A Simple Method for Comparative Study on the Thermal Performance of Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and Fluorescent Lamps

A simple method is proposed to measure the heat dissipation of LEDs and fluorescent lamps in an open system which allows light energy to escape. Based on this method, a comparative study on the thermal and luminous performance of high-brightness LEDs and fluorescent lamps is presented. At rated power, T5 & T8 fluorescent lamps generate about 73% - 77% of their total power as heat, whilst three types of high-brightness LEDs dissipate about 87% to 90% of input power as heat. Heat dissipation is an important factor particularly for air-conditioned buildings when overall energy efficiency is considered. T5 fluorescent lamps perform better than some existing LEDs in terms of luminous efficacy and heat generation in this study.