2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-06-03 21:41
- Lamp design
- LED lamp shape
- Plinth
- Power and luminous flux (light output)
- Colour temperature
- Color rendering index
- Scattering angle
- Dimming
- Product packaging
- Service life and warranty
- Manufacturers
The LED lamp is gaining more and more popularity with consumers due to its advantages over incandescent lamp or energy saving lamp. They consume 8-10 times less electricity than a conventional light bulb. Safe - does not contain mercury, does not break when dropped, and does not heat up slightly during operation. With proper operation, you can count on a long service life - up to 100,000 hours, but this is all only with the right choice of lamp. High-quality LED lamps have no noticeable flicker during operation, and this is the main thing to look for when buying.
The disadvantage of LED lamps is one, but significant - the price for them is still quite high compared to other lamps, and the reliability of cheap models is very small.
In order to choose the right LED lamp, and it has served well throughout its "operational age", consider the aspects influencing this choice.
Lamp design
The main elements of an LED lamp that affect the quality of work are: LEDs, a cooling radiator and a driver (built-in power supply).
For a long service life, the radiator must be of high quality. The radiator is located between the bulb and the base and serves to cool the driver. The correct heatsink is a ribbed aluminum structure with longitudinal slots allowing free air convection inside the lamp. In some low-cost options, manufacturers allow poor placement of ribs and slots. This will not provide good heat dissipation and the lamp will quickly fail. Also, production is often reduced in price and the radiator is made of plastic. Such a product can only be used for short-term work, because plastic does not provide sufficient cooling to the lamp, unlike aluminum, which has a high thermal conductivity. Although they are already introducing good composite materials.
Since the radiator is located inside the device, it is impossible to assess its quality at least visually, therefore, when choosing an LED lamp, you should focus on cost. The higher the cost, the more chances it has the right radiator.
The driver (transformer, power supply) is almost the main component of the lamp. Its function is to transform the input voltage of 220V into the one needed for the 12V lamp. A cheap driver doesn't always do this well. For example, some Chinese choices give unstable output.
Also, a poor-quality power supply is unlikely to withstand the voltage surges that often occur in homes.
When buying, you should pay attention to the frequency of the lamp flickering, this can be checked by pointing the phone camera at the switched on lamp. The less stripes are visible, the better.
Therefore, you should rely on the name of the manufacturer and choose brands that have proven themselves from the good side.
LED lamp shape
The range of produced LED lamps is diverse. There are two types of lamps - "corn" (with open LEDs) and closed. "Kukuruza" are practically out of production due to insufficient fire safety.
The shape of the bulb of the closed lamp repeats the shape of the usual, familiar to everyone, the "Ilyich" light bulb. These are a "pear", a classic ball and a candle, a "candle in the wind" with a curved tip, with a mirror bulb, etc. There are transparent and opaque. Frosted lamps diffuse light better and look more aesthetically pleasing because LEDs are not visible. It is better to put them in open lamps. Light bulbs with a transparent bulb are placed in closed lamps. "Candle" and "candle in the wind" look beautiful in hanging open lamps and sconces. Mirror LED lamps are used to replace halogen counterparts and incandescent lamps in spotlights.
Plinth
Most often, LED lamps are used with the following types of base:
- E14 - thin base "mignon", used in sconces, pendant lamps; power from 3.5 W to 9 W;
- E27 - "classic" base, used everywhere, there are different powers, from 3.5 W to the current maximum power of 20 W;
- GU10 - used in 220 V spotlights;
- GU5,3 - used in 12V luminaires.
Power and luminous flux (light output)
The manufacturer indicates the power of the LED lamp on the package. The "popular" method for comparing the power of an incandescent lamp and an LED is very simple - multiply the power of an LED lamp and you get the approximate power of an incandescent lamp. This is a very simplified diagram. For a more accurate understanding, it is better to use such a concept as luminous flux. It is measured in Lm (Lumen). The correspondence of this power to the power of the usual incandescent lamps is presented in the table:
Correspondence table of power of LED lamps and incandescent lamps
| Incandescent lamp power consumption, W | Luminous flux, Lm | |
| 2-3 | 20 | 250 |
| 4-5 | 40 | 400 |
| 8-10 | 60 | 700 |
| 10-12 | 75 | 900 |
| 13-15 | 100 | 1200 |
| 18-20 | 130 | 1500 |
It should be understood that lamps with a matte bulb will have a lower luminous flux. Also, the fact that lamps of different color temperatures will have a different luminous flux. It is always higher for a cold glow lamp.
Colour temperature
Definition - the color temperature gives the buyer an idea of what color the lighting will be in his home. It is measured in degrees Kelvin. Now LED lamps are produced with a color temperature of 2700 K to 7000 K.
- 2700K - warm yellowish light, similar to sunlight;
- 2800K - 3200K - white light with a warm shade;
- 4000K - 5000K - white light with a cold tint, the so-called daylight;
- above 5000K - cold light with a bluish tint.
For comparison, an ordinary light bulb emits light with a temperature of 2700-2800K. Therefore, if you are accustomed to such light, it is better to choose an LED analogue with a glow temperature not higher than 3200K.
Color rendering index
This indicator is closely related to color temperature. Has the designation CRI (from English colourrenderingindex) or Ra. Shows the correspondence of objects and surfaces illuminated by the lamp to real colors. For cheap bulbs, this figure is 65-70Ra. High-quality and expensive ones have 85-100Ra. The light from a lamp with this indicator reproduces colors better. It is also known that the color rendering index depends on the color temperature:
- 2600-3700K - the index is 85 Ra;
- 3700-5000K - index - 75 Ra;
- more than 5000K - the index is 70 Ra.
LED bulbs from well-known manufacturers have fair color rendition rates, while unscrupulous manufacturers often overestimate them.
Thus, lamps should be chosen with an indicator of at least 80Ra.
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Scattering angle
This parameter is also worth considering when choosing a lamp. It shows at what angle the light will be scattered. A lamp with a narrow angle will have a very small light spot, it will only illuminate under itself, not illuminating nearby objects. Narrow angle lamps are used for accent lighting. For general room lighting, it is better to choose lamps with a diffusion angle of 90 degrees.
Dimming
This function is needed if you want to adjust the brightness of the lighting in the room. Standard LED bulbs are not dimmable, unlike incandescent bulbs. Therefore, when buying, you need to pay attention to this point. The dimming capability adds to the cost of the lamp. It is also worth knowing that dimmable lamps can flicker when the lights are off. This is due to the fact that conventional switches are designed for incandescent lamps, which do not glow at such a low current strength.
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Product packaging
On the packaging of a quality product, complete information about the product is always indicated. The LED lamp is no exception. In addition to the brand, the country of origin, the power, luminous flux, color temperature, light output index, and diffusion angle must be indicated.
Service life and warranty
Various manufacturers claim a lamp life of 30 to 100 thousand hours. It is possible to check whether it will really work all this time only by experience. Manufacturers give a guarantee from 1 to 3 years. When buying, it is worth choosing a lamp with a long warranty period.
Manufacturers
A huge number of LED lamp manufacturers are represented on the Russian market today. It is recommended to choose manufacturers that have a division for the production of electronic components and light. These European manufacturers of LED products are:
- Osram;
- Philips;
- GeneralElectric;
- BLV;
- Sylvania.
The quality, as well as the price, is high. In addition to quality, you can be sure that only sustainable materials are used. For example, a lamp with an E27 13W base LEDBulb 18-130W E27 6500K 230V from Philips will cost about 500 rubles. And the TOLEDO GLS 10W 806LM 827 E27 SL Sylvania lamp is already about 1500 rubles.
Among the Russian manufacturers of LED lamps of quite decent quality, the following can be noted:
- Gauss;
- Optogan;
- Space;
- Housekeeper;
- Lisma;
- Online.
For example, a 12W 230V Gauss lamp will cost about 250 rubles.
Chinese manufacturers making good products:
- Navigator;
- Feron;
- Camelion;
- Jazzway;
- Gauss;
- Era.
Example: the price of an E27 15W –230V Jazzway lamp will be about 200 rubles.
Even cheaper, you can buy LED lamps in Chinese online stores. But as practice shows, it is almost impossible to find a good product of this category there. All of the above disadvantages of these products will be one hundred percent.
In the current situation, when the dollar rate is constantly jumping up and down, the price of LED lamps also changes depending on the delivery time to the store. Therefore, when buying a lamp, it is recommended to study in advance the range and order of prices in online stores and federal chains of stores selling electrical equipment. Sometimes you can find the same lamp model at very different prices.
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