Compare LED & Krypton Bulbs

A krypton bulb can be made simply by putting krypton gas, rather than argon gas, in a standard incandescent bulb; however, many are more complicated than that. An LED bulb requires semiconductors and an electronic driver and generally needs reflectors and color filters. Krypton and LED bulbs have some overlap in their applications.

Advantages

• The main advantages of LED lights and krypton bulbs are that they use less electricity, provide brighter, whiter light and last longer than incandescent bulbs. In Christmas tree lights cool-operating LED lights are much safer than incandescent bulbs.

Home and Business Lighting

• A candelabra bulb

  Flame-shaped krypton bulbs are used in candelabra and chandeliers because of the sparkling effect of their bright white light. They are used as an alternative to halogen lights. Krypton lights can operate on line voltage, are fully dimmable and have long life without the high temperatures and other hazards of halogen bulbs. Krypton bulbs can also be direct replacements for standard incandescent bulbs, although their high cost, about $20, is a drawback.

  LED bulbs are available to replace incandescent standard-shape bulbs and PAR reflector floodlights and spotlights. They have the advantage of extreme efficiency—an 8-watt LED can replace a 40-watt incandescent. Unlike compact fluorescent lights, they produce full light instantly. They have a service life about 16 times that of incandescent bulb and thus reduce replacement costs. However, like krypton bulbs, they are expensive, about $40 for a 40-watt equivalent bulb.

Automobile Headlights

• Krypton bulbs in automobile headlights produce the same bright light as high intensity discharge (HID) headlights at far less cost. Compared to the standard incandescent bulbs, krypton bulbs are 30 percent brighter and have 30 percent more color yet do not create more heat or consume more wattage.

  LED automobile headlights are just entering the automotive market, confined at present to high-end vehicles. It is a challenge to design an LED light that meets the severe service requirements and stringent standards for headlights.

Flashlights

• Krypton bulbs in flashlights increase the candlepower from 20 to 69 percent compared to incandescent bulbs. The average increase is 48 percent. LED flashlights contain an electronic LED driver that provides high light output along with efficient use of battery power to prolong battery life. A 2-AA battery flashlight with a krypton bulb can be purchased online for about $9. The 2-AA LED flashlight, with enhancements over the krypton one, goes for about $17.

Technical Information

• Krypton gas has a higher atomic weight than the argon gas that is normally used in incandescent bulbs. This causes krypton bulbs to operate more efficiently and have a longer service life because the life of the tungsten filament is lengthened. Krypton provides a whiter light than argon.

  LEDs are light-emitting diodes. These are semiconductors that produce light when a current is run through a junction of the semiconductor. The color of the light produced is determined by the chemical composition of the semiconductors. White light can be obtained by combining light from red, blue and green diodes or by using a phosphor layer over a blue diode. An electronic driver is necessary to convert the voltage and current of the power supply (120-volt alternating current or various voltages of direct current) to the voltage needed to produce the direct current required by the diode.