A few weeks ago we were talking about "The end of incandescent light bulbs" so we should take a look at what is available in the market at the moment and belief me if you do not require a specialize type of bulb for a professional task such as shop windows, show business lighting etc. don't waste your time looking around for any other type of lighting than LED.
At this particular time any new installation or replacing any bulbs at home, you must surely choose LED.
This week we will concentrate on the tips of "How to choose the best LED Lights"
The packaging of the light bulb or the staff at the sale point should provide exact information on the following questions:
Consider only quality products.
First, we must look at quality products, be wary of too cheap LED lights, or without the CE mark, indicating compliance with the European legislation. A substandard LED can shorten its duration, increase its energy consumption or reduce its light quality more than expected so that, ultimately, cheap comes out expensive.
Contrary to common belief, wattage isn't an indication of brightness in LED language, but a measurement of how much energy the bulb draws. For incandescent, there is an accepted correlation between the watts drawn and the brightness, but for LEDs, watts aren't a great predictor of how bright the bulb will be. (The point, after all, is that they draw less energy.)
To find the light emitting we have to consider the amount of lumens (lm), which measures the power of light, not the Watts, (W) which measures the power of energy consumed. LED lights expend very little energy to produce light: 10 W LED light produces the same lm (800) than an incandescent bulb 60 W and that information should appear on the packaging of the bulb: 25 W a incandescent equivalent to 250 lm; 40 W, 470 lm; 60 W, 800 lm; and 100 W, 1,520 lm.
The importance of appearance
The colour appearance or "light tone" is another important selection criterion. The warm, more relaxing, lights are suitable for rooms such as bedrooms or living rooms. Cold lights improve concentration and performance, so they are suitable for workplaces, bathrooms or kitchens. The tone of light is expressed in degrees Kelvin (K). Between 2.700 K and 3.000 K are the warmest lights; 3.500 K is considered warm white; 4.100 K, neutral white; and from 5.000 K, cool white.
The choice of regulation and compatibility with the existing regulator should also focus consumer attention. When replacing a halogen, we must look at the voltage and type of anchorage to the bulb holder. If the halogen is 12 volts (V), the LED should have a transformer. In the case of fluorescent tubes we must be removed transformer (primer) and the ballast and to connect the new LED tube directly to the mains. In all cases please read first the manufacturer's instructions and if in doubt ask the experts.
Substituting directional bulbs, such as halogen, the degree of light angle of the LED bulb must be taken into account to ensure adequate distribution of light. The bulbs with angles up to 40º project an ideal light to illuminate specific points. But to illuminate a room, hall, kitchen, etc., light angle of more than 80 ° are better.
Don't expect to save hundreds of Euros.
LED bulbs are like hybrid cars: cheaper to operate but pricey upfront.
When switching to LED bulbs, don't expect to make great saving from day one. Instead, think of it as an investment. Luckily, competition has increased and LED bulbs have come down in price, but you should still expect to pay more than for an incandescent light bulb.
Eventually, the LED bulbs will pay off, and in the meantime, you'll enjoy less heat production, longer bulb life, and other LED-exclusive benefits.
The dimmable LED' dilemma.
Because of their circuitry, LEDs are not always compatible with traditional dimming switches. In some cases, the switch must be replaced. Other times, you'll pay a little more for a compatible LED.
Most dimmers, which were likely designed to work with incandescent light bulbs, work by cutting off the amount of electricity sent to the bulb. The less electricity drawn from the source, the dimmer the light. But with your newly acquired knowledge of LED, you know that there is no direct correlation between LED brightness and energy drawn.
If you'd like your LED to be dimmable, you need to do one of two things: find LED bulbs compatible with traditional dimmers, or replace your current dimming switch with a leading-edge (LED-compatible) dimmer.
When shopping for LEDs, it helps to know what kind of dimming switch you have, but if you don't know (or would rather not go through the trouble), simply search for LED bulbs compatible with standard incandescent dimmers.
All in all, the best part of this LED story is that by replacing incandescent light at home you and I will be contributing a little to emit less CO2. And remember little acts from everyone matters because it will help in the long run to save this planet.
Write a comment