An LED lamp uses light-emitting diodes instead of electrical filaments or gas as the source for illumination. The lamps normally consist of clusters of LEDs within a suitable housing and come in many different shapes, sizes and cap types that can fit directly into the lamp holders of the lamps they are replacing.

LEDs first became available in the 1960s and by the 1970s were being used in a wide range of equipment, however, these early LEDs only had a very low output and were useless for general lighting but were used widely as types of indicator.

To start with they came only in colours (blue, yellow, green, red & orange.) It was only in 1993 that the first white LED light was made by combining the lights that were the colour of the spectrum.

Older light bulbs like the ones still used in homes around the world have a very short life compared to LED lamps, and run on a much higher wattage, making LED lamps more cost effective in an energy efficiency sense, in terms of lifespan, and durability as there’s no filament or tube to break.