12V LED Downlights

We hear a lot about LED lights these days, and they certainly seem to be a very popular lighting option. The environmentalists praise them as being ecologically friendly, and as helping to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Interior designers are increasingly recommending LED lights to their clients as the perfect lighting solution for the home. Advertisers are falling over themselves to promote LED lights as the best lighting solution for motor homes and caravans. So just what are 12v LED downlights?

When light emitting diode (LED) technology was in its infancy it was seen as a light source that required very little power. For this reason, it was used for such things as small red or green warning lights, that would tell you when an appliance was plugged in, and switched on. Improvements in technology, however, meant that LED lights could replace normal lighting in some circumstances, where it could be run off batteries or solar power, rather than mains electricity. Today, a 12v LED downlight produces about the same light output as a standard 40 watt light bulb.

Because they could be run on battery power, LED lights were used initially in motor homes, caravans and boats, where they are still a principle source of lighting. Today, however, they are also increasingly being used in homes, and also in a wide range of commercial properties. Here the attraction is not the fact that LED lights can be run off battery rather than mains power, but that they consume very much less electricity. This reduces energy consumption, which is great for the environment, and lowers electricity bills, which is great for consumers.

But that is not all, because a second major advantage of LED lights is that they last much longer than conventional lights. Think for a moment about how often you have to change that incandescent light bulb or fluorescent tube in your desk lamp. It is probably not that often, but every year or two probably sounds about right. An LED light in the same circumstances could well last up to 10 years.

Within the home 12v LED downloads can be used just about anywhere you can think of, and they are especially useful where you need to light a specific area. In the bathroom, for example, you can use downlights in the ceiling to provide general background lighting for the room, and then place individual lights for specific areas, such as over a wash basin. The same principle applies in every room in your home, where LED downlighting can provide both background lighting, and spot lighting for specific focal points in the room.

There are many different uses for LED lights today and, as technology continues to advance, these uses will only increase in number. In particular, however, it is likely that new uses will take advantage of two specific properties of LED lighting.

Unlike conventional lighting, LED lights do not emit a great deal of heat, and this means that they are perfect in areas that need to be kept cool. For example, LED downlights are ideal for display cabinets containing delicate artifacts, and for lighting a refrigerated wine cabinet.

LED lights are also ideally suited for producing light in any color of the spectrum, and thus are ideal for situations in which you need to use colored lights. If you like to decorate your house at Christmas time, then you could save a fortune by replacing your conventional Christmas lights with LED lights.

In the last example for Christmas lighting, you would not be using downlights, but as you start to use 12v LED downlights in your home, or indeed at your office, and see that you can get great lighting effects, that last for a long time and saves significant sums of money, you will undoubtedly see all forms of LED lighting in a different light.

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