Baffled by Bulbs? LED Lighting Know How

The light-emitting diode (LED) is currently one of the most rapidly developing and energy-efficient lighting technologies.

It seems that it is time to be making the change to LED lighting. We are told many fascinating and useful facts about these bulbs to persuade us to update:

They are six to seven times more energy efficient than conventional bulbs and can cut energy use by more than 80 percent.

• They last 25 times longer than traditional bulbs delivering a life of 25,000 hours or more.
• LEDs use energy more efficiently, unlike traditional bulbs that release 90 percent of their energy as heat.
• Now that mercury has been removed from the bulbs they have a much smaller impact on the environment than traditional bulbs.
• The technology is expected to steadily improve to surpass all other forms of lighting.
• The cost of an LED bulb has reduced by 40 per cent since 2011 making them a more affordable option for the home.

There are many items around the house that use LED bulbs already, or ways LED lighting ideas can be brought in. Such as Christmas lights, under cupboard kitchen lighting, LED bathroom mirrors, clocks and so on.  So why then are will still resisting the change when it comes to buying individual bulbs?

Firstly, I don’t think that we understand how these bulbs are different to the traditional incandescent ones that we are familiar with.

 

How LEDs are different?

LEDs are the size of a speck of pepper.  The white light is made by mixing red, green and blue LEDs.

The light is emitted in a specific direction eliminating the need for reflectors and diffusers to trap light and direct it.  This enables light fittings to be more compact. LEDs emit very little heat, so are not hot to the touch like a traditional bulb when it has been lit for some time.

Secondly, I feel that we haven’t been sufficiently educated in what it is we should buy.  We need to understand the conversion, like holidaying abroad it takes a while to familiarize ourselves with the currency conversion.

What Watts?

Watts are no good when purchasing LED bulbs; their brightness is determined in lumens.  There is no correlation between watts and lumens, so no quick sum to work out a conversion.

It is the lumen (lm) that you should be looking for when buying bulbs.  This is the real measurement of the brightness of a bulb.

 

LUMENS	TRADITIONAL BULB	LED
2600 lm	150 W	25-28 W
1600 lm	100 W	16-20 W
1100 lm	75 W	9-13 W
800 lm	60 W	8-12 W
450 lm	40 W	6-9 W

 

It is strange how we resist the change when buying the individual bulbs that perhaps we do not completely understand.

However, when we buy products that include bulbs, an LED Bathroom Mirror for example, we are not fazed at all.

Hopefully this article has given some insight into the world of LED and has prepped you for you next bulb shopping experience.