Low Voltage Lighting: A New List of Benefits

The gap in pricing between low voltage lighting and more traditional high voltage lighting continues to close, while the list of benefits for utilizing low voltage lighting continues to grow. Most consumers are familiar with the well-known energy efficiency benefits of LED lights, but many still wonder, when is the right time to make the switch to LEDs? The product experts here at Elemental LED have put together a list of the lesser known, but very significant, benefits of low voltage lighting. Here is an updated list of benefits that demonstrates why LED technology has now emerged as the clear choice for any lighting installation:

LONGEVITY

With recent advancements in low voltage lighting technology, 24 volt and 12 volt lighting have reached new milestones when it comes to expected lifespan. Quality LED lighting products from top vendors now have a projected lifespan up to 50,000 hours. For example, if the lights are used 8 hours a day, that equates to over 17 years of illumination! After 50,000 hours, LEDs will typically start to decrease in brightness capability in a very steady and subtle manner, which allows for use well after the official 50,000-hour projection. In comparison, fluorescent lighting will reach the end of its projected lifespan far more quickly and abruptly. Fluorescents and other traditional light sources need to be replaced far more often than LED lighting. Customers demand a quality, low-maintenance light source, and 24 volt and 12 volt LED lights provide an easy, long-lasting solution.

FLEXIBILITY TO FIT ANYWHERE

24 volt and 12 volt lighting products such as dimmable LED strip light allow for endless installation possibilities. LED strip light (also known as tape light) is extremely low profile and cuttable to fit just about anywhere. The low profile form of LED strip light makes it the perfect lighting solution for areas where traditional lighting could never before fit. LED lighting has quickly become the ideal choice for under cabinet lighting, cove lighting, toe kick lighting, and shelf lighting. Other types of dimmable low profile 12 volt LED lights include LED light bars and LED puck lights. The streamlined form of low voltage lighting results in a seamless, modern finish. Users enjoy a high quality light and superior brightness with minimal heat output in a low profile product.

SUPERIOR BRIGHTNESS CAPABILITY

With recent advancements in low voltage lighting, certain linear LED light fixtures now offer greater brightness capability than fluorescent light sources of equal length. The compact form of 24 volt and 12 volt lighting allows the installer to create powerful parallel runs of low profile LED lighting, providing exceptional brightness across the full length of a linear space. 24 volt and 12 volt LED lights have become the dominant lighting choice as LED brightness capabilities and color options have increased, and energy-efficiency is now just a bonus to the superior light quality that LEDs now offer.

MORE COLOR OPTIONS

Low voltage lighting is available in far more color options than its fluorescent counterpart. 24 volt and 12 volt LED lights are now available in a wide array of white light color temperatures, including different shades of warm white, neutral white, and cool white. Elemental LED even offers specialized services to manufacture lighting with a customized color temperature to meet very specific customer requirements. 24 volt and 12 volt lighting is also available in various color options such as red, green, or blue, and color-changing. With color-changing RGB technology, pre-programmed or programmable color controllers are used to switch between different single color modes or color-changing effects.

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING UNIFORMITY

Low voltage lighting offers consistent and uniform light production that is especially important in linear lighting installations. The uniform output of linear LED lighting offers a consistent, ambient light fill for any space along the entire length of an installation. From diode to diode, LEDs produce a consistent beam angle. LED industry leaders offer quality products with characteristics such as consistency in beam angle, color temperature, and light output that fluorescents can’t match.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

We’ll conclude with the originally known benefit of low voltage lighting: energy-efficiency. Low voltage lighting consumes 80% less energy than CFLs and incandescent bulbs. The cost savings associated with the low energy consumption of 24 volt and 12 volt LED lights is just one of many great benefits to utilizing low voltage lighting technology. With recent advancements in LED technology, LEDs now lead the lighting industry in the categories of longevity, brightness, uniformity, and color options. When aspects of energy-efficiency and wide-ranging installation possibilities are factored in to the equation, LED lighting has emerged as a clear choice for lighting installations of all kinds.