What to Consider When Buying an LED Light
You may have heard that LED Light reduces costs, saves energy and preserves the environment. Absolutely true. However, when you venture into the store (or the online site) to buy them, you'd better know what you're doing or you might end up with the wrong bulb. There are five key things to watch out for:
1. First, make sure you know what type of bulb you want to replace. This sounds very simple, but as we joke about computer users calling the hotline to say that their computer is not working... only to realize that they hadn't plugged it in! (a) the size of the base and the type of fitting (i.e., a screwed fitting or bayonet fitting; is it a thin candle bulb or a standard incandescent globe, etc.).
Take note of the size of your bulbs and don't take up space in a blind or case. Although LED lighting is designed to closely resemble more traditional lighting, there may be size differences.
2. Second, you need to determine the equivalent of LED light for replacing your old bulb. This is quite tricky when the products do not have the required information on their packaging. You're looking for only one thing: lumen output data. In simple terms, lumens are the measure of light intensity. A light of 10 lumens will offer negligible light (barely enough to move around a room), while a 2000 lumens light will allow you to read a book in a room. The reason is that unlike incandescent lamps, such as a 60W or 100W bulb, which emit a similar number of lumens, LED lamps can have very different lumens yields (a W or a Watt, is only a measure of the power required to light your bulb In general, the higher the watts, the brighter the bulb.
To replace a 60W bulb, you need to find an LED lamp with 600 to 700 lumens of light. Now, if this is not shown on the package, you will have no idea what you are actually buying. There might be something LED lighting from 5W to 12W on the shelf, so you'll need to ask an assistant to provide you with the light flow. Most LED globes reach between 50 and 80 lumens per watt, and some are even brighter at 100 lumens per watt. Don't buy until you have the lowest power with the required light flow corresponding to what you currently have.
3. Third, look for a light color. Now I don't mean red, yellow, blue, etc. The LED lighting is designed to emit "white" light. White light is a combination of the visible light spectrum, but not all white light is white. confused? This means that you can get an LED light similar in color to an incandescent light - what we call a light "hot white" slightly yellow - in normal white and white daylight and in "cold-white" which is extremely bright and very clinical. You can see the difference by looking at a fluorescent lamp (likely to be a cold white) and comparing it to a standard bulb (likely to be a warm white). This is important because the type of light will change the mood. Use a warm white light in an office to tire your eyes and get a dark effect... but use a cold white light in your bedroom or living room and you'll think you're in a hospital!
1. First, make sure you know what type of bulb you want to replace. This sounds very simple, but as we joke about computer users calling the hotline to say that their computer is not working... only to realize that they hadn't plugged it in! (a) the size of the base and the type of fitting (i.e., a screwed fitting or bayonet fitting; is it a thin candle bulb or a standard incandescent globe, etc.).
Take note of the size of your bulbs and don't take up space in a blind or case. Although LED lighting is designed to closely resemble more traditional lighting, there may be size differences.
2. Second, you need to determine the equivalent of LED light for replacing your old bulb. This is quite tricky when the products do not have the required information on their packaging. You're looking for only one thing: lumen output data. In simple terms, lumens are the measure of light intensity. A light of 10 lumens will offer negligible light (barely enough to move around a room), while a 2000 lumens light will allow you to read a book in a room. The reason is that unlike incandescent lamps, such as a 60W or 100W bulb, which emit a similar number of lumens, LED lamps can have very different lumens yields (a W or a Watt, is only a measure of the power required to light your bulb In general, the higher the watts, the brighter the bulb.
To replace a 60W bulb, you need to find an LED lamp with 600 to 700 lumens of light. Now, if this is not shown on the package, you will have no idea what you are actually buying. There might be something LED lighting from 5W to 12W on the shelf, so you'll need to ask an assistant to provide you with the light flow. Most LED globes reach between 50 and 80 lumens per watt, and some are even brighter at 100 lumens per watt. Don't buy until you have the lowest power with the required light flow corresponding to what you currently have.
3. Third, look for a light color. Now I don't mean red, yellow, blue, etc. The LED lighting is designed to emit "white" light. White light is a combination of the visible light spectrum, but not all white light is white. confused? This means that you can get an LED light similar in color to an incandescent light - what we call a light "hot white" slightly yellow - in normal white and white daylight and in "cold-white" which is extremely bright and very clinical. You can see the difference by looking at a fluorescent lamp (likely to be a cold white) and comparing it to a standard bulb (likely to be a warm white). This is important because the type of light will change the mood. Use a warm white light in an office to tire your eyes and get a dark effect... but use a cold white light in your bedroom or living room and you'll think you're in a hospital!
4. The fourth thing to look for is whether the light is 'dimmable'. Although you can reduce the intensity of any standard lamp, not all LED lamps can be attenuated. Indeed, their electronic circuits cannot function effectively with very low power inputs. After all, they already consume low consumption. If you connect them to a grading circuit, you will quickly damage non-dimmable LED Light. Instead, buy clearly marked "dimmable" lamps.
5. The last thing to consider is longevity and warranty. Most manufacturers evaluate their bulbs for a lifespan of 50,000 hours. It's been 136 years to an hour a day ... However, the guarantee can only be one year. So you'll have spent a lot of money if, two years later, your bulb "darkens" (because LED lamps don't "blow", the only way to realize that something is wrong is when they seem to become "weak"). Not all bulbs are of the same quality, so you'll need to think about the brand and reputation of the manufacturer before you make your purchase.
Comments
Post a Comment