Q&A

What do all the technical terms mean ?

Lumen Rating

The lumen (lm) also known as the luminous flux rating of an LED lamp is basically a measure of amount of light the LED lamp can produce. The greater the lumen rating, the more light the lamp will emit. The lumen rating is a useful figure for comparing LED lamps to conventional light sources. Note that it is possible for LED’s to have different lumen ratings even though they are of similar wattage. An LED that has a higher lumen rating for the same wattage is a more efficient LED.

Light Quality(CRI)

Color Rendering Index (CRI), CRI is a measure of the ability of a light source to render colors, compared to a reference source (incandescent or daylight), on a scale of up to 100, with 100 being identical to the reference source. The higher the CRI, the better the fixture’s ability to show the true colors of the objects.  Higher CRI is required in art galleries, museums and hairdressers, where the selected lights are very critical for not losing any of its original colours for its objects. The higher CRI is also very important for the shopping centres and all the retail outlets.

Efficacy

Capacity or power to produce a desired effect

Colour Temp

Color Temperature is a measurement in Degrees Kelvin that indicates the hue of a specific type of light source. Higher color temperatures (5,000 K or more) are cool (blueish white) colors, and lower color temperatures (2,700–3,000 K) warm (yellowish white through red) colors.

IP Rating

IP stands for Ingress Protection which is defined that it classifies the degree of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects, dust, accidental contact and water.

The first digit indicates the level of protections that the enclosure provides against access to hazardous parts and the ingress of solid foreign objects. (Dust, solid objects, accidental contact)

The second digit indicates protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful ingress of water

Wattage

Watts (W) is the unit of measurement for power consumption. LED lamps come in different power ratings like traditional light sources. A vast array of different wattages ranging from 1W all the way up to 25W or greater are available in the market. The greater the wattage, the more energy the LED bulb will consume and generally the brighter the light source will be.

Beam Angle

The beam angle of a LED lamp refers to the measure of the spread of the light source and is simply stated in degrees. This is a great feature of LED lamps as the individual LED’s can be arranged in a manner to alter the angle of the light beam. To make the most of your LED lamps, it is best to purchase a lamp with a specific beam angle depending on its use. Beam angles can be in the range of 15 , 30, 45 and 60 degrees.

Luminous efficacy – unit: lm/W
Luminous efficacy is a property of light sources, which indicates what portion of the emitted electromagnetic radiation is usable for human vision. It is the ratio of emitted luminous flux to radiant flux. Luminous efficacy is related to the overall efficiency of a light source for illumination, but the overall lighting efficiency also depends on how much of the input energy is converted into electromagnetic waves (whether visible or not).

Lifetime

This does not actually refer to the end of the LED life. A good quality LED bulb will not burn out or die like a regular bulb. LED light bulbs will eventually lose their brightness but technically can last indefinitely. On average, the LED lifespan is between *30,000 and 70,000 hours, depending on operating conditions.  At the end of their rated lifetime, they will operate at approximately 70% of the brightness they started at, as opposed to completely burning out.  Solar panels behave in a similar manner, losing approx 30% of their energy production by 25 years.

*30,000 to 70,000 hours is the industry standard for LED lifetime
(A bulb left on for 24 hours/day for 1 year is operating for 8760 hours)

Operating Temp

The range quoted is the operating temperature, quoted by the manufacturer for the light source only. Once this light source is placed into a *fixture or fitting, this can have a dramatic effect on the actual operating temperature as well as the longevity, light quality and power used. For example, compact fluorescent bulbs draw more and more power as their operating temperature increases. Halogen downlights are notorious for extremely high operating temperatures +350 degrees Celsius resulting in dangerous ceiling fires. Excess heat build-up in rooms is another serious problem.