LEDs and incandescent bulbs have the same utility but LEDs are more durable and alkaline. That makes this new type of lighting technology more and more popular.
According to Digital trends, LEDs (meaning light emitting diode) are gradually replacing traditional bulbs in the market.
Due to the technology completely different lighting from the traditional bulb before so many users still do not know the utility and use of LED. Here are some basic information about LEDs that users need to know to make smart choices for their homes.
1. Brightness
Generally, users who buy a light bulb spend more on wattage indexes. The wattage will help users know the power consumption for 1 hour.
Example: A 60W bulb consumes 60 watts of electricity per hour
There is an important indicator that users need to know to select the right light for each area of the house. That is the light index unit of calculation is the lumen. The higher the lumen, the brighter the bulb. However, because the index is still not common enough to say that if a light bulb is 850 lumens or another is 1,100 lumens it is still difficult to imagine. That is why manufacturers have to add information “equivalent” to this traditional light bulb.
This is the equivalent “conversion table” between the wattage of the traditional bulb and the luminaire index of the Energy Star standard LED bulb:
2. Color
LED manufacturers use a 2.700 – 6.500 Kelvin temperature scale to inform customers that the bulb has a warm, slightly yellowish glow (low in the state of gravity), or brightness and White (high index in the scale).
LEDs with a high Kelvin index are comparable to daylight, enough for reading, while this low can be appropriate for many parts of the home that are just light, yellowish.
Also related to the color of the LED, the user also needs to consider the color-rendering index (CRI) which reflects the fidelity of the illuminated object. The higher the CRI value, the better the quality of the lamp.
The CRI is in the range of 0-100, where CRI = 100 is the standard of daylight, showing the best color of the object. In practice, however, this indicator is not always on the packaging or LED products.
One feature only in LEDs that traditional light bulbs do not have is the ability to change colors. Accordingly, the Philips LED products, Misfit, and Lifx can range from green to blue, violet and vice versa.
3. Ability to save LEDs
It is clear that the price of the LED is higher than the price of traditional incandescent lamps. But if you compare the durability and power consumption, the LEDs are far superior.
For example, an 800-lumen Cree LED bulb, equivalent to a 60-watt $ 8 bulb, costs 9.5 watts per hour and costs about $ 1.14 per year if you turn it on for 3 hours every day. And pay 11 cents / kwh. Meanwhile, a traditional 60 watt bulb consumes 60 watts of electricity per hour of lighting, so you can calculate your electricity bill in this case.
LEDs save on electricity costs
Some LED light makers produce smart products, so you can plan ahead so that they light up in the dark.
Some types of bulbs operate via Bluetooth connectivity, others may require a connection center. There are also manufacturers of color-changing light bulbs that do not need a connection center and can use wifi.
