3 Advantages and Benefits of LED Tube Lighting vs OLED Technology
It is not so easy to imagine that LED tube lighting technology, with its steady and secure market-dominating developments and possibilities, could possibly be overtaken by a new emerging trend in near future.
This is so because LED tube technology with its benefits and advantages has provided the largest platform the world has yet seen for sustainable, eco-friendly and energy-saving lighting innovations.
Recently however, the media has been impressed by a new emerging technology that has been promised to be even less energy-consuming, provide even brighter displays and produce more brightness.
The name of this technology is organic light emitting diodes, commonly referred to as OLEDs, and they consist of thin films of organic molecules which are able to produce light when electricity is applied.
The question many have been asking themselves is what the emergence of OLED innovations means for the future of LED. Despite certain initial concerns for the brightness of LED's future, there are several reasons why OLED is unlikely to be a true competitor to LED tube lighting technology.
1. LED technology is most affordable
LED tube lighting is and will continue in near future to be more affordable when compared to OLED technology.
Whereas prices of LED tube lighting are steadily decreasing, thus making LED illumination more and more appealing for consumers, OLED technology is expected to remain substantially more expensive.
The reason for the high cost of these organic light emitting diodes derive from the complex and pricy technological structures in both the encapsulation layer and the integrated substrates they use.
Although the market could alter from its status quo with time, it is highly unlikely that purchasing OLED technology in near future could become cost-advantageous when compared with 'traditional' LED tube lights.
2. LED lighting is more energy-efficient
For many, a major reason for upgrading traditional lighting systems to LED lighting relates in some way to the incredible energy-efficiency the light-emitting diodes provide compared to conventional lighting.
It is because of the efficiency, extended lifetime and the eco-friendliness that defines LED lighting, that so many individuals, businesses and urban planners are happy to invest in this technology.
It is the energy efficiency that is about to give LEDs the leading market share of the illumination industry.
For this reason, it is not very likely that OLED lighting innovations will overtake LEDs in the near future. With a much lower efficiency of 20-50lm per Watt, OLEDs currently still fall far behind LEDs.
In addition, OLEDs are much quicker to leave one in the dark when compared to the 50,000 hours of lifetime of LED products. With OLEDs, life expectancy is not yet a selling point and can barely impress at a mere 5,000-15,000 hours lifetime expectancy.
As mentioned earlier, LEDs are so popular for a very good reason - they decrease energy expenditures and they are a one-time investment. Currently, OLEDs don't really do either of those things nearly as well as LED lighting technology does it, but this of course might also change in the future when OLED technology becomes more mature and develops into a more energy efficient form of lighting.
3. OLEDs are a design innovation, not a technological revolution
So, why are OLEDs even relevant to LED technology if they can't compete in the above points? Well, that's the thing: sometimes the Apple-Syndrome is more powerful than we like to expect.
Although OLEDs are in no way a threat to the outlook of LED technology, they may have advantages in another perspective of efficiency, namely in areas, products and innovations where design is the crucial factor.
A classic example of this is the latest talk about the new Google Glass or even the iWatch which might soon be released by Apple. In these gadgets and new upcoming design-tech-trends, we can certainly expect to see more and more of the organic LED technology and surely, they will be able to create technology beyond our imagination due to its advanced, high-tech and adaptable set up.
On the other hand, the true gift of LED tube technology are its eco-friendly, sustainable and energy-saving aspects and those will probably not be seen in any other technology for the foreseeable future.
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