Going Green With LED Lighting - What's the hold up?

The last couple of weeks I've been doing some research into LED lighting. We see it used in vehicles and flashlights all the time, but why not household lighting? LED's last for ages, are resistant to vibration and movement (they don't break!) and they save loads of energy compared to the regular energy saving bulbs.

Yes the new energy saving bulbs (compact fluorescent) that fit the traditional edison size fixtures are saving on our power bills, but not near as much as a led light bulb will (some LED light bulbs will output the same light as a 60W bulb while only using 4.5W) - not to mention the compact fluorescent bulb uses gases that are harmful to the environment.

You can purchase LED light fixtures for your home or business (they aren't easy to find though). I have recently seen some of the new track lighting LED's on shelves at Home Depot; however you're looking for a solution for your home or business other than track lighting you'll have to look to the Internet.

While searching the archives over at REM Online, I found an article by Randy Norman titled "Shame on you, David Suzuki". The article accuses environmentalist David Suzuki for promoting the compact fluorescent bulbs that are less energy efficient than the LED's and do harm the environment. He also credits David (and figures like him) to the lack of LED awareness and sales.

Due to the popularity of the compact fluorescent bulbs, LED's are slow to hit the market and expensive to purchase (although it is a good investment in the long term). It is my hope that everyone that reads this blog will help promote the LED bulbs and fixtures to their clients, and use them in their own homes and businesses.

The more awareness, the more people will buy them and the cheaper they will become. Businesses especially should be purchasing these bulbs, as they are in the greatest position to save on lighting cost. Once enough businesses step up to the plate, I believe (and hope) the LED bulb will come mainstream and hopefully the standard for lighting both in businesses and homes.

Here are a few LED Lighting websites:

• Marktech LED Lighting (My personal Favorite)
• Nemalux.com
• GVA Lighting
• LED Neon Flex (Neon Lighting Only)

If you've got some great websites or suppliers please share them with me.