There is a growing trend towards upgrading older, halogen lighting with LED lighting for trade show display stands. Lighting is a key component of any trade show exhibit design for creating ambiance and enhancing visibility, but it is a frequently misused and misunderstood trade show accessory. That said, why is an LED lighting upgrade being done with halogen lighting being discarded?

The first advantage LED lighting has is life span – a typical LED bulb will be rated to last for longer than 50,000 hours, whereas a comparable halogen bulb will last for only a tenth of that time (around five to six thousand hours). This more than makes up for the price discrepancy between the two types of lighting, with LED light bulbs costing considerably more.

Another major trade show advantage of LED lighting over halogen bulbs is that they do not generate a lot of heat. Heat generation can be a major issue in many trade show venues, so minimizing heat given off from lighting is crucial. A halogen bulb converts 90% of the energy it consumes in the form of heat, but an LED light converts the bulk of the electricity it consumes into light, generating much less heat. For this reason, LED lighting is also highly efficient when it comes to power consumption, and they are a greener form of lighting your display stand.

Both halogen and LED trade show lighting provide comparable light (measured in lumens). Halogen lighting does have one advantage over LED lighting in that they are more controllable when it comes to dimming the light. After dimming an LED light by 20% or more, the LED will start to flicker, which means they are more effectively used for display lighting in high visibility areas, such as back display highlighting.

Overall, LED lighting displays are more efficient, work out cheaper over the longer term and require less replacement and maintenance than their halogen equivalents. On balance, you ought to move to an LED lighting rig for your trade show display as soon as convenient.