I was reading a fascinating and extremely well written article on the history and future of LEDs when I came across the phrase “light recipe.” The phrase did not refer to a culinary dish involving salmon and spring greens. It referred to a prescribed formula of lighting to produce a desired result. For example, a greenhouse farmer using a “light recipe” to grow tomatoes, or sage, or banana trees, or whatever.
The phrase “light recipe” is a good entry point into a conversation about LED lighting as a world-changing technology. While people originally thought of LEDs as a somewhat ineffectual light source good only for small electronic displays and then as a profound energy saver, we now understand that the potential for LEDs to change the world we live in is even more staggering than the way cell phones were first imagined to merely facilitate conversation and grew to be pocket PCs used for managing our social, economic, and artistic lives.
LEDs have the power to do far more than provide excellent lighting at a cheaper cost. Although that’s a great start. LEDs allow electronic devices to communicate with one another. That’s a really, really big deal.
It may be a few years before the most exciting applications and innovations for LEDs become household items. In the meantime, LEDs are available for a wider variety of lighting applications than you probably realize. From LED candelabra light bulbs to LED tape lights, there are lots of opportunities to save money and energy. And why is that important?
Because we’re all connected and all share a single fate in terms of natural resources. If everyone suddenly switched to entirely LED lighting, the amount of energy we would save would be absolutely staggering.
