Our January blurb was all about LED lighting. We’re seeing major growth in LED consumption and popularity both in our Canadian and Caribbean markets. Much of the buzz has been about the efficiency and versatility of LEDs.

The first development from the industry side is that LEDs are now available in several temperatures from very cool (yellowish) and the way to daylight (white). This can foster just the right ambiance, all the way to warm and bright for reading’s sake.

CFLs have less of a selection in my experience and you might be wondering about some of the differences between the two. Let’s point out three:

Efficacy (efficiency)

LEDs and CFL have similar in efficacy but the main difference is that LEDs have a longer operating life of roughly twice that (or more) of CFLs. LEDs are also twice as expensive. The main trade-off here is that CFLs have mercury, create more waste over their lifespan and are not recyclable like to LEDs are.

Rendering
Rendering about how light is perceived by the eye. Whether objects appear their real color or a different color like the popular internet dress. The tradeoff here is that with CFLs, because the better they are at rendering then the less efficient they are as rendering increases.

Wavelengths/Colors of light
CFL lighting usually contains more blue light than LED light. This might disappoint persons sensitive to blue and delight the plant lovers. Plants need more blue light in their germination and growth stages, which CFLs are better for. CFLs are also available specialized for flowering plants.

In summar, there’s pros and cons to each based on the scenario.

Marcus