LED Offers Efficient Alternatives to Traditional Border Lights

By Jodie Carter, LCN

When you talk to the experts, the top lighting manufacturers, they all speak the same mantra about light emitting diode?EUR??,,????'???s (LED?EUR??,,????'???s) capabilities?EUR??,,????'??+low power consumption, low maintenance and low damage rates?EUR??,,????'??+which means lower costs of ownership along with higher degrees of safety for building owners.

In life expectancy alone, LED blows away traditional lighting like fluorescent and neon, which typically have about 5000 to 20,000 hours of life. Many cost-effective LED components are now rated at 100,000 hours, or around 11 years of life expectancy with continuous use, but that number depends on several operating factors. LED lumen depreciation can be affected by a variety of environmental conditions, such as ambient temperature, humidity and ventilation, which can shorten the life of LED lights.

Aside from those considerations, LED lighting is tremendously energy-efficient compared to fluorescent and neon, saving users up to 80 or 90 percent in energy costs. Usually UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc.) listed as a Class II system operating on 12 or 24-volt, direct-current power, cool-operating LED lighting can improve a building?EUR??,,????'???s fire and health safety by reducing heat and voltage.

Most strips of LED lighting are constructed without glass materials, which makes them ruggedly resistant to shock and material damages that can plague neon and fluorescent lights in rough transport. In addition, LED lights glow instantly upon being powered, without the cold-start problems associated with neon and fluorescent.

Applications

Today?EUR??,,????'???s LED lighting can?EUR??,,????'???t replace neon lights that require tight curves or art form, but it can be used for low-ambient interior or nighttime exterior border lighting applications where neon, incandescent, or florescent lighting exists. They?EUR??,,????'???re also a great fit in applications like exit signs, channel letters, cove lighting, automotive displays, traffic signs, backlighting and as accents on signs or structures.

The ?EUR??,,????'??strips?EUR??,,????'?? that house the lights typically include an acrylic sheet that covers the face of the light diffusing the bright LEDs. Some manufacturers offer acrylic covers in primary or custom colors instead of translucent, so that the covers themselves add lines of color during daytime viewing when the lights are off.

This wiring diagram shows four strips of Borderline Lighting?EUR??,,????'???s Neolight connected to a transformer.

LED units can also use an electronic control system to provide dimming and color change operations. The LED strips can be used to create special effects like a color chase, moving from white to pink to blue, or to create sections in different colors, creating a rainbow effect, says John Audette, owner and president of Special-T Lighting, who manufacture LED lighting products. LED lights used to be only available in primary colors of white, red, green and blue, but now using a LED light controller, you can make them any color you want, according to Paul Smith, vice president of Animated Lighting, who makes LED lighting controllers. ?EUR??,,????'??If you want pea green or magenta, just adjust the intensity settings on each channel until you get the shade you?EUR??,,????'???re looking for,?EUR??,,????'?? says Smith.

This rainbow affect was achieved using a LED controller. The subtle effect comes from using an acrylic diffuser lens.

Installation

Installation of the LED lighting strips is easy, with most manufacturers offering products for new or retrofit applications. The strips are often manufactured in one to eight-foot lengths and can be cut to fit. Because they generate very little heat, they do not require any special mounting fixtures. Generally, a border light system includes pre-manufactured corners that make field installation possible, and cut pieces can be used, avoiding waste. One outdoor-rated power supply can typically supply between 50 and 100 linear feet of tubing.

Another rainbow effect using a transparent lens. Light by Special-T Lighting Inc.