Why switch to LED lighting?
The holiday lighting of the Licking County Courthouse began in 1949 after the national celebration of the invention of the incandescent light bulb. Through-out the history of this project the lighting committee has worked diligently to bring on advances in technology for the benefit of the lighting program. Many of us have begun to develop the awareness of more environmentally friendly solutions in our everyday life, from recycling, hybrid vehicles and using more energy efficient lighting. With this increased awareness also brings new opportunities and the lighting committee has worked for several seasons with our suppliers to develop more energy efficient lighting solutions for the program. This year we begin the first step of multi-year effort to convert the lighting design to LED lights. These new LED lights have been estimated to reduce the projects energy consumption by 60% to 90%. The expenses for this conversion will be higher and when you think about replacing over 25,000 light bulbs; you understand it will take some time to fund this conversion. The Courthouse Lighting Committee is committed to moving the project into a more environmentally friendly design and the following information supports why we believe LED lighting is a change in the right direction.
•Because LEDs produce more light per watt than traditional bulbs, they use energy more efficiently and cost up to 90% less to operate.
•LEDs can be incredibly small which allows them to be used in a wide variety of new ways and formats.
•LEDs radiate very little heat in comparison to almost all other light sources - they remain cool to the touch at all times.
•LED lights typically do not "burn-out" but rather slowly dim over time - and gone are the days of one burned-out bulb rendering an entire string useless!
•LEDs offer a much longer useful life than incandescent bulbs – lasting up to 25 to 50 times as long!
•Because there is no delicate filament to break, LED lights are not as vulnerable to breakage from shock and the wear and tear of installation and removal.
•LED lights are perfect for a blinking application - the on-off cycle does not cause them to burn out quicker, as is the case with traditional lamps.
•LED lamps are encased in tough plastic - no more broken glass!