Ten Tips When Buying LED Lights
1) High power versus low power. He knows your lights. The high power LED has a single LED chip, usually from 1 to 5 watts. These are brighter and have a better lumen-to-watt ratio. With recessed or down-mounted lighting, you'll want more power, i.e. more light. The farther away the light is from what you want to illuminate, the higher the power you want.
Beware tainting with high power LEDs as they can generate a lot of heat that will need to be dissipated. This dissipation is done by using a heat sink, usually large curved metal fins, but sometimes a small built-in fan is used. The low power LED Lights consists of many very small LEDs, usually 5 millimeters. These do not produce a lot of light on par with a 40-watt incandescent. They also don't produce enough heat to kill the entire LED lamp, so you don't need a visible heat sink.
2) That warm white light is not very warm! Learn about the Kelvin scale. The Kelvin scale is often used to the extent of the color temperature of light sources. The use of the scale allows us to quantify, for example, the differences between soft white, warm white and cold white. The color temperature of an incandescent bulb is approximately 3000k. This is usually interpreted as warm white. If the light is labeled warm, be sure to check what it says on the Kelvin scale. Pure white is normally considered around 5000k, to imagine what this image of hospital lighting looks like, very bright white.
3) Check the CRI. The Chromatic Reproduction Index (CRI) is a quantitative measure of a light source's ability to faithfully reproduce the colors of various objects compared to an ideal or natural light source. Think of how pale people look under certain light sources compared to sunlight. Depending on the environment you want to illuminate, an IRC of at least 70 is desirable.
4) For online shopping start with little! Do not try, at once, to adapt your entire house with LED lights from any company online. If you order some light bulbs and like them, continue and complete the upgrade for the rest of your home. Many companies do not accept returns or have very limited warranties. This is especially true with respect to color variation, which most companies do not consider a defect.
5) Beware of prices that are too low. The LED market is saturated with poorly manufactured products as well as lights that have no warranty. Since LED manufacturing is not an exact science, there are big differences in color quality and light intensity. When an LED is created, it is first inspected by color and light quality and sorted into different categories. The best companies pay more for high-quality lights with just a slight color variation. The rest of the LEDs are not discarded but are sold to companies below much lower rates. These companies can then turn around and sell at much lower prices.
6) UL listed versus UL compliant. It is becoming increasingly common in the LED industry for companies to claim that their products are UL compliant. What does this mean? It means the product has not passed the UL test. A company can claim that it has followed the guidelines established by UL with respect to the production of its products and technical aspects. This in no way means that you can pass the strict evidence presented by UL. There is a big difference between an LED that is "compatible" and an LED that is listed by UL. One of the great difficulties we have in Light Energy Designs is the fight against the lower cheap LEDs that saturate the market. Many people disconnect from using LED after experiencing poor products that make this CLAIM of UL. Only products listed by UL have been tested and can be ul branded. It is important to search for this brand in all LED products. It is also important to make sure that the brand is authentic.
7) Only shop from a reputable company (preferably in the U.S.). Check if the company has been present for at least 2 years. The Internet is full of new companies that have bought very cheap and low-grade LEDs. These companies will offer very good guarantees and very good prices knowing that they will sell with a new name the following year. An established company is much more likely to back up its guarantees and work for repeat business.
8) Check the lumen output. Lumens represents the amount of light emitted by a light source, such as a light bulb, that is, how bright the light is. Note that recommended light levels will vary by person and task. However, when buying bulbs, don't assume that more watts mean more light, more lumens means more light. CFLs start at approximately 60 lumens per watt but average approximately 50 lumens per watt just to give you an idea.
9) Do not purchase LEDs if your home or office is subject to known frequent voltage spikes. Unlike the CFL or incandescent light, a voltage peak (actually a power peak) can "fry" an LED very easily. This is not considered a manufacturer's defect and is never covered by any warranty. You may not be aware of voltage spikes and may occur in seemingly random areas of your home or office.
10) Know where the heat is going! This may be one of the most important tips you can read. For all high power LED lights, excessive heat will be the main cause of LED failure. All high power LEDs require a heat sink. A heat sink is a term for a component or assembly that transfers heat generated within a solid material to a fluid medium, such as air or a liquid. A heat sink usually uses its extended surfaces (usually aluminum alloy fins) to increase the surface area in contact with the air. Heat sinks can be so elaborate and large that it is obvious that they cannot be sold separately but must come as part of a unit.
Beware tainting with high power LEDs as they can generate a lot of heat that will need to be dissipated. This dissipation is done by using a heat sink, usually large curved metal fins, but sometimes a small built-in fan is used. The low power LED Lights consists of many very small LEDs, usually 5 millimeters. These do not produce a lot of light on par with a 40-watt incandescent. They also don't produce enough heat to kill the entire LED lamp, so you don't need a visible heat sink.
2) That warm white light is not very warm! Learn about the Kelvin scale. The Kelvin scale is often used to the extent of the color temperature of light sources. The use of the scale allows us to quantify, for example, the differences between soft white, warm white and cold white. The color temperature of an incandescent bulb is approximately 3000k. This is usually interpreted as warm white. If the light is labeled warm, be sure to check what it says on the Kelvin scale. Pure white is normally considered around 5000k, to imagine what this image of hospital lighting looks like, very bright white.
3) Check the CRI. The Chromatic Reproduction Index (CRI) is a quantitative measure of a light source's ability to faithfully reproduce the colors of various objects compared to an ideal or natural light source. Think of how pale people look under certain light sources compared to sunlight. Depending on the environment you want to illuminate, an IRC of at least 70 is desirable.
4) For online shopping start with little! Do not try, at once, to adapt your entire house with LED lights from any company online. If you order some light bulbs and like them, continue and complete the upgrade for the rest of your home. Many companies do not accept returns or have very limited warranties. This is especially true with respect to color variation, which most companies do not consider a defect.
5) Beware of prices that are too low. The LED market is saturated with poorly manufactured products as well as lights that have no warranty. Since LED manufacturing is not an exact science, there are big differences in color quality and light intensity. When an LED is created, it is first inspected by color and light quality and sorted into different categories. The best companies pay more for high-quality lights with just a slight color variation. The rest of the LEDs are not discarded but are sold to companies below much lower rates. These companies can then turn around and sell at much lower prices.
6) UL listed versus UL compliant. It is becoming increasingly common in the LED industry for companies to claim that their products are UL compliant. What does this mean? It means the product has not passed the UL test. A company can claim that it has followed the guidelines established by UL with respect to the production of its products and technical aspects. This in no way means that you can pass the strict evidence presented by UL. There is a big difference between an LED that is "compatible" and an LED that is listed by UL. One of the great difficulties we have in Light Energy Designs is the fight against the lower cheap LEDs that saturate the market. Many people disconnect from using LED after experiencing poor products that make this CLAIM of UL. Only products listed by UL have been tested and can be ul branded. It is important to search for this brand in all LED products. It is also important to make sure that the brand is authentic.
7) Only shop from a reputable company (preferably in the U.S.). Check if the company has been present for at least 2 years. The Internet is full of new companies that have bought very cheap and low-grade LEDs. These companies will offer very good guarantees and very good prices knowing that they will sell with a new name the following year. An established company is much more likely to back up its guarantees and work for repeat business.
8) Check the lumen output. Lumens represents the amount of light emitted by a light source, such as a light bulb, that is, how bright the light is. Note that recommended light levels will vary by person and task. However, when buying bulbs, don't assume that more watts mean more light, more lumens means more light. CFLs start at approximately 60 lumens per watt but average approximately 50 lumens per watt just to give you an idea.
9) Do not purchase LEDs if your home or office is subject to known frequent voltage spikes. Unlike the CFL or incandescent light, a voltage peak (actually a power peak) can "fry" an LED very easily. This is not considered a manufacturer's defect and is never covered by any warranty. You may not be aware of voltage spikes and may occur in seemingly random areas of your home or office.
10) Know where the heat is going! This may be one of the most important tips you can read. For all high power LED lights, excessive heat will be the main cause of LED failure. All high power LEDs require a heat sink. A heat sink is a term for a component or assembly that transfers heat generated within a solid material to a fluid medium, such as air or a liquid. A heat sink usually uses its extended surfaces (usually aluminum alloy fins) to increase the surface area in contact with the air. Heat sinks can be so elaborate and large that it is obvious that they cannot be sold separately but must come as part of a unit.
Comments
Post a Comment