Although LED lights have just been recently introduced to the consumer market, it has built a strong following. LED lighting technology is efficient for many applications but because it is able to enhance direct lighting, it works well for flashlights. LED lights focus illumination in a straight path, instead of producing scattered light. This is helpful when walking or looking for things in the dark. Information on LED flashlight brightness in comparison to incandescent and fluorescent flashlights will be discussed below to help people who are thinking about buying LED flashlights or replacing flashlight bulbs.
Definition of Brightness
To determine and understand LED flashlight brightness, a person should know what brightness really means. Luminance, which is the photometric quantity that is associated with brightness, is measured in candelas per square meter. It is a function of the light sources output and the reflectance of lighted surfaces. Brightness is used for many purposes in lighting applications, from adding a sense of drama, producing sparkle in an area, and helping in getting the work done. In the case of flashlights, it is needed for emergency and safety purposes.
LED versus Incandescent
Incandescent lights are powered through an electric current that runs in filaments. When there is resistance in the filament, it results to the accumulation of heat and light. However, because it builds up more heat and less light, it is not able to balance energy utilization. It results to more energy being used to produce heat instead of light and as a result, the level of brightness is not as good. The LED flashlight brightness when compared to incandescent is several times more superior especially since LED bulbs are clustered together in one flashlight, usually in groups of 2 to 9 bulbs thereby producing brighter light.
LED versus Fluorescent
Fluorescent bulbs contain a mixture of gas and phosphor coating, both of which are necessary to produce light. When the bulb receives an electric charge, the ballast then lets it enter the gas enclosure to power it. The gas activates the phosphor coating, resulting in light production. Unlike incandescent, the process involved in producing light does not waste a lot of energy. When comparing LED flashlight brightness to fluorescent, there is not much difference however it should be mentioned that fluorescent bulbs take 2-3 minutes to attain full brightness while LED is instant. In addition, fluorescent bulbs arent nearly as energy efficient and the light still isnt quite as clean as a LED´s.
As proof that LED flashlight brightness can be very powerful, many of them have been used for tactical purposes. One example would be the WiseLED Tactical flashlight, which has 2000 lumens, and is believed to be one of the brightest flashlights in the world. Nevertheless, because not all LED flashlights have the same level of brightness, it pays to spend some time looking into the brightness capacity of each product before deciding to buy.
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