When you are looking for the ideal LED bulb for your home or office, you must first clarify what your requirements are, and then choose the light and color you need. Or you might just want to find a replacement for a regular 60-watt incandescent bulb. So, what are the things to consider when choosing LED bulbs? How to choose the right LED bulb?
1. Low wattage, high lumen
The first thing you should consider is how to save electricity and reduce electricity bills. If the lumen of the lamp is high, the light is also brighter. Compared with incandescent bulbs, LED bulbs can provide a lot of lumens with just a few watts. So, you need to find a low-wattage, high-lumen light bulb, because it can save electricity bills.
On average, a 12-watt LED bulb can provide the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. This means you can save a lot of electricity, thereby saving electricity bills.
2. Service life
The second thing you should consider is the service life of LED bulbs. If used for three hours a day in a year, most LED bulbs can provide 25,000 to 50,000 hours of light.
3. Color and color rendering index
The third thing you should consider is the color of the LED bulb. One advantage of LEDs is that the light can be adjusted to the full spectrum. LED lights can be red, yellow, green, blue, warm white and cool white. The lower the color temperature, the lower the Kelvin, the more yellow the white light. If the color temperature is higher, a bluish tint will appear. If you want warm colors, look for LEDs of about 2700K. At 3000K, the light is more like a halogen lamp. If you want cool white light, you need 3500K to 4100K bulbs. The 5000K to 6500K bulbs imitate natural light or daylight.
Another aspect of color is the color rendering index (CRI), which reflects the accuracy of the color under light. The higher the color rendering index, the more objects the LED bulb will light up.
4. The spread of light
The LED bulb emits light in a specific direction. So it is important to find out the angle at which the LED bulb spreads. The propagation of light is called the beam angle. The beam angles of LED bulbs on the market are 15, 30, 45, 60, and 100, while 120 and 180 are rare. If the beam angle is less than 30, it can be used as a spotlight, and its brightness or lumens per watt is the highest. Most of them have wattage less than 5, which is especially suitable for shops and places that need to highlight specific areas.
The beam angle greater than 30° is suitable for high-power LED lights such as downlights. They can be placed on the ceiling to illuminate the room, usually with a rated power exceeding 5W, and multiple such downlights can be used to illuminate the room.
If the ceiling is high (more than 3 meters), a beam angle of 30-45 degrees is fine. If the ceiling is less than 3 meters, it is best to use a beam angle of 60-100 degrees.
The beam angle can be increased by placing reflectors and diffusers, but the problem is that if the beam angle is increased, the lumens (or brightness) will decrease.
5. The right lamps
LED lights are a bit heavier than traditional bulbs, so you should check whether the existing lamps can support the weight of the LED bulbs. And because these bulbs are longer, maybe the lampshade you use now can't cover them. However, remember that LED bulbs cannot be completely enclosed in lamps, because heat will shorten the life of the bulb. If you want to use LED bulbs outdoors, then the bulbs need to be weatherproof or able to withstand humid outdoor conditions.
6. Product Certification
It is very important that LED bulbs meet some safety standards. If the LED bulb meets the Energy Star standard, a lot of points will be added. Because Energy Star certification has high requirements for brightness, color and energy usage.
7. Warranty Period
Since LED bulbs are more expensive than traditional bulbs, you should choose a brand that has a manufacturer's warranty. A good LED bulb should have a warranty period of at least 2-3 years.
