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3 or 5 watt led for bathroom?
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Hi everyone. As some know I own an LED Retail website and have worked in the industry for over 12 years. I was asked by a Green Tech blog to write the below to help their readers find the right LED Bulbs. Obviously i've taken all mention of my company and my name off so it's completely unbranded. I hope it offers some help.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF LED LIGHTING
In an age where eco-friendly is no longer just a buzz-word, and traditional incandescent bulbs have been consigned to the scrap heap, the benefits of LED lighting are well-known.
Energy-saving LED bulbs offer:
Up to 85% energy savings compared with traditional lamps
Incredibly long lifespans and almost zero maintenance
Dramatically reduced C0² Emissions
Better Quality of Light and full illumination as soon as they’re switched on.
Now, while all these benefits of LED lighting are real, you need to understand that, as with any product, you need to buy quality. To get the best out of your LED lighting solutions, you need to choose a good quality product that has the capacity to deliver. As a leader in the LED lighting sector, we’re fielding more and more phone calls and e-mails from disgruntled people who have bought LEDs that have completely failed to live up to the promises on the box. Sometimes it’s the lifespan, sometimes it’s the performance; usually, though, it’s both.
So what makes a quality LED product? Well, for the purpose of this article, I’m going to focus on the most popular lighting product for residential properties, and the one with which energy and money savings are the easiest to achieve: the GU10 and MR16 LED spotlight.
Now, for the most part, I’m actually going to steer away from making claims about lifespan and performance. That might seem a little odd at first, but there’s a good reason for it: if manufacturers get the four things listed below right, performance and lifespan will take care of themselves.
THE FOUR THINGS THAT MAKE A QUALITY LED PRODUCT…
Heat Dissipation
The No.1 enemy of any LED is heat. If an LED can’t dissipate heat properly, the critical components that keep the LED working properly, such as the led chip and driver, will fail very quickly. A staggering 90% of the LED Spotlights that we’ve tested have a sub-standard thermal conductivity system.
There are a number of reasons that many manufacturers fail to design and include a suitable heat dissipation system in their LED products:
It’s a very highly skilled job
It’s also an incredibly time consuming exercise.
The best materials are expensive and in short supply.
One of the best materials for dissipating heat is aluminium/aluminium alloy; it’s used on Formula One cars to cool their brakes, and on space shuttle fuel tanks, which should give you some idea of just how good a product we’re talking about here! Although, aluminium is not particularly expensive, design and manufacture of an effective radiator to dissipate heat is; what you’ll find is that some manufacturers will compromise on materials and design.
The way that aluminium is used in an LED spotlight makes all the difference when it comes to heat dissipation. The very best LED spotlights will use fine aluminium alloy fins to create a much larger area of metal in contact with circulating cool air.
Strangely certain ceramics are also a good material for heat dissipation, your computer processor integrated circuits are encapsulated in ceramic. It’s not much less effective, cheaper and easy to mould, so it’s a good alternative for LED manufacturers who are trying to keep their product costs down. With excellent long-term stability, strength, secure thermal management and high reliability, it’s a good choice for customers as well.
Chip Set
Next on our list, is the chip set. This is the part of an LED spotlight that converts incoming electricity into light energy. There are literally hundreds of LED chip manufacturers in the world, many who offer very cheap and low quality products.
Some reputable names to look out for are Cree, which is recognised as being the finest chip manufacturer in the industry, as well as other high quality manufacturers like Luxeon, Bridgelux, and Epistar.
As you’d expect, chips made by these companies are very expensive and tend to be in short supply, which puts them beyond the reach of most LED lamp manufacturers. But, it’s worth shopping around if you can: a top quality LED chip delivers a low operating temperature and a high illumination rate.
Power Driver
An LED driver is the electrical device that regulates power to an LED. What makes a driver different from conventional power supplies is that it responds to the ever-changing needs of the LED by supplying a constant amount of power to the LED as its electrical properties change with temperature.
Again, a good quality LED driver will enables the operating temperature of the LED to remain as low and as stable as possible, helping to reduce the amount of wear and tear on the unit.
Testing and Safety Certificates
An absolutely crucial part of creating a quality LED product is a thorough – and certified – testing process.
The most recognisable certificates for electrical products in the UK are the CE marking and the RoHS – or Restriction of Hazardous Substances –directive, These certifications act as an assurance that the products have been manufactured and tested in line with European safety standards and that they are free from a number of hazardous substances; this is a legal requirement in the UK.
OTHER THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR WHEN SHOPPING FOR LED LIGHTING SOLUTIONS…
Performance – Make sure any company you buy from has a trial period, usually 14-30 days. That way, if the product isn’t to your liking, you can send it back and claim a full refund. This safeguards you from any exaggerated performance figures on the box.
Lifespan – The simple answer to checking the lifespan of your new LED product is to look at the length of the warranty; it’s a quick and easy way to tell how confident a company really is that their product will match up to its claimed lifespan. My advice would be to look for a warranty of at least three years.
Energy Saving – A very simple energy monitor will be able to tell you how much power any spotlight uses. Simply compare the readings from a 50w Halogen to those for the LED you have bought, and you can easily work out the difference in energy consumption. Again, a trial period offered by a retailer gives you time to check this and get a refund if you’re not happy.
My final bit of advice for anyone looking to invest in LED lighting solutions is to buy from a specialist LED retailer. If you have any questions, simply pick up the phone or e-mail them. Any supplier worth their salt will be happy to chat to you about your concerns, and you’ll be able to get an idea whether they are a reputable company that knows what they’re talking about. If you’re not 100% confident in them, don’t buy from them.
WHAT DO I NEED TO LOOK FOR IN AN LED TO REPLACE A 50W HALOGEN?
I’ll start off by busting the myth that you simply need to match lumens for lumens. A 50w halogen bulb will have roughly 550 lumens. But, if you were to go out and buy an LED spotlight with 550 Lumens, you wouldn’t necessarily be getting a like-for-like replacement. Why? Well, because there are two other very important factors to consider when buying an LED spotlight to replace a 50w halogen.
Beam Angle
First of all, you need to consider your beam angle. All Halogen spotlights will have a beam angle of around 36-38 degrees. But, this is actually very misleading as most halogen spotlights contain something called a multifaceted reflector, which controls the direction and spread of the light cast from the lamp. The reflector will actually spread light far wider than the stated beam angle would have you believe.
An LED doesn’t contain a multifaceted reflector, so the beam angle will be the same as the one that’s stated on the box. What this means is that, in order to match the light spread from the halogen, you actually need to go for a beam that’s far wider 36-38 degrees.
LEDs come in a huge range of beam angles, from 25 to 135 degrees, so knowing which one is right for you can be tricky. The size of the room in which you’re planning on using the LED is an important factor, as is the height of the ceiling. If you have a high ceiling, you’ll need a narrower beam angle; for a low ceiling, you’ll need to go the other way. Any reputable LED lighting specialist will be able to advise you on this; I’ve used 60 degrees and 135 degrees in my kitchen with great success.
Colour Temperature
The colour temperature of a 50w halogen is 2900k – the lower the number, the warmer the light will be. For me – as for many people – the light from halogens has always been too warm and too yellow. I prefer a slightly whiter light with a warm feel, so I go for a colour temperature of 3200k
Lumens
Just to sum up on the subject of lumens, I’ll say it again: you don’t necessarily need to match the 550 lumens of a 50w halogen to achieve a similar brightness with an LED. An LED will produce a better quality of light and if, like me, you prefer to use a warm-neutral colour temperature of 3200k, there are LED Spotlights with 400 lumens that will provide a very similar result to a 50w Halogen.
There are not many quality LED Spotlights that can match the halogen lumen for lumen, but there are some that have a lumen output of 550 or more.
So, as rule of thumb, to replace a 50w halogen with an LED Spot you need;
Beam Angle - 60 – 135 Degrees (depending on room size)
Lumens - 400 – 550
Colour Temp - 3000k – 3200k
Warranty - At least 3 years
AVOID THE LED MINEFIELD!
Buying LED lights shouldn’t be a minefield in this day and age; sadly, though, there are still companies out there that are looking to make quick money off the back of poor quality products, leaving customers dubious about the environmental benefits of LED lights, and out of pocket.
With a good quality LED lighting solution, you can get all the benefits you’re always hearing about. By following the tips in this article, you should be better prepared to hit the markets and find an LED light that suits your needs.
Just a little bit of information can save you an awful lot of trouble, so next time you’re shopping for LED lights, take the time to really think about what you need. Talk to reputable suppliers and manufacturers and remember: if you’re not sure, either shop elsewhere or keep hold of that receipt!0 -
Coveredinbees!!!! wrote: »Is it actually worth scrapping the old bulbs or wait until the bulbs pop and hopefully the LEDs get a bit less expensive. They have been in for a few years so probably had half their life
LED prices have been coming down in the past few years as demand increases. However, everyone expects LED's to fall in price considerably in the next few years and i just don't see it.
Some LED products are already dirt cheap because they not influenced by the prices of quality raw materials such as LED Chips, and Aluminium. They also don't pay a fair wage to their workers and very little design and testing goes into their products.
For quality products, the cost of raw materials is rising and the cost of labour is rising which is at the moment offsetting the increase in demand. Certainly Labour costs in Asia will continue to rise and i can't see a reduction in the costs of raw materials for a while to come.
Two LED manufacturers that i know very well are struggling to keep prices where they are currently.0 -
Do CREE make any fixed lighting, I know their torches are quality but I believe they are more design based then final product0
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sabretoothtigger wrote: »Do CREE make any fixed lighting, I know their torches are quality but I believe they are more design based then final product
Cree themselves do make lighting products but they tend to be for commercial solutions. You can see their products here - http://www.cree.com/lighting/products
Pretty much all the best LED manufacturers in the world use Cree supplied chips in their products, in particular LED Spotlights. They are the best LED Chips money can buy. They outperform all other rivals in terms of performance and lifespan. Cree also carefully control the supply of these chips to keep demand high.
All this means that LED Lighting products containing Cree chips will be expensive but IMO they are worth it and still offer incredible value.0 -
Forgot to add that as per my post 12 - it's not only a Cree chip thats needed to create a quality LED product. Cree has become so well know that any product that contains a Cree chip or says it contains a Cree chip is treated as a quality product, when the truth is you need the all the aspects i talked about in post 12.0
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