When deciding on purchasing new LED's I'm sure that their are a few questions you may have and some important things to look out for? Well, we decided to help you out and point out a few as not all LED's are the same, infact far from it! Some re-sellers, distributors and retailers are pulling the wool over consumers eyes and are involved in unethical sales tactics that result in you getting the wrong information and the used car salesman speech over and over again. Fortunately there are some good operators out there that tick the boxes on the right side of the fence!
Wattage: Firstly most people assume that the higher the Wattage (Power consumed) by an LED light, the brighter it is, sounds like it makes sense though right?...Wrong! LED's come in a huge variety of shapes and forms but here are some simple tips to help you get a product that is half decent and avoid the guessing games!
AVOIDING THE...
www.click4design.co.uk is scam.
Is it compliant? It's got the CE Mark hasn't it? The truth is this doesn't mean diddly squat in Australia with our crazy policies so you have to look beyond that and check for the RCM Label printed on the base of the light bulb (its a small triangle with a tick in the box). This means it has been approved for use in Australia and a copy of an SAA Approval (Standards Australia) certificate is filed somewhere in the Government system and your wholesaler or supplier should easily be able to give you a copy if you have concerns.
People also think that if it has a C-tick on it then that's ok also! Incorrect as of March this year (2013) the Government changed the rules and made it tighter for people to import the rubbish you find on ebay etc. Ask the supplier for the SAA approval number, this should determine whether the manufacturer / importer is credible. If the LED is any good then they will have paid for this as its worth selling, makes sense?
Engineering files: Ask for photometric reports, ies files etc. These are engineering reports that give indication to the efficiency of the product and just how well it performs. Too many manufactures print 850-1200 lumens on there packaging when a test report clearly shows half this! It seems they like to print the LED chip operating lumens to deceive the unsuspecting public when the truth is that once the chip is in a working unit (behind a lens or reflector) then the light output will pretty much half!
Benchmark: They all say this 8w or 10w fitting replaces a 50w halogen lamp easy! The benchmark is around 850 lumens from a traditional halogen light source so if your LED isn't up at these figures then it isn't a 50w replacement!
Warranty: Try to stay away from people selling you these things on the power savings alone! Think longer term than this and ask for something with a substantial warranty period. Try avoid the usual 12-24 month tactic and ask the supplier to give you something in writing to avoid comebacks down the line.
Colour temperature: is everything! When deciding what colour temperature or Kelvin as it's commonly known as in the industry, you need to be careful you get it right. If you are lighting up a home i would suggest 3000K which is warm white (Yellow) warm colours are great for an ambient relaxed environment. 4000K is Cool white which is better suited to offices and retail spaces etc. 5000K or above starts to look a little clinical and the higher the Kelvin generally the colder (Bluer) the light will look.
Example of 3000K Warm White Output
Colour Rendition: (CRI Ra) This is the ability of the light source to reproduce the colours you would associate when viewing a product or item under natural light. The higher the CRI Ra or colour rendition the better the quality of the image you are highlighting. This is particularly important when looking a foods such as meat!
Power Factor: Imagine buying a beer in a bar, you pay for the entire drink but get that annoying 1-2cm of froth on the top, familiar? Well it's the same with the energy that we purchase from the big power companies, they charge us for the full 100% but we are only actually using around 85%. A high power factor LED Ddriver (control gear, transformer) etc will help with this. The higher the PF the more efficient your LED will become!
More to follow or check out the latest at www.primaluce.com.au
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