price of blue LEDs

[SCOTT THE BADGER]

there is a trend in Law Enforcement dash/package shelf lights to use LEDs. The lights that have Blue LEDs cost about $100 more than the Red, or Amber ones. Is this because blue is more expensive to make, or is it because they will probably sell 2-3 Red ones for every one Blue?

 

[DaveH]

If you buy them singley, blue are usually more expensive. If you buy them in quantity, the difference is probably less.

Maybe the price is higher because of different circutry required for Blue LED's, or maybe the extra $100 is for the "Coolness" factor.

DaveH

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Blue LEDs cost considerably more than red, orange or yellow.
In quantities of a million or more, blue LEDs cost anywhere from $0.50 to $0.80 apiece, while red ones can often be found for $0.05 or even less.

When you buy in small quantities, you can get raped even more severely: the "going" price for red LEDs can vary from $0.20 to $1.00 apiece, while blue LEDs can cost anywhere from $3.00 to $8.00 apiece depending on type and where purchased.

As for having to "adjust" driver circuitry or other electronics, this problem should be very minimal and in most cases, converting a device from red LEDs to blue LEDs entails nothing more than changing a five cent resistor. Many devices (such as cellular telephones) require no modifications at all to make the change.

http://ledmuseum.home.att.net


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[SCOTT THE BADGER]

What causes the blue to be more expensive? It should only involve changing the dye in the resins prior to the molding.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SCOTT THE BADGER:
What causes the blue to be more expensive? It should only involve changing the dye in the resins prior to the molding.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Uh oh - sounds like you need to learn what an LED really does. It is not a light bulb!

Goto http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ledleft.htm

and look at Craig's very simple explaination of what an LED is in his FAQ.

There are also many other sites that describe how LED's work. The short of it - an LED emits a specific color dependant on the semiconductor material used to make the junction. Blue requires a more exotic material and process than garden red yellow and green LED's. The good news - as the demand increases, it becomes more common and the price will drop.