My Cheap Electricity- LED Lighting
LED Lighting, is it ready for the general public?
I have spent the last ten years in the lighting world in one way or another. Every year a new technology would emerge and I would think to myself, is this really the right answer? Well I’m here to tell you that LED’s are a viable option for not only commercial customers but residential ones too. Both consumers need a little education on the products so they can be a little savvier when making an investment in this technology.
The cost of these fixtures/ lamps (lamps/bulbs) has come down considerably. Most manufactures have corrected color shifting issues and premature failure. When it comes to the lowest price for an LED alternative; lower price doesn’t equate to better. Make sure that whatever product you select has LM79 & LM80 data. The data can only be provided by a third party testing laboratory. The laboratory checks to see if the printed information on the specification sheet matches their findings. The manufacture will not get the certification if there are any discrepancies. These tests are the preambles to energy star rating. NO LED MANUFACTURERS HAVE ENERGY STAR RATINGS YET. This will change in the next month or two. Till then anyone who claims to have this certification is misrepresenting their product. The only way to know for sure that you are purchasing a quality product is by the LM79 & LM80 results.
Consumers need to pay attention to the Kelvin temperature on the fixture/ lamp before purchase. For those who don’t know; Kelvin temperatures are based off heating steel. The lower the temperature the warmer the color (reddish Orange) and as the temperature rises the bluer the steel becomes. When purchasing for a home you want to make sure that the Kelvin temperature is in the 2700K to 3000K range. Kelvin temperatures higher than 3000K you will have a very cold sterile looking environment that is not really conducive for a home. Generally you will find the higher color temperatures in offices and industrial settings. A quick side note about LED’s and Kelvin temperatures. The higher the Kelvin temperature the greater the LED’s lumen output is going to be.
The last thing everyone should know about before choosing a LED product is the CRI. CRI or Color Rendering Index is a scaled that runs from 0-100. The higher the number on the CRI scale the better the ability of the light source to reproduce the colors of various objects in comparison with sun light. Most LED manufactures products are in the low to mid 80’s on the CRI Index. There are a few exceptions that are in the 90’s. In my opinion these numbers are great for a home in every area but the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but my food needs to look right or I’m not going to eat it.
I hope you found this to be interesting and informative. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
