LED Lighting — Evolution or Revolution

Jason Prevost

In 5000 BC, fireflies were captured and enclosed in a small jar and used as a lamp.

In 300 BC, candles made of plant oil and beeswax were first used in China.

In 1801, the incandescent bulb was invented by Sir Joseph Swan, alongside Thomas Edison. Together they formed the Edison & Swan United Electric Company and gave the World its first mass produced light bulb.
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In 1927, Oleg Losev published his original research on LEDs.

By 2000, LEDs came into the market for general illumination purposes. These products are made up of diodes and printed circuit boards.

Many people say that LED lighting is a revolution, however I don’t completely agree. I would say LED is an evolution that is no different from the evolution of the candle to the incandescent bulb. The revolution will come once lighting becomes the secondary function of a bulb or a fixture, and LED will help us achieve this.

Today, we are seeing LED products with integrated speakers and Wi-Fi boosters, tomorrow LED lamps will be able to provide what we call LI-FI (which is basically Wi-Fi but through lighting: Wireless Fidelity, Wi-Fi; Lighting Fidelity, Li-Fi). Eventually lighting will be used to capture and transmit data such as weather, air quality, occupation, surveillance, etc…

LED lighting has the power to be much more than just light. It will challenge the way electricians and contractors wire up homes and buildings, it will certainly bring change to the electrical codes.

In the near future, you will be in a world where you as a business traveler can walk into any office or hotel room and set the mood through your phone and lighting. Picture this. Your mobile device will be communicating with the LED lighting in the space you are in, and the ambiance will be set to your preselected settings: dimmed lights, just the right temperature and music playing, exactly how you would have it in your very own office. Now any office can be your own office.

Now that is the revolution.

Jason Prevost is Vice President Marketing at Standard Products Inc. He is also the chair of Electro-Federation Canada’s new Young Professionals Network.