Frequently Asked Questions

LED is short for Light-Emitting Diode.

LEDs appear to be bulbs, but in fact are not. They are tiny semiconductors encapsulated in plastic which protects their components and helps to focus the light.

Many LEDs are expected to have a useful life of 30,000 to 50,000 hours or even longer. Used 12 hours a day, a 50,000 bulb will last more than 11 years. Used 8 hours a day, it will last 17 years.

LEDs do not use a filament where a conductor is heated and light is created. Filament based lighting consumes more power than the light produced. LEDs produce very little amounts of heat and do not use filaments making them far more efficient in consumption and output.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, LEDs use energy far more efficiently with little wasted heat unlike incandescent bulbs, which release 90 percent of their energy as heat.

Color temperature for light bulbs is measured on the Kelvin scale. In terms of light bulbs, the Kelvin temperature allows manufacturers to categorize their products as warm (~2700K), neutral (~3000K), or cool (~5000K). The warmer the light, the more yellow tones, the cooler the light, there are more blue tones.

LEDs can be used in most common light fixtures, including accent lighting, track lighting, lamps and outdoor spotlights such as horticultural lightings. Some bulbs are designed with water-proof fittings. Others need to be kept in a water-tight fixture. Read all instructions and manuals before using a LED bulb outdoors.

  • Use much less electricity than other bulbs
  • Have a long life
  • Produce very little heat
  • Do not emit UV or infrared
  • Contain no mercury
  • Resistant to shock and vibration
  • Can operate effectively in extremely cold and hot environments
  • Don’t tend to attract insects as much as other bulbs
  • Highly recyclable

No, LED bulbs do not contain mercury or any other hazardous metals or chemicals. Fluorescents and CFL’s do contain a very small amount of mercury that needs to be disposed of correctly. Therefore, when your LED bulb eventually stops to work, you don’t have to worry about costly or special disposal procedures.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that widespread adoption of LED lighting by 2025 will reduce electricity demands from lighting by 62 percent, eliminate 258 million metric tons of carbon emissions, and avoid the building of 133 new power plants.

Lumens (lm) are a measure of the total amount of visible light from a light source.
Watts(W) are a measure of electric power. In short, lumens equal brightness. And watts do not. They measure energy use, not light output. In the LED technology, we can no longer rely upon wattage to indicate how bright a bulb is.

In many cases, yes. To find out if you are eligible for a rebate or other incentive program, you can reference “Tax credits, Rebates & Savings” on the U.S. Department of Energy web site, or please call Green Is Better Inc.

Government legislation (The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007) mandates that by 2020, light bulbs must be 60-70 percent more efficient than conventional incandescent bulbs. Many LEDs meet this requirement today.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that in 2015, about 404 billion kWh of electricity were used for lighting by the residential sector and the commercial sector in U.S. This was about 15% of the total electricity consumed by both of these sectors.

It was about 145 billion kWh or about 10% of total residential electricity consumption in 2015.

It consumed about 258 billion kWh for lighting, equal to about 19% of commercial sector electricity consumption in 2015**.
* It includes commercial and institutional buildings, and public street and highway lighting.
** EIA does not have an estimate specifically for public street and highway lighting.