ALL LED Marker LED Lights

The LEDs are a fast evolving technology, from small lamps to higher wattage lamps. They will eventually get to the point where they will replace the high incandescent lamps and even the fluorescent lamps. But not yet. Not this year, but most likely soon, the LED lights will be THE LIGHTS people will use (unless someone develops a better technology for lighting). There is a continual need for innovation in this domain, and it is foreseen that the LED lights are to be the new technology as far as illumination is concerned. LED Lighting Continues to Improve We wrote an article a while ago introducing some of the advantages and disadvantages of LED lights, and someone recently commented rightly on it saying that CFLs and T5 fluorescent lamps can offer a better CRI (color rendering) illumination output. In the beginning, people loved LED lights because of the light effect they offer, and not the color rendering, the illumination effect. Especially the small, tiny LED lights, offer more lighting effect, giving out the light but not yet matching what we used to have with a dichroic lamp, a CFL, or a fluorescent fitting. The light output is not as crisp, as good, and as useful for general lighting as the lighting solutions we are used to have. But now with the latest LED technologies out there, you can have COB LED lights (Chips on Board). This technology allows multi-LED chips to be packaged together as one lighting module, and when it lights up, it looks like a lighting panel (see more here).COB LED Lights at Sparks The Latest LED Technology - COB Halers LED lighting were the market leader in affordable LED lights approx. 6 months ago, but now it is the COB technology for the LED lighting. The CREE Chip is also good, the "Rolls Royce of LED Chips", offering brightness and reliability for power LEDs (plus efficient, environmentally friendly LED lights) - read more via cree.com. Note: the Halers LED lamps are no longer available at Sparks. The COB technology will allow the LED lights using it to be dimmable to almost 0 (not 25-30%, as many LED lights do today), and they offer an improved lighting output quality, bringing it more to the color rendering we are used to in the older light bulbs (CFLs, compact fluorescent, etc). Here are some of their advantages: Higher quality. Since the entire PCB (including the LED portion) is all machine-produced at the same time, the end result will be more uniform in construction. Increased thermal dissipation. Better thermal management, because the LED is directly attached to the PCB, giving it more surface area to pass heat away from the LED die. Fewer solder joints. Less soldering means a lower risk of a loss in performance due to a bad solder joint. Larger LED surface area. The better control of the cooling, the larger LED emitters can be built. What's Next for LED Lights? The LED technologies are in continual development, and we don't know what the future holds for the space of lighting in general. Would we use LED lights in all the lighting applications? Not yet, maybe not in all general lighting applications, because they are still expensive and the light they offer is not refined to be what we need... But as time gos on, as the LED technologies evolve, the LED lights become better and their price is not that high. For now we can recommend you the latest technology of LEDs incorporated in the ELAN range of IP65 fire-rated LED downlights available at Sparks for as low as £39 + VAT. Very affordable. They include many of the latest technologies like COB, fire protection, IP rating, energy saving, etc. Also, they come in the Fixed or Adjustable version (fixed or tilting), and each range offers you either Neutral White or Warm White light, in a White or Brushed Nickel finish. Check these out for yourself!The latest LED lights at Sparks

A while ago the BBC reported on a new plastic lightbulb that apparently gives a better quality of light than modern fluorescent bulbs and twice the energy efficiency. The research behind the "FIPEL" technology is now online, ahead of publication in the peer-reviewed journal Organic Electronics (thanks to R&D for the link!). The lighting industry is a technological wonderland lately! "Glowing Layers of Malleable Plastic" FIPEL (an acronym for Field-Induced Polymer Electroluminescence) bulbs were developed by Dr. David Carroll at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. The science is outlined in the Organic Electronics paper above, but in brief: the lights are made from layers of polymer containing nanomaterials that glow when an electric current is passed through them. It sounds like it should generate some heat, but reports say it doesn't. FIPEL also offers a few other, rather futuristic advantages over current tech. The Advantages of FIPEL FIPEL is primarily pitched at the market for fluorescent lighting, such as offices and high-bay warehouses. The most salient advantage is that they don't hum or flicker like contemporary lights, which should bring some joy to office workers. The plastic lamps are also malleable, so they can be arranged into whatever shape you like, and shatterproof. The composite materials can be made to a range of specifications such as ceiling-mounted "sheets."Buy Energy Saving Lighting Wake Forest are hopeful that the technology will later be adopted in the retail market. In terms of colour temperature, these lamps are closer to natural daylight than anything available on the consumer market. Fluorescent lamps tend to be "warmer" than the ideal level; LEDs are generally cooler. This means they're great for indoor workers! To stave off concerns about longevity, Carroll claims that he's had a prototype running in his office for close to a decade. But whether FIPEL poses a real threat to fluorescent lighting remains to be seen. PureLux, Wake Forest University's commercial lighting technology arm, are set to bring FIPEL to the consumer market in 2013. There's still no word on pricing - and pricing has been one of the major obstacles for energy-efficient lighting. Until then, why not take a look at the LED light fittings available at Sparks?

If you're decorating a child's bedroom, why limit yourself to regular old light fittings? Why not make something interesting?Please note: this LED kit is no longer available at Sparks; however, you can find a wide range of LED markers on our website. With Cielo Stellato LED kit you can create a fancy starry sky in your child's bedroom... In the picture: general starfield sky in a child's bedroom, not created with our fittings. "Cielo Stellato" translates into Italian as "starry sky" and that's exactly what these lights are great for: creating a starfield on the ceiling.The Perfect Way to Create a Unique CeilingSure, you could use glow-in-the-dark stickers on the ceiling, but that doesn't look quite right. Stickers aren't that bright, after all, and stars aren't green. Fibre optics are another option - but installing such a fitting is complicated and difficult. Or you could use an optical projector, like a real astronomer. That would look great, but that's probably the most expensive item you could install in a child's bedroom. These small LED lights are ideal for the purpose. They're easy to set up, fully dimmable, and available in several colors. Because the Cielo Stellato LED kit is made of small LEDs that slot into standard ceiling panels, less space is used as well as less energy. These lights don't require a hassle to install. Plus, once they're installed they won't need to be maintained or taken out for some years: they have an estimated lifespan of 30,000 hours. Why Not Expand Your Vision? And if you were really ambitious, you could install a round ceiling light to make the moon, and you could also make some constellations like Orion or the Big Dipper. What if you hung some tiny spaceships from the ceiling, too? Every night there would be a show. Imagine it: a space opera, every night, so close you could almost touch it. We are a little jealous of the kids' room, and we haven't even begun work on the starry ceiling. The Cielo Stellato is made for this purpose, but it can't just be limited to decorating a child's bedroom - where else could we use these lights? Let us know in the comments.LED Markers at Sparks

Are you sick of seeing the same Hallowe'en decorations every year? No, us neither. But we think they sometimes look outdated. Old-fashioned, even. We can upgrade a few of them with readily-available technology. Now, to be fair, a Jack-O-Lantern is traditional. But it's still due for an update; carving out a face and inserting a tealight into the hollow squash just isn't going to cut it any more. Modern Alternatives to Jack-O-Lantern? The more modern alternative is - what else? - a tiny lightbulb. This Aurora LED marker light is perfect for the purpose, with a small 1 metre cable to illuminate a terrifying Jack-O-Lantern's face with eerie white or cool blue light. Or, for the more technologically-inclined, there's the option to upgrade that pumpkin for some 21st Century scares. Instructables author noelportugal hid a motion detector in his Jack-O-Lantern and rigged it up to a huge plastic spider so that it would drop on the heads of his visitors. We can't wholeheartedly suggest you do this - spiders... are not loved by everyone - but all you would need is one of our many motion detectors, a robust computer processor, and a slightly mean sense of humour. Any Technical Projects this Hallowe'en? There's still time to take on a technical project in time for Halloween, but in case you find yourself strapped for time remember that almost anything is scary when it's backlit. Even a balloon with a face on it will do the trick if it's a spooky colour, and if the face is particularly horrifying.Just fit a coloured bulb into a wall light like this flexible, low voltage Microlux offering. We'd really like to hear your ideas, too! Or at least a good ghost story.Marker LED Lights at Sparks