By Deb Lovig

When we first started talking to cities about LED lighting in 2006, few knew anything about LEDs, so we pretty much started at the beginning: “LED lighting is really efficient, it lasts a long time, it doesn’t contain mercury and it can save a lot of energy and money.” We stated the facts and went on to talk about which applications were LED-ready, how to develop a total cost of ownership business case and how to get a pilot started.

Three years later, we are hearing something a little different. More than a few people we talk with think they know about LED lighting but actually have their facts on LED lighting, well, wrong.

My first recollection of misinformation revolved around the hoaxes Colonel Hogan and crew hatched to flummox the hapless Sgt.  Shultz on Hogan’s Heroes. Sgt. Schultz was regularly led astray with an outrageous story Hogan whispered to him, although Hogan and his crew obviously never succeeded in breaking out of the POW camp.

Yep. I’m implying that you might be given misinformation on purpose. Or, some folks might have made some guesses based on a few truths they do know and gotten it wrong. Either way, we want to help.

Here are a few of the touted facts I’ve heard that are misinformation:

Example: LED lighting is not ready today for street lighting and parking garages because LEDs generate so much more heat than traditional light sources that they have to be in air conditioned sites.

Wrong: LEDs generate far less heat than traditional lights sources and they are working especially well in street and parking lot applications. As a side note, because they generate less heat, you need LESS air conditioning to keep folks in your building comfortable.

Example: LED lights are very hard to install.

Wrong: LED fixtures and bulbs should be as easy to install as traditional light sources. Your installers or electricians should be wowed by how fabulous they are to install and operate. If not, something’s fishy.

Example: LED lights don’t work well in cold environments.

Wrong: LEDs work a whole lot better than traditional lights sources in cold. In fact, they love cold and they don’t need several minutes to warm up to reach full output, either.

Example: LED manufacturers don’t provide warranties on their products.

Wrong: The good ones do. Ask to be sure before you buy. If you can’t get a decent warranty, move on to a different vendor.

Example: We bought a few fixtures from the web and they don’t work very well. Must be the LEDs.

Wrong: Like any lighting product, LED lighting systems must be built with high-quality, high-performance components and must be designed to produce the right color and spread for the application you wish to illuminate.

Stay tuned for my “Don’t Google for LEDs” post… There are many very good LED lights available today and quite a few really bad products. Use our Questions to Ask Chart to help you weed out the bad lights.