More Usable LED Flashlights Are Taking Over

There are many situations where a hand held light is a good thing to have. The British call them torches, Americans and Canadians call them flashlights. LED technology has made LED flashlights possible. They are rapidly becoming the first choice of most users.

Before the first flashlight hit the market in 1899, the only portable lights used flames. The invention of portable batteries was followed quickly by the invention of the flashlight. It’s light source was the incandescent light bulb, which dominated the market until a few years ago.

Incandescent bulbs send an electrical current through a small wire in a glass enclosure. The wire gets so hot that it glows, emitting light. These bulbs are much less efficient than LEDs at producing light. They don’t last very long, even if they aren’t dropped. Any significant shock tends to destroy them.

Flashlights using fluorescent bulbs were sometimes used before LEDs became popular. They are significantly more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, but are expensive and bulky. New models of fluorescent flashlights are becoming uncommon.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been around for awhile, but white light LEDs are a recent development. They are the most efficient light source for flashlights. They are tougher and more durable than the others.

Because of the high cost of white light LEDs, LED flashlights were just an expensive novelty for several years. With several years of production experience and rising demand, their price has fallen to the extent that they are now the best choice in most cases. Incandescent flashlights would only be used in very low cost applications today.

LED flashlights are often very compact when compared to equivalent incandescent flashlights. The LEDs themselves are quite small. The inefficiency of the incandescent requires it to have much larger batteries than the corresponding LED flashlight would need. The weight of the batteries is often the majority of the overall weight of the flashlight.

If you look around you will see some creative designs for LED flashlights. The old headlamp has been reinvented in a much more compact, comfortable form. There are modular units that can be several flashlights or put together to form a brighter light. Key chain flashlights are now actually usable. There is a model that straps to the arm. Six LEDs spread around the strap illuminate whatever the arm is pointed to.

LEDs are the big story in the world of flashlights. Their currently reasonable cost is driving everything else out of the market. The LED flashlight is the way to go for portable lighting.

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