10 things you need know before buy LED light bulbs for home

1. Lamp bases(sockets)

   After you knowing the size of LED bulb (LED Bulb Shapes & Sizes), you also need learn what is the led lamp base: There has many different types of led lamp bases:
   led bulbs: main sockets are: E27, E17, B22, E40
   led spot lamp: main sockets are: GU10,GU5.3
   led candle light: E12, E14
   led tube light: G13, main tube sizes are T5,T8, and T10You can refer below lamp bases. (Or you can take a picture of the lamp needed replacement by led bulbs, then, we will know which lamp base you have)
   
   Sometimes, people can’t find the suitable led bulb socket for the existing light, then, the convert of led bulb socket will be helpful, please see below picture: GU10 to E27, means the E27 led bulb can be installed in GU10 socket. In fact, we don’t recommend you use the socket convertor otherwise you can’t find the right socket as your original lamps.

2. Equivalent wattage

   While lumens are the new standard, it helps to have an easily recognizable guide. Comparing an LED bulb to an incandescent will give you a rough estimate of just how well it will light a room. As a very ballpark figure for LED wattages, 1/5 or 1/6 the incandescent wattage value is usually close to what you need.
   Please refer our post for more detail information (5 Things of LED Bulb You Must Know)

   

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3. Working voltage

   Because of their design, LEDs do not typically run on AC voltage. Many LEDs require some form of LED driver to convert the voltage from AC to DC for proper operation. The majority of socket-based LED lamps are self-driven, but you should always check before buying to make sure that you buy both an LED and a driver at the same time if it isn’t self-driven.

   The power efficiency of a good LED driver should be more than 85%. The higher power efficiency is, the less power consumer will be.
   There are several benefits to use high-efficiency LED drivers. The first thing is saving more energy, low the cost, (according to above calculation method for the power of led driver). In some applications, the cost saving can be more significant if taken into account the losses in the utility line and the reduced energy consumption of the air conditioning system (if the lamp is used indoor Energy savings in high efficiency drivers can be quite significant over the life of the driver. (Read more please click LED Driver: The Definitive Guide)

4. Lumens

   Lumens directly measure just how much light the bulb gives out in total. On average, a 60-watt incandescent shines at 800 lumens, with roughly 50-100 lumens of difference above or below. The variance depends on manufacturer and age of the lamp. LEDs are directly rated for their max lumen rating and last much longer without dimming of the bulb.

   High lux vs high lumens

   Two bulbs, one displaying a “high lux,” the other emitting high total lumens that are being dispersed fully in the reflector.
   Most older LEDs have high lux in one direction, as the light is focused, but they don’t “fill up” the housing. I’m sure we’ve all seen poorly-designed LED bulbs on the road, where you can see high lux, but low total lumens. Remember, just because a bulb “looks bright” does not mean it will perform better.

   Sometimes high lux is good: you might see us refer to an LED bulb with an integrated focusing lens as “high-lux,” which might be great for backup light applications, where you just want light directed behind your vehicle. However, for most replacement lights, they should evenly distribute the light, just like the factory incandescent. That way, the light housing can do its job and distribute the total light in the way it is designed. High lux is not always beneficial, but it’s always best to have as many lumens as possible!

   Since our LED light products are designed to replace bulbs in a variety of manufacturer housings, we only provide lumen measurements for our products, to give our customers the best idea of the total light output. We have a scientific integrating sphere to provide accurate measurements to our customers.

    

5. Color temperature (Lighting color)

   Color temperature definition: Colour temperature is a measure of a light’s colour. It is measured in degrees of Kelvin (K) on a scale from 1,000 to 10,000. Typically, commercial and residential lighting application Kelvin temperatures fall somewhere on a scale from 2400K to 7000K.

   Soft White vs Daylight vs Cool White:

   Let’s quickly look at how some people call the light color for different color temperature: Soft White (2700K – 3000K), Bright White/Cool White (3500K – 4100K), and Daylight (5000K – 6500K). However, this classification is not very accurate.
   Soft white: In general, the color temperature under 4000 kelvin can be called Soft White/Warm white, 2700-3500K is the most common kelvin, which can be used when people need comfort, ease and warm surroundings. It is widely used for living rooms, bedrooms, lobby and hallways.

   Daylight: Daylight color temperature is in the range of 5000K to 5700K, when it is a sunny day, the daylight at noon is 5600K, but sunlight color temperature can be very different based on time of day and weather conditions. To give the perception of daylight (bluish white light), use light sources with a color temperature of 5000K or higher.

   Cool white: color temperature begin with 6000K can be named cool white, the higher color temperature is, the more blue light color will be.
   Daylight and cool white led light (4500K – 7000K) for outdoor and task lighting, office building, bathrooms, school and public area which need bright light. The higher the Degrees Kelvin, the whiter the color temperature.

   The color temperature under 4000K can be used for some places need warm surroundings(I call it relaxing area), and the color temperature 5000K – 5500K can be used for work or study area, the color temperature above 6000K can be used for the area where needs the brightest light.

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6. Color Rendering Index

   Color Rendering Index is an important value of led light bulbs, CRI (color rendering index) is a measure of how accurately a light source illuminates objects’ true colors. In other words, it is the light source illuminating an object that determines how well humans see color. The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a scale from 0 to 100 percent indicating how accurate a “given” light source is at rendering color when compared to a “reference” light source.It always good to have a high color rendering index, the higher RA value is, the more real color you will see, it means, the higher the CRI, the better the color rendering ability. Light sources with a CRI of 85 to 90 are considered good at color rendering. Light sources with a CRI of 90 or higher are excellent at color rendering and should be used for tasks requiring the most accurate color discrimination.

   As for some places such as: mirror lighting (for make-up purpose), walking closet and oil-painting room need higher RA value, at least higher than 90.

7. Dimmable function

   LEDs vary widely in their brightness potential, and can be “dimmed” by running at a lower current. (Note: the reason some commercial LED bulbs cannot be dimmed is because of the power controller in the bulb, not the LEDs themselves. All LEDs can be dimmed with the right power supply.)

   Not all LED bulbs are dimmable, only lamps that have been specifically designed by the manufacturer as dimmable may be dimmed. Attempting to dim a non-dimmable LED bulb or using an incompatible dimming method will result in undesirable behavior or complete lamp failure. Dimmable lamps may only be compatible with certain dimming techniques, the most popular dimmable solutions for LED bulb light are: Leading edge and Trailing edge dimmable techniques, but there are many other methods that can be used such as DALI, 1-10, DMX and PWM, if compatible to the LED lamp type.

   Let us summary this:
   Dimmable Solutions:
   Leading edge and Trailing edge
   0/1-10 volt
   DALI
   DMX
   PWM

   As for LED bulbs, the most common type of dimming functions are: 0/1-10v dimming and triac dimmable (Leading edge and Trailing edge).
   The customers should firstly identify if the dimmer is compatible with LED lights, if yes, then find out which type of the dimming control, triac dimmable or 0-10v or another type. If you really don’t know the compatibility of the dimmer, you can read the instruction of the dimmer, or contact the supplier of dimmers. You can also contact us for help by offering the dimmer brand, model name etc. Our dimmable LED bulbs have been tested by major dimmers, which work very well with our light.
   Bottom line: please tell the supplier which dimming function of led bulb do you need or simply which dimmer do you have at the moment.

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8. Lifespan of LED Light Bulbs

   It is easy to find the lifespan on the sticker label or gift box, in general, the lifespan of led bulb is 25,000 hours, or some manufacturers claim the lifespan is 50,000 hours.

   There has some factors will affect the lifespan of led light bulbs: LED quality, LED driver, and light body (housing shell, light diffusor).

   1) LED has the lifespan of 50,000 hours to 100,000 hours. A good quality LED should maintain the initial lumen as long as possible. The less light decay the better LED light will be. (light decay will become lower and lower as the growing of LED technology)
   2) LED driver: electrolytic capacitor is one of the significant factors, the lifespan of electrolytic capacitor are affected by the ambient temperature. At normal temperature, the lower the ambient temperature, the longer the electrolytic capacitor life. The qualify electrolytic capacitor is the key factor for long life use of LED driver.
   3) Light body/housing shell/light diffusor: a scientific light body will be helpful for thermal management. As you can see above, a good performance of thermal management of led light will be better for long life use of LED and LED driver.

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9. Light Angle (Beam Angle)

   There has narrow and wide light angles depending on the different lighting purpose. The narrow beam angles such as LED spot light, LED downlight usually have 15° to 60°. The wide light angles such as LED bulb, LED panel light, tube light, high bay and low bay light have 90° to 200°, or even 360° (led corn light). It is hard to say the wider light angle the better light is, it is depending on the application purpose.

   It is important to know light for which place or which thing before you buy led light bulb.

10. Warranty

    Kindly note, a manufacturers’ statement of ‘Average Rated Life Hours’ does not imply a warranty time.
    For example, LED bulb can light for 25,000 hours doesn’t mean the manufacturer give the warranty for 25,000 hours.

    What If I Have A Defective Product?

    We will replace all defective products for a period of 2 years. Gorgeous Lighting will also cover the return shipping for such defects if necessary. We will analyze the defective product and solve the potential problems timely.

    What If My Product Was Damaged During Shipment?

    On occasion a product will get damaged in transit, much to our regret. Should you be an unlucky recipient of a damaged product, please take pictures for the broken products, and send to us, we will get to work immediately on getting a replacement to you.

    For other manufacturers, we recommend you sign the agreement on the warranty and after-sale service, which is very necessary and important for protecting the customers and reduce the loss, and it will also a guide for the customers to solve the potential problems in near future.

    LED light bulbs for home are not only safe, more energy efficient (saving your electric bill), but also will help to create the home feeling environment.