Most people are by now aware that traditional incandescent light bulbs are fast becoming a thing of the past and that LED alternatives represent the future of low-energy, low-cost, low-environmental impact lighting. But where to begin? Now you might think that it would just be a matter of swapping every existing incandescent light bulb for an LED equivalent, however I really would suggest that you don't go down that route. For a start the up-front cost would be quite steep, but perhaps more importantly it would jeopardize the likelihood of a successful outcome.

 led street light  are quite different to what you are accustomed to with incandescent technology and a period of experimentation is really needed to get to grips with how to make it work most effectively in your personal situation. That said though, when you do get it figured out you can look forward to huge electricity savings and a fabulous modern look into the bargain. Sound advice then is to begin with an area that either uses a lot of lighting or has the lighting switched on a lot. In this way, your chances of seeing a noticeable difference with respect to both light quality and running costs are greatly increased.

Getting off to a successful start this way is important since it provides the encouragement to proceed with further steps towards finally replacing all your incandescent lighting with LED. The room that most people nominate to start with is, unsurprisingly, the kitchen. This usually has many lights that also get used a lot and a kitchen lighting makeover invariably seems to appeal. It is common these days to find large numbers of halogen spots either recessed or track mounted in kitchens. The quantity of electricity that these turn into waste heat is staggering yet the solution really is as simple as removing the halogen lamps and retrofitting LED lights specified to deliver the same level of luminosity.

For MR16 low voltage lamps you also need to replace the 12 volt transformers with an  led energy saving light , but for GU10 LED bulbs that run on mains voltage that's it. The same idea also applies to lights installed atop, underneath and inside wall cabinets. Alternatively, add some lighting to these areas if none already exists since LED strip and miniature spot lights are simple to fit, being both light in weight and flexible with respect to being cut or connected to suit any configuration. A common technique is to accent plinths and covings, or if fitted to a kick board to pick out the floor.

There are three basic aspects to consider when installing LED lights.

1. Quality counts. It's only natural to count the cost but what really counts with LED lighting is quality and the two are mostly related. Cheap products may look like a bargain but they won't perform as well or produce the savings you should expect (recall that incandescent bulbs cost little to buy but ultimately represent a terrible waste of money when you calculate the true "cost of ownership"). Look out for respected brands such as Sharp's Zenigata or the Cree Evolux.

2. Cost of ownership. There is way more to the cost of lighting than the price of the light bulbs. A typical 50w halogen lamp can cost upwards of 1,000 times the purchase price in terms of electricity usage and replacement costs over a period of 50,000 hours. By comparison an LED of equivalent brightness can be 10 to 20 times as much to purchase but will cost about the same to run over 50,000 hours as it cost to buy the bulb in the first place. The true cost of ownership for LED is thus easily 50 times less - and that's an awful lot of money.

3. Usage. LED lighting is most effective if you use multiple light sources of varying intensity and color ranges. Although very bright, they tend not to project light as far as incandescent lights do, so one of the most common ways to resolve these characteristics is to simply reflect the light off a nearby surface. This produces a diffuse light that fills the space and neatly kills two birds with one stone.