LED Lamps



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LED lamps

Now beginning to develop into a usable alternative to halogen lamps and they come on immediately, are the same size as standard lamps and offer extremely long life

In the past LED lamps have only offered meagre levels of light output and had to be used selectively. Do not judge the quality of an LED lamps simply by the number of LED’s it has – it’s a bit like choosing a hi-fi by the number of buttons it has!

Can I simply swap Halogen lamps for LED? - Yes AND No!

The simple answer is yes - they will fit and work, however there are some really fundamental differences in the light they produce. An LED will produce a more concentrated beam which will travel a long way whilst a Halogen will usually produce a more widespread and uniform beam. If you choose and LED with a narrow bean then place it above a table you will see a bright circular area with an obvious edge - this makes them perfect for focussed lighting but not so good for general lighting. If the lamps are for general lighting then you need to look for a wide beam - you really do need to consider how you want your lighting to work.

Whilst the output of LED lamps is definitely improving, you need to be aware that the higher light outputs are on the lamps with higher colour temperatures – once the colour temperature comes down towards a warmer white, the light output is reduced but if you are looking for bright, modern lighting then LED could be the way forward.

As they are available in colours they can be used to add atmosphere to rooms - why not try a colour changing LED

Advantages
Extremely long life
Low Power consumption
Small Size
Come on immediately

Disadvantages
Relatively expensive
No great choice of colour temperatures
Not dimmable
Not yet as bright as halogen lamps
Low Voltage versions need special transformers.

Suggested applications
Highlighting features
Background lighting
Adding colour and atmosphere
Permanently on lighting



				Colour Temperature

	The colour of the light. This generally ranges from 2700k which is a warm white and generally suitable for domestic lights, though to 6500k which is a blue/white light and is more suitable for shops and offices. There photos are taken using 33w Warm White (3200k) LED lamps on the left and 33w Cool White (5000k) on the right.



				Beam Angle

	LEDs tend to have narrower beams than other lamps - we’re not quite sure why but as you can see from the images it does make a difference - one is clearly great for highlighting whilst the other is better for general lighting. A narrow beam is approx 20deg, Medium is 38deg and wide is 60degrees. .

! I’ve tried some lower colour temperature LED lamps and they don’t seem to be as bright.

True. This seems to be a feature of LED’s in that the higher colour temperature lamps give off more light than the warmer colour temperature ones. Nothing we can do about this at present. Sorry.

! Will I save money by switching to LED lamps?

YES. Remember that the running costs of an LED lamp are some 80% lower than the equivalent halogen lamp and they should last around 25 times as long so if a halogen lamp cost £1 then over the life of the LED lamp you should expect to spend around £25 in replacement halogen lamps. If the lights are intended to be left on for long periods then the savings in terms of running costs will mount up quickly.

Don’t forget that often the cost of the man employed to to change the lightbulb is more than the cost of the lightbulb so the fewer times you have to do it the more you save.

! I’ve heard there are some really powerful LED lamps becoming available.

True. BUT. We are now seeing 5w, 7w and even 9w lamps and they certainly give of a huge amount of light, however they are currently going to cost in excess of £30 each and at the moment we just don’t think they are worth it. No doubt the price will come down and when that happens we will stock them

Colour Temperature

Beam Angle