LEDs are used in batteries as they provide sufficient illumination, have a long life and consume very little power. Though use of LEDs in home lighting is being evaluated by the development section of various lighting companies, it will take some time before they replace conventional lighting.
The high cost of LED lighting is a major deterrant for its adoption for home lighting. A 100 W incandescent bulb has a lighting output of 1700 lumens and costs less than a dollar in most countries. For a similar lighting output, the power consumption of a compact fluoroscent lamp will be much lower, but the lamp will be costlier , $3 / piece. The lighting output of a very bright LED will be lower at 60 lumen, but it will cost $6 / piece
As LED’s heat up, they draw more current from the power supply and produce less light. High power LED’s require a current regulator, a heat sink and possibly a fan. A properly cooled LED will last 100,000 hours, but if no heating is provided the lifetime of the hot LED is no better than a CF bulb.
Though LED clusters designed for home lighting are available in some lighting stores, they are not widely used due to cost. Until cost of LEDs and accessories come down, LED’s are likely to be used for niche markets rather than general household lighting
Most of the low cost home lighting in most countries is manufactured in China. Often it is of poor quality and may break into pieces while installing it. You may get better prices buying online on sites like eBay, but no warranty may be offered
Some popular suppliers of home lighting and related products are:
Home Depot – inexpensive with a large variety of lighting
Lowe’s – have many different types of home lighting products
Target for table and floor lamps
Ikea
Online sources
a. eBay prices are lower, check the seller rating
b. Homedecorators.com – cheap prices
c. Inlighting.com
d. Lamps.com
Fluorescent lighting is environmentally friendly — for the same amount of illumination they use up to 75% less electricity than incandescent lighting, which was widely used earlier. In most countries, electricity is generated by power plants burning fossil fuels and releasing greenhouse gases, so saving electricity also reduces greenhouse emissions.
However, fluorescent lighting contains a small amount of mercury, which is toxic. Though homeowners are allowed to throw away fluorescent tubes/lights in the trash, it is better option to dispose of them at a local recycling center so that the mercury can be contained.
Additionally, old models of the ballasts used in the fluorescent tube lights used to contain PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), which are carcinogens and environmental poisons so it is important to dispose of old fluorescent lighting fixtures safely .