LED Info
What IS....? LED Definitions

These definitions have been written in a form that is easy to understand, and only as they relate to LEDs. We hope that you will find these definitions easy to apply towards any LED product described on our website and understand what we have stated for those products. We would welcome any comment, correction or addition to these words and definitions by emailing us at nexgenled@in.com.
L.E.D.: LED means light emitting diode. LEDs are a solid state device and do not require heating of a filament to create light. Rather, electricity is passed through a chemical compound that is excited and that generates light.

LEDs are not bulbs or lamps in the true sense of the word and application. LEDs require a lot of work to make them ready to be used by the consumer. They need to be placed on a circuit board or other material that will allow electricity to pass through it at a specific voltage and current, and with components required to operate them at specific voltages such as 12vdc, 24vdc or 120vac. They do not come ready to plug into a 12volt or 120 volt power source.

LED Bar: Refers to a solid strip of material on which LEDs have been soldered to, along with resistors and other components that a specific product requires to make them operate at the stated operating voltage. The Bars are usually an enclosed strip of LEDs. Enclosures are plastics, or aluminum, or metal composites with various types of lens/cover plates

LED Cluster or Array: A group of LEDs set in a square, rectangular or linear pattern, and formatted to be operated at a specific voltage. They will always include two wires called leads. One is positive, the other negative.
LED Drivers: Are current control devices that replace the need for resistors. LED Drivers respond to the changing input voltage while maintaining a constant amount of current (output power) to the LED as its electrical properties change with temperature.

LED Lighting: It’s a general term used by those who do not know the specific type or category of LED lighting. LED lighting includes LED bulbs and fixtures, flashlights, strips, clusters and other LED light sources.
LED Strip: LED Strips are usually printed circuit boards with LEDs soldered to the board. The strip can be rigid, or flexible and without any enclosure to protect the LED and circuit.