If you are replacing lights you generally have an idea what you’ve got, what colour you want and how bright it needs to be, but how do you find the products and compare them for suitability?
There are numerous different types of lighting available and many attributes that can affect the output of a particular luminaire.
The Lighting Matters Buying Guide will help you understand the metrics involved in lighting and how new LED lighting technology can help you.
Understanding the technologies
There are 4 main types of lighting used in domestic applications each are manufactured a different way and produce light through a different technology.
Incandescent
Almost the oldest forms of lighting, incandescent, is one of the most inefficient forms of lighting and is now banned in Australia.
The warm light source is delivered by heating a metal filament to an extremely high temperature in which provides a usable byproduct.... light.
Typically the life span of an incandescent light is quite short (<1000 hours) and in use can be dangerous to use due to high heat explosions and fire risks.
Providing a high colour rendering ability but minimal luminous efficacy they are now widely replaced by LED, CFL and halogen light sources.
Fluorescent
Fluorescent lamps and more commonly Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) are a relatively efficient way of creating light.
Heating mercury-based gas in the lamps glass spiral tube produces an ultraviolet (UV) light which is then passed through a white coating that changes it to visible light.
CFLs were the answer for efficient lighting before LED technology became available and due to this, the technology has been adapted to replace incandescent and halogen lighting.
The lifespan of fluorescent lighting is typically higher than incandescent and halogen lighting (<10000 hours) but unfortunately CFLs have their own inherent problems.
Due to the mercury content in fluorescent lights disposal of the lamps can contribute to air and water pollution which means special recycling facilities are required to safely end the products life. In the manufacturing stage, employees can be frequently exposed to the poisonous element causing more concern about the health and safety of these people. Use in the home also has an element of risk, although a small amount (1-5mg) of mercury is present in a lamp, the nature of releasing mercury vapor in the home is concerning.
Electrical components in poor quality lamps can overheat and may pose a fire hazard, and particularly if the glass tube is broken or cracked the risk of fire and explosions are dramatically increased.
Halogen
Very similar to the incandescent light, halogens work by heating a tungsten filament surrounded by an inert gas mixed the element halogen to an extremely high temperature. In turn this produces heat and a byproduct.... light.
Typically halogen MR16 and GU10 downlights are used in most new homes in Australia.
The MR16 version is generally a 12V lamp which requires a transformer to convert the 110/240 volt AC mains power to 12 volts. Unfortunately this also consumes more power and therefore increasing inefficiency.
They pose a huge fire and explosion risk and have known to burn down houses, especially when installed too close to roof insulation.
LED (Light emitting diode)
Light emitting diodes are a solid state electronic component typically used in VCR and DVD players, clock radios and similar appliances.
Recent development in the LED industry has significantly improved the quality, functionality and abilities of new LED chips. Due to this we have seen an incredible growth in LED diversity which has allowed domestic and commercial LED lighting to become viable as a solution to the worlds existing inefficient forms of lighting with added benefits to become even more environmentally friendly as the world switches to a sustainable future.
Offering a wide range of colours, light outputs, fixtures and features the need for LED technology is present and development of new products is increasing.
Lighting Matters is on the forefront of new technology in Australia, also offering a wide range of LED products suitable for many domestic and commercial applications.
Other forms of lighting...
There are other forms of lighting available other than the above including neon, argon, plasma, oil, carbon, carbide, metal halide, sodium vapor and xenon. These all suit particular applications and generally a LED equivalent is available. If there is anything in particular you are looking to replace that you can’t find on the webstore please feel free to contact us for consultancy.
|
|
Incandescent |
Halogen |
CFL |
LED |
|
Power Consumption |
60W |
50W |
11W |
10W |
|
Lumens |
770lm |
750lm |
340lm |
720lm |
|
Efficacy |
>~13lm/w |
>~15m/w |
>~65+lm/w |
>~80+lm/w |
|
Surface Temperature |
180°C |
220°C |
90°C |
65°C |
|
Fire Risk |
High |
High |
Medium |
Low |
|
Warranty |
N/A |
N/A |
>2 years |
>5 years |
|
Lifespan |
>1,000 hours |
>2,000 hours |
>10,000 hours |
>70,000 hours |
|
Colour | Warm | Warm | Warm or Cool | ALL |
Initial Purchase |
Low |
Low |
Medium |
High |
|
Dimmable |
Yes |
Yes |
Some |
Some |
|
Hazardous Material |
Low |
Low |
High |
None |
|
CRI |
100 |
95 |
50 |
>90 |
|
Sustainability |
Low |
Low |
Low |
High |
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What base do I have?
If you are at all unsure about what voltage or base you need, refer to the image below, all bases listed have LED equivalents on the LM web-store.
What are the characteristics of light?
Lumen
The brightness, or total luminous output of a light is usually expressed in lumens (lm). One lumen is as bright as 1 candle.
For example, the total luminous output of a 10W LED globe is 560 lm which is equivalent to 560 candles lit.
This figure, referenced with other luminaire characteristics can help you determine whether the lamp will sufficiently illuminate a particular area.
However, just because a lamps total lumen output may be high, it really depends on the sort of lighting you require as to how effective the output is.
Lux
Lux (lx) is a measurement of illuminance and luminous emittance, where one lux is equal to one lumen per square meter.
There are relevant Australian standards (eg. AS1680.2.2) for required lux levels in particular areas. For example, in an office environment the lux levels on a desk must be high enough to allow employees to work effectively without strain, whilst a hallway or corridor may need half the amount of lux measured on the floor.
The distance of the light from the surface requiring illumination, the lumen output and beam angle all affect the lux levels in particular areas.
Beam Angle
The beam angle is the spread of light being emitted from the luminaire. Usually the beam angle is expressed in degrees (º) and determined by measuring where there is a 50% reduction in lux level compared to the beams intensity at it’s central point.
The beam angle used in conjunction with brightness can help you determine whether enough light will be received at a particular surface.
For example, if a LED lamp had a 120º beam with 500 lm output it would have quite a consistent lux level across the beam, but if you chose a 60 degree beam the lux level would be more intense but not as spread.
Due to this, higher ceilings generally require a narrower beam angle. This should be considered if you are planning to build or renovate and new light fittings are required.
Colour
The colour of a particular lamp is usually expressed as a temperature and measured in kelvin.
Typically on a standard white scale the colour ranges from 2500K which is a warm yellowish to 7000K which is a cool blue coloured white. Typically incandescent and halogen lamps output a warm colour ranging from 2500K to 3500K and fluorescent tubes and lamps output a cool white colour around the 4500K to 6000K. Light emitting diodes (LED) have the ability to replicate these colours depending on the chipset you use.
The colour spectrum can extend out to a number of different visible colours including red, green, blue and so on.
Light Quality - Colour Rendering Index
The colour rendering index is an important measure that often gets overlooked when selecting a particular luminaire. The index refers to the quality of light being output. In simple terms, it is the luminaries ability to reproduce natural colours of a particular object.
A low CRI (<70) typically found in fluorescent and metal halide type lighting is considered to have a poor ability to reproduce colours, in which objects appear to have a unnatural contrast.
A good CRI (80>) typically found in quality LEDs, halogen and incandescent lighting means the colour of your green apple in sunlight has a similar green colour under the reproduced light.
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