolet light and turns it into visible light.
Gas discharge lamps are high and low pressure. The first type is used in industry and for lighting non-residential premises. High-pressure mercury lamps are marked RLVD. There are many modifications, but all subspecies are characterized by poor quality of the emitted light.
Low pressure fluorescent lamps are widely used in everyday life. Their main classifications:
- The shape of the flask is tubular and spiral.
- Power consumption.
- The spectrum of the emitted color: white LB, daylight LD, natural light LE.
- Appointment - green LZ, yellow or red, ultraviolet LUV, blue reflex LSR.
Each type has its own scope, so it is important to choose a lamp for a certain room.
Advantages of fluorescent lamps
Fluorescent lamps create a spectrum similar to solar radiation. Sources such as LDC, LDC, LEC, LEC do not distort colors. They provide economical energy consumption. But the most important thing that you need to pay attention to when comparing fluorescent lamps and LEDs is the uniform distribution of the light flux. Experiments show that gas-discharge light sources illuminate the space both on the side, and behind, and in front of themselves.
The use of energy-saving lamps
Daylight sources are used wherever natural lighting is required: in museums, for shop windows, in laboratories, and in print shops. Linear fluorescent lamps are installed in banks and offices. Bright daylight gives a signal of awakening in the human brain and improves performance.
Compared with fluorescent, LED lamps show colors worse. Energy-saving light sources do not distort the shades of objects due to natural light. CLEO lamps are used in tanning salons, in production for hardening UF glue, and in beauty salons for drying gel polish. And also they are used in budget lamps for seedlings and indoor plants.
History of LEDs
The experiments proving the glow of the silicon carbide crystal from the electric current were carried out in 1907 by Henry Joseph Round and 14 years later by the Soviet physicist Oleg Losev. However, the discovery of LEDs is attributed to a team of scientists led by Nick Holonyak of the University of Illinois. They created red light sources suitable for use in industry. But, in comparison with fluorescent lamps, LED at this time were not widely used.
The green and yellow glow of the crystals was discovered in 1972. And a real breakthrough was the invention by the Japanese engineer Suji Nakamura of a blue LED, which, due to its combination with green and yellow lamps, received a white glow. The active use of such sources started only 10 years ago. And everywhere, the use of LEDs began in 2012-2013.
How is the lamp
A LED is a semiconductor device that converts electricity into a visible glow. It consists of a chip on a substrate, a case with contacts and an optics system. The difference between LED lamps and fluorescent ones is that the conversion of electricity into light occurs without significant loss of power for heating, and the brightness of the lamp can be adjusted thanks to the built-in control unit.
The brightness of the LED is directly proportional to the current passing through it. However, under the influence of electricity, the lamp materials heat up and melt. Cooling requires a radiator in the body of the lighting device, which makes them larger in size than similar fluorescent lamps.
Advantages of LED lamps and their disadvantages
LEDs are free of mercury and hazardous materials. They do not require disposal, do not damage the environment. LEDs are a great solution for families with children and active pets. In addition, they have other advantages. Advantages of LED luminaires over fluorescent lamps:
- instant inclusion without warming up;
- the ability to control brightness and color using the remote control;
- energy saving;
- large threshold of operating voltage (from 80 to 230 V);
- lack of heating of the lamp housing;
- silent work;
- providing good light transmission and clarity of objects.
To finally determine which lamp is better - LED or fluorescent, consider the disadvantages of the latter option. The main disadvantage of this type is its high cost. As well as the LEDs are larger in comparison with similar energy-saving lamps due to the need for a cooling radiator in the design. This does not allow their use in small-sized devices. Another minus is the direct direction of the light. Such a distribution of radiation may seem unusual, so some buyers prefer to buy fluorescent lamps.
LED application
The absence of the influence of frequent light on the performance of the LEDs allows their use in toilets, pantries, warehouses. Everywhere, LEDs are found in street lighting due to insensitivity to low temperatures.
Their main areas of application:
- highlighting of monuments of architecture;
- stairwell lighting;
- basic and decorative lighting in everyday life;
- car lights;
- traffic lights;
- toys, industrial and household indicators;
- Illumination of screens, OLED displays.
Calculation of the replacement of fluorescent lamps with LED
An illumination level of about 1000 Lumens is provided by an 11 W LED lamp. At a tariff for electricity of 4.53 rubles / kWh, 60 minutes of its operation will cost 5 kopecks.
The same level of brightness gives a fluorescent lamp with a power of 15 watts. And the cost of an hour of her work is 6.8 kopecks. With continuous use, the lamp will last exactly 13 months.
However, in homes rarely requires round-the-clock lighting, because the approximate operating time of the devices is 6 hours a day. Thanks to simple calculations, it turns out that the LED lamp should last about 16 years, and the fluorescent lamp - 4 years and 5 months.
For a year of work, she will have to pay 109 and a half rubles. Sixteen years of service will cost 1752 rubles. For the same period of operation, fluorescent lamps must be changed 4 times. Therefore, the purchase price of lighting devices will be added to the total amount.
The price of the annual operation of a fluorescent lamp is 148 rubles, 90 kopecks. Sixteen years of service will cost its owner 2382.4 rubles, not including the cost of four replacements of light sources. Considering the fact that fluorescent lamps often fail before the deadline declared by the manufacturer, the benefits of using LEDs are obvious. Using the correspondence of LED lamps with fluorescent brightness, you can save 2-3 times more money.
The choice of light sources must be done depending on several parameters: the type of room, voltage drops in the network, and ambient temperature. LED lamps are more profitable. But because of the distorted color rendition and one-sided directivity of the light, their use in some cases is impractical.