Dear Reader:

Sometimes an acronym can become so strong that we lose sight of the words behind the letters that form it, at which point its meaning can become diluted. ‘LED’ is one of those, so a refresher might be helpful.

LED stands for light emitting diode. Yes, it’s a diode that emits light, somewhat like a light bulb, although through a very different means than what is the case with incandescent, fluorescent, HID, etc. It does so by converting electrical energy to light energy, and its primary appeal relates to the efficiency with which this is accomplished.

While the Facility Manager may not need to know the internal dynamics of just how this is accomplished (do you need to know how to build the watch, or just what time it is?), diodes can be placed on a circuit board with a silicon dome over the diode to protect it, and this is the primary manner in which LED lighting fixtures – particul...