Thomas Edison
The very name speaks for itself. Described as the greatest inventor America has ever produced, and rightly so. He did after all give us the very first version of the i-pod…….the Gramophone of course! As well as the very first motion video recorder. The guy shaped the path of the modern world that is for sure! You can probably attribute at least one thing you are using right now to his creative genius. Most notably and probably his most famous invention was the incandescent light bulb over 100 years ago. Still commonly used today, readily available and cheap to buy.
Oleg Losev
Who? Who? Who? Never heard of him mate! Well, let’s take a step back in time. To May 10th 1903 to be precise. Oleg Losev was born into a noble family in Tver, Russia. Losev graduated from secondary school in 1920. Although he was never able to complete a formal education and never held a research position, he conducted some of the earliest research into the first light-emitting diode or LED as they are fondly known today. He did the first research on them, proposed the first correct theory of how they worked, and used them in practical applications. In the period of 1924 and 1941, he published a number of articles detailing the function of a solid-state light source that he developed before passing away in 1942.
Edison Vs. Losev
Incandescent light bulbs are the cheapest lights that you can purchase outright on the market. But are they really as cheap as you think they are? Since Thomas Edison put the bulbs into circulation over 100 years ago, people have relied on incandescent light bulbs to light up their homes, schools, offices and warehouses. Over the years, the research Losev carried out has finally been utilised and better LED lighting solutions developed, but some people still opt for cheaper incandescent options.
Here are some reasons why you should consider making the switch to LED lights:
-
Better quality of light:
Incandescent bulbs provide a good solution, however LED lights are far superior when it comes to light quality. To improve the brightness of an incandescent light bulb, you would need to invest in a bulb that emits light at a higher wattage. The impact would mean an increase in energy consumption and costs.
LED light bulbs differ because they are designed with lumens in mind, meaning that more energy current isn’t necessary to improve the quality of light.
-
Consumes less energy:
The technology used in LED lights efficiently uses energy. Incandescent light bulbs lose up to 90% of energy in the form of heat. If you touch the outside of an incandescent light, you will find that it is extremely hot. This can also create a fire risk if the bulbs are placed to close to items that can easily ignite.
Alternatively, the outside of LED lights are cool due to the energy being produced as light. This ultimately lowers the energy consumption from the bulb.
-
Cheaper bills:
Because LED lights consume less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, savings of up to 80% can be made on energy bills. Even though the bulbs are more expensive to purchase outright when compared to incandescent bulbs, the pay-off period tends to be less than 2 years, meaning you will spend less over the long-term.
-
Longer lifespan:
Depending on the quality of the incandescent light bulb that you purchase, it could last for a couple of days to a couple of years. But more often than not, they don’t last very long and the savings that you thought you made actually get eroded over time. LED light bulbs can last for over a decade and require little or no maintenance, saving you hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the course of the bulb’s lifetime.
