Do LED Lights Create Fire Risks?

Introduction

LED lights do not emit light from a vacuum as most other bulb types do. The illumination is provided by something solid known as a semiconductor. If you are considering changing to LED lights, whether you are looking at a retrofit of full fit solution, you will see whole lists of benefits for changing from incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. These tend to focus on the cost savings and the environmental friendliness of LED, but it is also important to note that they have a much lower chance of causing a fire.

Overheating is one of the reasons a bulb could start a fire, but that is highly unlikely to happen with LED lights. They may feel hot to touch, but they produce light at a significantly lower temperature than other bulbs. Traditional bulbs use a filament, which loses a lot of energy through heat emissions, and incandescent bulbs generate heat as infrared radiation.

The fact traditional lights radiate so much heat has meant they are sometimes used as heat sources themselves, poultry incubation and heaters for reptiles being just a couple of examples.

As LED lights do not affect the ambient temperature they are ideal for small, confined or temperature-controlled areas.

Less Heat, More Light

One of the reasons LED lights have such a long-life span is because the technology in place uses a heat sink, located at the bulbs base. This draws most of the heat to one area and keeps the electronics relatively cool. An LED light in its hottest part is approximately half the temperature of a halogen or incandescent bulb but emits the same amount of light.

Traditional lights lose between 60 per cent and 95 per cent of their power to heat, so are far more likely to be a fire risk than LED lights. They hold their heat internally and use the bulk of their energy to produce light.

Could Retrofit LED Lights Be Your Solution?

If you are concerned about the state of your lights, or if they are near fabrics or materials that are easily combustible, you may be considering changing your lighting system to LED lights, but you could be worried about the installation costs.

If this is the case you need to chat to us at LED By Vision, so we can carry out a survey and see if retrofit lights could be your solution. Your existing light fittings must be suitable, and not so out-dated that they are illegal, but if it is a possibility that a retrofit would work, we are here to help.

To find out more

We are LED lighting experts that have already helped many businesses with an LED solution, and retrofit is one of our specialities. Add that to a comprehensive 5-year guarantee and you can have peace of mind that your lighting solution will be in the safest of hands. It costs you nothing to find out more, so why not give us a call on 01256 841677.

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