Do LEDs Have Wire Filaments?

Common LEDs and LED light bulbs do not have a wire filament or any type of filament, because they produce light through a very different process than incandescent lights do. In common incandescent lighting, electrical current passes through the filament, excites the electrons in that filament heating it, and it is this excited state that then allows the filament to produce light. LEDs use a different technology, which creates light based on a similar principle to the excited electrons in incandescent bulbs. This difference is that it does not rely on using electricity to create that excited state in any filament or other object, so there is far less energy wasted. This difference is what enables LEDs to be so much more energy efficient while still producing the same volume and quality of light.

HAVING NO WIRE FILAMENT MAKES LED LIGHT BULBS LAST LONGER

The absence of filaments and resultant lack of heat also makes LEDs more durable and safer. The filament, the inert but toxic gas around it, and the glass bulb needed to protect the filament are all fragile and can break even with careful handling. Even when the glass bulb itself isn’t broken, the filament can become damaged easily. And even when working properly, the intense heat needed for a filament to produce light makes active light bulbs very dangerous, as they can easily burn a person’s skin with an instance of contact. Finding a lighting technology to make light bulbs that doesn’t use a filament was a significant advancement in lighting technology and the development of energy efficient LED light bulbs.