From Then to Now: A History of Super Bright LEDs
July 15, 2026 21 min read

From Then to Now: A History of Super Bright LEDs

Originally Published: November 17, 2017

Content Updated: July 15, 2026


Since being founded in 2002, Super Bright LEDs has grown from a small site with a few LED lights to an industry leader offering thousands of LED lighting products. Products are available for various applications, including residential, commercial, industrial, landscape, and vehicle lighting. For a more detailed list of types of available products, see the bottom of the blog. 

Super Bright LEDs is located in Earth City, MO, near St. Louis. Because of the central location and our fully stocked warehouse, we offer quick shipping to any U.S. state and ship products internationally. We’re not just an online LED retailer; we’re also a wholesaler for our commercial customers. Our teams consist of engineers who thoroughly test all products, trained customer service and product support representatives, sales employees, business account managers, warehouse workers, web designers, coders, content specialists, photographers, and videographers.

The History of Super Bright LEDs 

Super Bright LEDs wouldn’t have become what it is today without its founders, Greg and Carol Henderson, and their dedicated employees. Before developing superbrightleds.com, Greg Henderson (who has an electrical engineering background) and his wife Carol owned a company called Red Line Inc. They designed and manufactured laser projectors for the entertainment industry and programmable automatic wire cutting machines. The idea for an LED-centered company came after visiting lighting shows for LEDs to use in their laser projectors. Greg wanted to create more products using LEDs and started with an LED flame lamp. This hanging bowl fixture used an LED that illuminated blowing fabric to mimic a real flame.

The First Products 

Superbrightleds.com made its debut and was based in the Henderson’s basement. LED flame lamps and the LEDs used to make them were the first products offered on the site. Soon, it changed roles from primarily manufacturing to distributing LED products and added a selection of LED car bulbs. The selection started with just an 1157 bulb, and various other vehicle bulb types followed. During the same time, the first residential lighting product was introduced—an under-cabinet LED light bar, and later, Super Bright LEDs was among the first to have a screw-base LED bulb.

How Super Bright LEDs Operates 

In-House Test Lab

We have an in-house test lab where engineers ensure products meet expected requirements and quality standards. They perform durability and burn-in tests and use several pieces of equipment to test for brightness, color temperature (CCT), color-rendering index (CRI), and operating temperature. These devices are also used to generate LM-79, LM-80, and Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) reports.

  • Spectrometers and Integrating Spheres: A variety of instruments ranging from rack-mount units to handheld units are used for measuring lumens, peak wavelength, CCT, and CRI. 

  • Environmental Chamber: The 30-cubic-foot enclosure reproduces temperatures and relative humidity found within commercial and industrial LED lighting applications. Photometric and electrical data collection occurs while the chamber cycles through temperatures ranging from negative 35°C (negative 31° F)  to 200° C (392° F). Humidity ranges from 10 to 95 percent.

  • FLIR Camera: Used for measuring internal and external product temperatures from LEDs, drivers, and components.

  • Durability Tests: Products are time-tested in applicable environments. Vibration, temperature, impact, and water tests ensure that products will perform under normal and extreme conditions.

Photography and Video 

Our photographers and videographers have the tools needed to provide high-quality product visuals. To ensure you feel confident in the products you’re purchasing, our photographers capture various shots and show our products being used in their intended environments. Videographers create content for both our website and YouTube. These videos include product highlights, installations, and creative DIY projects.

Customer Service

We have a team of expert customer service advocates and product support specialists who have gone through extensive training and are very knowledgeable about our line of products. They are trained to help assist with selecting the right product you need, troubleshooting issues, and other product questions you may have. Super Bright LEDs understands that people have different contact method preferences, so you can either call, email, or live chat with one of our specialists. 


Vehicle Bulb Finder and Universal Bulb Finder

  • Our Vehicle Bulb Finder makes it easy to find what bulbs work with your vehicle. Simply select your year, make, and model, and the VBF shows you bulb options that are separated by their location on your vehicle (e.g., front exterior bulbs, rear exterior bulbs, and interior bulbs). If you know the exact bulb you’re looking for, there’s also an option to select it from a list by its cross-reference number. When you’re done shopping, the VBF will save your vehicle for the next time you visit the site if you have a saved account.
  • In the Universal Bulb Finder, bulbs are categorized by bulb type, such as standard, globe, reflector, decorative, tube lights, and smart bulbs. They are also categorized by base type, including screw base, pin base, bayonet base, and wedge base.  Photos and clickable links are available for each bulb type. Use the filter on the side of the page to sort based on the bulb category, application, and most popular bulbs. 

Product Highlights 

Vehicle Lighting 

Our vehicle lighting category is an expansive, diverse area encompassing many groups. We split products up based on product type– off-road lights, vehicle bulbs, trailer signal lights, strobe, warning, and hazard lights, interior utility and dome lights, accent lighting, and auxiliary lighting. They’re also grouped based on the application type, including car, truck, and SUV, camper and RV, boat and marine, motorcycle, construction and agriculture, commercial truck and trailer, and more. 

Emergency and Service Lighting

LED emergency and service lighting increases safety and visibility for police vehicles, search-and-rescue vehicles, utility vehicles, fire trucks, roadside assistance trucks, and other emergency vehicles. Choose from various colors and dual-color combinations. Products include emergency light bars, strobe lights, hideaway strobe lights, amber strobe beacons, light pods, road flares, and strobe controllers. 

Off-Road LED Lights  

Our off-road lights include light bars, pod lights, specialty options, and accessories. You’re able to shop based on style, shape, size, beam pattern, and more. All of our off-road light bars and pod lights come with a lifetime warranty. 

LED Residential Lighting

Our LED residential lighting products are available for both indoor applications, which may include recessed downlights, under-cabinet lights, track lights, and smart lights, and outdoor applications, including outdoor wall lights, pathway lights, and patio string lights. This category also includes holiday and decorative lights, such as Christmas string lights, Christmas light bulbs, tea lights, and Twinkly addressable patio string lights, panels, strip lights, and clusters.  

LED Landscape Lighting

Common residential and commercial landscape products include flood lights, spot lights, hardscape lights, path lights, deck and step lights, and more. Landscape lighting kits feature all the necessary supplies needed to simplify installation. In addition to LED fixtures, we also carry LED landscape replacement bulbs. 

Commercial and Industrial LED Lighting

Our durably constructed commercial and industrial lights are suitable for many environments, including warehouses, parking garages, factories, gas stations, office spaces, and more. Popular categories include downlights, high bays, parking lot lights, panel lights, flood lights, and bollard lights.  

LED Strip Lights and Bars

Flexible LED strips and linear light bars can elevate numerous applications, including under and above-cabinet lighting, toe-kick lighting, cove lighting, step lights, shelf lighting, and landscape lighting. Single-color, white, RGB color changing, RGBW, and tunable white lights are available. Control options include remotes, smartphones, Alexa, or Google Assistant.

LED Flashlights and Work Lights 

We offer a variety of portable and hands-free LED lighting options. Products include portable work lights, flashlights, pocket lights, headlamps, and bicycle lights.

Electrical and Power Supplies

Our collection of power supplies features constant voltage power supplies, constant current drivers, low-voltage transformers, emergency backup drivers, and voltage reducers and converters. Both metal-enclosed and plastic-enclosed options are available. 

Electrical supplies simplify the installation process and can increase the controllability of your lights. These include wire, connectors, adapters, component LEDs, switches, dimmers, sensors, and automotive installation supplies.  

Since its creation in 2002, Super Bright LEDs has grown from having a small site with a few LED lights to being an industry leader that offers thousands of LED lighting products. These products are available for any application or industry from home, vehicle, and landscape lighting to commercial and industrial lighting. Our constantly growing product line includes a wide variety of LED light fixtures and bulbs, LED strip lights, work lights, parking lot lights, power supplies, and LED accessories—to name a few. For a more detailed list of products, browse our website or visit the bottom of this post.

Super Bright LEDs is located in Earth City, MO. Because our warehouse is fully stocked and centrally located, we can offer quick shipping to any U.S. state, and we also ship products internationally. We’re not just an online LED retailer; we’re also a wholesaler for our commercial customers.

As the saying goes: “It takes a village to raise a child,” and superbrightleds.com wouldn’t have developed into what it is today without its owners, Greg and Carol Henderson and their dedicated employees. Teams consist of engineers who thoroughly test all products, trained customer service and experienced technical support representatives, sales employees, business account managers, warehouse workers, web designers, coders, content specialists, photographers, and videographers.

Now that you have a taste of what SBL is today, some history is in order. Before developing superbrightleds.com, Greg Henderson (who has an electrical engineering background) and his wife Carol owned a company called Red Line Inc. They designed and manufactured laser projectors for the entertainment industry, and they also designed and manufactured programmable automatic wire cutting machines. The idea for a company centered around LEDs came after visiting lighting shows for LEDs to use in their laser projectors. Greg had an urge to create more products that used LEDs. He started with an LED flame lamp. This hanging bowl fixture used an LED that illuminated blowing fabric in such a way that it looked like a real flame.

Super Bright LEDs’ first product: LED flame lamp

Superbrightleds.com made its debut in 2002 and was based in the Henderson’s basement. LED flame lamps and the LEDs used to make them were the first products offered on the site. Soon SBL changed roles from primarily manufacturing to distributing LED products and added a selection of LED car bulbs. The selection started with just an 1157 bulb, and a variety of other vehicle bulb types followed. During the same time, we introduced our first home lighting product—an under-cabinet LED light bar. Shortly after, we added a screw-base LED bulb for general home lighting and were among the first to do so.

Top left corner: first LED screw base bulb for general home use offered on superbrightleds.com

Landscape LED lights stemmed from home lighting, and commercial LED truck lights stemmed from car bulbs. By 2007, our product line had grown so much that we had individual categories filled with LED products. Before 2012, the site consisted primarily of individual LEDs and LED bulbs. That year, our line of complete LED fixtures expanded from flame lamps, utility lights, and landscape spotlights to high-bay lights, flood lights, and work lights. Today we offer hundreds of LED light fixtures.

superbrightleds.com website in 2007

The company quickly outgrew Greg and Carol’s basement and was moved to a 4,400-square-foot building in Florissant, MO. After three years, the Hendersons purchased a 25,000-square-foot building in Earth City, MO. We’ve continued to grow, and in 2015, the Hendersons purchased a nearby building previously owned by Forest Pharmaceuticals and connected it to the existing building. This gave SBL a total of 80,000 square feet, which was expanded to 100,000 square feet by 2018.

A Look Inside:

In-House Test Lab

We have an in-house test lab where our engineers ensure that all products meet expected requirements and quality standards. They perform durability and burn-in tests and use several pieces of equipment to test for brightness, color temperature (CCT), color-rendering index (CRI), and operating temperature. These devices are also used to generate LM-79, LM-80, and Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) reports.

  • Spectrometers
    • Variety of instruments ranging from rack-mount units to handheld units that are used for measuring lumens, peak wavelength, CCT, and CRI
  • Integrating Spheres
    • Various sizes used for measuring lumens, peak wavelength, CCT, and CRI
  • Environmental Chamber
    • The 30-cubic-foot enclosure reproduces temperatures and relative humidity found within commercial and industrial LED lighting applications. Photometric and electrical data collection occurs while the chamber cycles through temperatures ranging from negative 35° C (negative 31° F)  to 200° C (392° F). Humidity ranges from 10 to 95 percent.
  • FLIR Camera
    • Used for measuring internal and external product temperatures from LEDs, drivers, and components
  • Durability Tests
    • Products are time tested in applicable environments. Vibration, temperature, impact, and water tests ensure that products will perform under normal and extreme conditions.

For more information about the testing equipment and procedures we use, click here.

 

Photography and Videography Studios

Our photographers and videographers have everything they need to provide you with high-quality product visuals. To help you feel confident in what you’d be purchasing, photographers work to capture every shot and show our products being used in their intended environments. Videographers create content for our website and for Youtube. These videos range from product highlights to installations and creative DIY projects using our products.

 

Site Features:

Illuminated Environment Simulator

This interactive tool uses IES data to show LED light output in certain environments. The photometric data on the IES file makes it possible to show accurate fixture intensity and beam spread relative to ceiling height, room size, and other factors. You can choose from a list of LED lights on the site and see them installed in a given environment. Using this tool, you can also change environments and compare products side by side.

 

Vehicle Bulb Finder

Our Vehicle Bulb Finder pinpoints exactly which bulbs will work with your vehicle. Simply select your year, make, and model, and the VBF shows you bulb options that are separated by their location on your vehicle. In the VBF, you will also find helpful articles and frequently asked questions about car bulbs. If you know the exact bulb you’re looking for, there’s also an option to select it from a list by its cross reference number. When you’re done shopping, the VBF will save your vehicle for the next time you visit the site.

 

Universal Bulb Finder

In the Universal Bulb Finder, bulbs are categorized by type, such as globe, PAR and BR, MR, tube, vintage, decorative, automotive, and more. There are photos and clickable links for each bulb type. A filter on the side of the UBF page allows you to narrow down results based on exact bulb shape, base type, brightness, color, wattage, dimmability, voltage, and water resistance

roducts:

CarBoatMotorcycleRV and Golf Cart LED Bulbs and Fixtures

We sell LED vehicle bulbs in many styles, shapes, and with a variety of base types, such as bayonet, miniature wedge, and festoon. Choose from various color temperatures and intensities. Other vehicle lighting products include LED tailgate light bars, rooftop light bars, work lights, accent, engine, and truck bed LED strip lights, and complete sealed-beam headlight, license plate, fog light, and daytime running light fixtures. Vehicle bulb installation supplies, such as flashers, load resistors, sockets, and strobe modules, are also available.

Applications:

tail lights, brake lights, turn signal lights, headlights, map lights, trunk lights, footwell lights, courtesy lights, gauge lights, instrument panel lights, dome lights, glove box lights, daytime running lights, fog lights, license plate lights, engine lights

 

LED Truck and Trailer Lights

LED light fixtures are available for semi trucks, dump trucks, trash trucks, commercial delivery trucks, box trucks, buses, and trailers. We have a large selection of DOT- and SAE-approved fixtures in many shapes and styles. Truck and trailer installation accessories, such as plugs, sockets, connectors, grommets, flanges, and reflex reflectors, are also available.

LED truck and trailer fixtures include tail lights, brake lights, parking lights, turn signal lights, reverse lights, marker lights, clearance lights, dome lights, license plate lights, ID lights, and pedestal lights.

 

LED Home Lighting

LED home lighting products are available for indoor or outdoor applications, such as living rooms, bedrooms, basements, garages, kitchens, bathrooms, and landscape lighting. Products include common Edison screw base bulbs and bi-pin bulbs as well as complete LED ceiling, garage, under-cabinet, motion, and can light fixtures.

 

LED Landscape Lighting

Popular commercial and residential landscape products include spotlights, flood lights, deck lights, path lights, well lights, pond/fountain lights, and hardscape lights. In addition to LED fixtures, we also have LED landscape replacement bulbs.

 

Industrial LED Lighting

Products are available for many industrial environments, including warehouses, parking lots/garages, tunnels, gymnasiums, factories, and gas stations. LED products in this category include parking lot lights, wall packs, canopy lights, linear lights/strip light fixtures, industrial retrofit bulbs and kits, vapor-proof lights, and explosion-proof LED lights.

 

Commercial LED Lighting

Applications include retail lighting, offices, classrooms, supermarkets, and lighting for other businesses or commercial establishments. LED products range from LED panel lights, skylight panels, and can lights to LED sign modules, trade show lights, and T8 LED tube light bulbs.

 

LED Strip Lights and Bars

Flexible LED strip lights and rigid LED bars are offered for numerous applications, including under-cabinet lights, above-cabinet lights, toe-kick lighting, shelf lighting, step lights, cove lighting, landscape lighting, showcase lighting, and vehicle lighting. Strips are available in a variety of colors or in color-changing RGB, RGBW, and tunable white versions. Control options include remotes, smartphones, Alexa, or Google Assistant.

 

LED Light Box Panels

We offer LED light box panels for anything from retail signage and advertisements to photos and artwork. You can upload your own images or choose from a variety of stock images to be printed directly on panel diffusers. These LED light box panels use Even-Glow® technology to emit smooth lighting without visible bulbs. A variety of types are available, such as easy snap-open, double sided, flush mount or stand alone for 120-volt or 12-volt applications.

 

RV Interior and Off-Grid LED Bulbs and Fixtures

These 12-volt LED bulbs can be used for RV interior lighting, tiny house trailers, mobile trailer shops, food trucks, or boat cabins. The low-voltage LED lights can also be used for off-grid living and renewable energy applications. Bulb types include A19, A21, A15, T14, and ST18 Edison screw base bulbs as well as bayonet, miniature wedge, and festoon bulbs for interior lighting applications.

 

Emergency Vehicle Lighting

LED strobe lights are available for use on police vehicles, search-and-rescue vehicles, fire trucks, roadside assistance trucks, and other emergency vehicles. You can choose from a wide variety of colors and dual-color combinations. Products include LED strobe light beacons, surface-mount strobe light heads, mini light bars, strobe light bulbs, safety flares, and strobe modules.

 

Off-Road LED Light Bars

Styles include straight and curved light bars with single-, dual-, and quad-row LED configurations. These LED light bars are available in varying lengths for compatibility with a range of vehicles, such as trucks, ATVs, UTVs, Jeeps, and SUVs. Light bars are also available with red/white, infrared, and amber/white LEDs. All of our off-road light bars come with a lifetime warranty.

 

LED Work Lights

Our work lights come in many shapes, sizes, intensities, LED colors, and with spot or flood beam patterns. Most have adjustable mounting options. Applications range from trucks, ATVs, and UTVs to boats. Rechargeable handheld work lights are also available.

 

LED Flashlights, Flashlight Bulbs, Bicycle Lights, and Novelty Lights

We offer a variety of portable and hands-free LED lighting options. Products include portable work lights, puck lights, bicycle lights, LED flashlight bulbs, LED tea lights, vase lights, LED fairy lights, and more.

 

Installation and Power Supplies

Products include LED drivers/power supplies, rocker switches, motion switches, power wire and cables for LED strip lights and other LED products, fuses, wire connectors, wire mounting and organizing supplies, empty bases and sockets, electrical tape, and other installation materials.

Super Bright LEDsSuper Bright LEDs

by Super Bright LEDs Experts


The Super Bright LEDs editorial team provides expert guidance on LED lighting solutions for commercial, industrial, vehicle, and residential use. Their trusted insights help businesses and homeowners make informed lighting decisions. 

Get In Touch    Email Us    |    866-590-3533    |  Live Chat


Why Choose Super Bright LEDs?

When you shop Super Bright LEDs, you can feel confident in knowing you’re getting the highest-quality LED lights on the market. Our in-house test lab rigorously tests all of the products we carry. Additionally, we provide all of our customers with before and after sales support from our call center located at our headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. And we do all of this while still offering some of the best prices in the industry.

*Warranty is subject to change. Please see the product page for a product's warranty.

Place your order Monday through Friday and get same-day shipping before 3 PM CT.


Loading...
Loading...