LEDs: The Future Is Here

Though some LED lighting still suffers from many of the problems that plagued early fluorescents, including poor color rendering, inconsistent dimming, questionable quality, and high first costs, the technology has been advancing rapidly. In some applications, LED lighting now provides better energy performance, has a longer lifespan, and requires less maintenance than most of its incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent competitors.

“For general lighting applications, just this year LEDs have started to get to a point where there are some viable options,” says Glenn Heinmiller, principal at Lam Partners Architectural Lighting Design. LEDs may have finally crossed over from boutique products to serious lighting options.