LED lighting options are becoming more popular. More LED goods and alternatives are currently on the market than ever before for conventional incandescent and energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs.
While some LED products may simply resemble any other light bulb or fluorescent tube, switching to LED lighting can be quite difficult due to the wide range of products, new terminology created by the lighting industry, and the fact that LEDs use a different technology than what we have been accustomed to for decades.
What motivates the switch to LED?
They are not only far more energy-efficient than alternatives like incandescent and CFLs, allowing for huge energy savings, but they also have a much longer lifespan, don’t contain mercury like CFLs, and offer a lot more options for brightness and light look (warm vs. cool).
Every new building or remodeling project in California must adhere to the 2013 California Energy Efficiency Standard, generally known as Title 24. The rigorous energy consumption standards mentioned in this standard can be met or even exceeded with LED goods.
Terminology
When purchasing conventional incandescent light bulbs, all that was necessary to consider was the bulb’s form, wattage, which represented how brilliant the bulb was, and screw base size, which ensured that the bulb would fit into the lamp.
With CFLs, consumers now have a choice of light appearances that are typically referred to as soft white, brilliant white, and daylight. Bright white and daylight are crisper and cooler with a blueish hue, whereas soft white has a warm tone similar to an incandescent lamp.
Three ideas are crucial to comprehend when using LEDs.
- Brightness
- Luminosity
Brightness:
First of all, we need to dispel the myth that wattage equates to brightness. Since LED goods use significantly less power (Watts) than incandescent bulbs do, it is difficult to compare the brightness of an incandescent and an LED bulb based on wattage. Wattage and brightness for incandescent bulbs did, however, have a direct correlation.
Lumens are the only consideration when evaluating an LED light’s brightness. The lumen, a unit of brightness measurement, indicates how much light a specific lighting item emits.
For comparison, a normal 60 W incandescent bulb produces about 800 lumens.
Luminous Appearance:
In kelvin, the color appearance of light is quantified as the associated color temperature (CCT) (K). We must look for the kelvin number to determine whether a lighting fixture or bulb produces a warmer or crisper, cooler light. The light will appear warmer the lower the number, and cooler and more blue the higher the number. The color temperature of a common incandescent bulb ranges from 2700K to 3000K.
People frequently criticize CFL bulbs for having a colder, more clinical appearance than incandescent lamps. The problem here is that they opted for a chilly, high-kelvin color temperature rather than a warmer one.
How to select high-quality goods
Although there are numerous LED products available, not all of them are made the same way. Look for the UL or ETL designation on the product or packaging to confirm that it has been tested by an impartial laboratory and is safe for use.
The guarantee should last at least 3-5 years because LED devices typically have a lengthy lifespan. Despite the lengthy period, save your receipts as proof of purchase in case the item fails before its expected lifespan.