When you’re ready to make the leap to LED lighting, it can be a little scary. There are a number of different terms and performance metrics that can make a simple thing feel hard.
Let me help you sort through a few of the most common specs, and offer you an easy way out!
Check out Regency's online Lighting Glossary for a more extensive list of lighting terms.
Common LED lighting terms for efficiency and reliability
1. Wattage
What does it mean?
Wattage is simply the measure of how much energy a lamp needs to light up.
Why is it important?
The wattage of an LED lamp is usually going to be its most marketed feature. While there are other benefits to LED lighting over traditional lighting, their reduced wattage consumption is still their biggest advantage.
2. Replacement wattage
What does it mean?
Replacement wattage indicates the wattage of the traditional lamp that is being replaced by the LED bulb or fixture.
Why is this important?
Replacement wattage will help you find an LED bulb that will be bright enough to replace the one that you are currently using. For example, you may see an LED A-Lamp that only uses 8 watts, but its replacement wattage is a 40W incandescent bulb.
3. Rated life
What does it mean?
The rated life of an LED is how long it is intended to operate before reaching 70 percent of its original brightness.
Why is this important?
With traditional light sources, the rated life is the length of time the product is expected to operate before burning out. This is set by listing the number of hours it takes for 50 percent of a sample of identical products to burn out.
LED’s, however, don’t typically burn out. They slowly dim over time. An LED’s rated life is therefore when the lamp is expected to be 30 percent dimmer than it was when brand new.
Another key advantage LED’s have over traditional lighting is how long they last. There are LED bulbs that can replace a 4,000-hour halogen lamp and last up to 50,000 hours. Remember, this means that it should be at 70 percent brightness at 50,000 hours.
Common LED lighting terms for light output or brightness
4. Lumens
What does it mean?
Lumens are the measurement of how much light the bulb puts out.
Why is it important?
Lumens are important in comparing an LED bulb to a traditional source. Comparing the lumens of an LED bulb to the lumens of a traditional one will help determine if an LED bulb will be bright enough to directly replace your traditional lamp.
5. Center Beam Candle Power (CBCP)
What does it mean?
Center beam candle power measures the intensity of light at the center of a beam of light. (I know, clever.)
Why is this important?
This is an important measurement for spot and accent lighting. It often isn't enough to only use the lumen output when determining if a lamp will be bright enough.
It is possible to have a high LUMEN output, but a low CBCP. This would imply that the light is spread out over a large area, which wouldn't work well for trying to draw attention to a painting on the wall, or a mannequin wearing a sequin jumpsuit.
The right light source may actually have lower lumens than comparable products, but if the manufacturer has done a good job of concentrating the light to the center of the beam, then your sequin jumpsuit will sparkle and shine like nothing else.
6. Efficacy (lumens per watt)
What does it mean?
Efficacy is a ratio of how many lumens are produced (how much light) per watt of energy consumed.
Why is this important?
Efficiency! The higher the efficacy ratio, the more efficiently your product is performing. Manufacturers are making huge improvements to both engineering and manufacturing processes, and efficacy ratings are constantly improving.
Just a few years ago, most LED's were around 30-50lu/watt. Currently, you shouldn't settle for less than 70lu/watt, and some LED's are over 100lu/watt. In labs, they are already reporting numbers like 300lu/watt, so it's only a matter of time for the next wave of LED efficiency! Who doesn't want more for less?
We covered the efficacy of LEDs and a newly-innovated incandescent light bulb in our post, 'MIT’s ‘recycling light’ innovation may save the incandescent light bulb.'
Common LED lighting terms for visual appeal and color
7. Color Temperature (CCT)
What does it mean?
Color temperature, officially referred to as Correlated Color Temperature, is a numerical value that indicates the color of light a particular fixture or bulb will emit.
A low number indicates warm light. Think, fireplace or candlelight quality (red and orange hues). A higher number indicates a cooler light like daylight and hospital lighting (whites and blues). Standard ranges are around 2700k on the warm side to over 5000k on the cool side.
Why is this important?
The cooler temperatures (higher numbers) tend to appear "brighter", and often LED manufacturers will use lower wattages at higher color temperatures in order to make their product appear brighter.
If you are changing to LED bulbs in a standard house lamp, restaurant, or hotel setting, a cooler temperature will create a harsh environment, and not set the proper "mood." It is important to know the approximate color temperature range of your existing lighting, so you can find a suitable replacement.
For a practical guide on how to choose the right color temperature, check out this artice: "What is correlated color temperature (CCT) and how do you choose it for your lighting?"
8. Color Rendering Index (CRI)
What does it mean?
CRI is color rendering index. While a bit complicated and somewhat controversial this, in essence, measures a light source's ability to reflect colors accurately. Low numbers would be in the 40's while 100 would be perfect.
Why is this important?
Have you ever walked through a parking garage that had really "yellow" looking lighting? (see color temperature above) Or old street lighting that made everything look orange? Those light sources had very low CRI ratings, so your beautiful blue shirt, or red pants, or white hat or purple socks (hey, I didn't dress you!) all pretty much looked yellow/ black/ junky.
That might not matter in a tunnel you drive through, but it would certainly matter to a retailer trying to make its product look attractive, or in a parking garage where security is crucial. Imagine trying to describe what someone was wearing to law enforcement if all the clothes looked grey!
For more on how to choose a product based on CRI scores, check out our article, "How to choose the right CRI for your lighting"
9. Dimmable
What does it mean?
Is the driver inside the LED dimmable? Usually, it will say yes or no, and which system the product dims with.
Why is this important?
LED technology doesn't always communicate well with dimmers. Be sure the lamp you are buying is rated as "dimmable," and which dimming system it is compatible with (0-10v, 3 phase, etc.).
Experiencing problems with LED dimming? This guide may help: "Here's an overview of common LED dimming issues and how to fix them"
Choosing the right LED product
Now that you have the basics, let's run through a "real life" example.
You are sitting in your office, enjoying a quiet afternoon. Nothing but your ink blotter, a glass of scotch, and a table lamp, giving off a warm, comforting glow. As you contemplate life, sip your scotch, and start to draft your next big business move, the lamp starts to flicker. Flicker. Flicker. Die.
You go down three flights of stairs, past the servant's quarters, stroll through your wine cellar, and into your storage closets. Drats. No bulbs left. You unscrew the dead bulb and take it with you to your trusty lighting retailer.
As you walk the aisles, mourning the fact that the ice is slowly watering down your scotch back home, you finally make your way to the bulbs. You look down. In your hand, a standard light bulb. A-lamp, it says. 60w. 540 lumens.
You ask a clerk, "Excuse me, where are your 60W A-lamps?" He rushes past you, snickering. "60 watts? Come on, old man! LEDs are the wave of the future!" You never did like that clerk.
You find the shelf with the LED A-lamps. So many choices, so many specs. Defeat sets in. Overwhelming. Then you remember reading an extremely engaging and helpful article on making sense of LED specs. Something clicks in your head. Almost like... a light bulb turning on.
Wattage. Start there. You see 7, 8, 10, 13W options. But which option is bright enough?
Lumens, right. Start on lumens. You find a few options that have 550-600 lumens. Plenty to replace your 540-lumen A-lamp. Check.
Now, wattage. You're no fool. You want to save some energy. You toss out the 13w, and focus on the 7, 8, and 10W options.
Rated life... how can someone rate life? Are we all keeping score? Sorry. back on track. Lighting. Rated life on the 8W is 30,000 hours, but the 7 and 10W options both have 50,000-hour ratings. Out with the 8.
You have the right size, it's bright enough, and you found a great value in a product that is rated to last the longest. You're done.
Or are you?
Color temperature, right. The 7W is "cool white, 5000k," while the 10W is "warm white 2700k". Tricky tricky. No wonder they got away with only 7 watts. Almost fell for it.
You grab the:
10W
600 lumen
50,000 hour
2700k warm white
LED bulb
Then you cash out and head home.
After screwing it into your desk lamp, and enjoying a warm, comfortable light once again, you think to yourself, "Hey. That wasn't so bad. The ice didn't even melt in my scotch!" And slip back into a comfortable rhythm of plotting to take over the world.
You get the picture!
Happy lighting!
For more on LED, check out some of the posts below:
Today we'll explore the more meaningful aspects of color temperature choice, and how color temperature choice can affect the visual appeal, mood, and color reproduction of any space.
What is Color Temperature?
First - as a refresher - a note on color temperature values, which are measured in degrees Kelvin, and range from around 1700K (very, very warm) to 9500K (very, very cool). Why degrees Kelvin?
A simple way to think about color temperature is to imagine a piece of metal being heated. As it is first heated, it emits invisible infra-red light, or heat. As it gets even hotter, it begins to glow a soft red, or orange - and we're now in the lower range of color temperatures. As the heat increases further, the red or orange gives way to yellow, and eventually white. Photographer Mike Browne explains it well.
You'll find varying descriptions for whites of different color temperature, but at HitLights we broadly define whites in the 2700-3100K range as 'warm white', those in the 3900-4200K range as 'neutral white', and those in the 5000-6500K range as 'cool white', all of which are shown below.
Warm White (~3000K), Neutral White (~4100K) and Cool White (~5000K)
Note that there are no agreed-upon standards for what color temperatures 'warm white', 'neutral white' and 'cool white' represent - so what we might call 'warm white', another manufacturer might call 'soft white', or 'candle white'. When selecting lighting, be sure to refer to color temperatures (which are science) instead of descriptors such as 'warm white' (which are marketing).
When to choose Warm White (2700-3100K) :
The first form of artificial light that humans mastered was fire, with various evidence putting the earliest use of fire by our ancestors at up to a million years ago. If you've ever sat by a fireplace or a campfire and felt warm and cozy, that's thanks to millennia of adaptation to the use of fire for light, for warmth, and for cooking. This adaptation is so hardwired into our brains that mere images of fire can elicit feelings of warmth and comfort in people. Later in human history, open fires were replaced by fireplaces, then candles, and finally the venerable incandescent light bulb - all of which produce warmer whites.
Warm whites are therefore an ideal choice for making people feel at home, which is why they are the most common choice for residential use, or for when trying to capture that 'homey' feeling. If you've ever been to a bed and breakfast hotel or shopped or eaten at an 'old-timey' establishment, you might have noticed warm white lights making those places feel a little more comfortable. Perhaps you did not notice it at all, not consciously - but your wallet probably did, because in a cozy, comforting, and home-like environment, you were more likely to trust, spend, and tip more.
On a more practical level, warm whites accent wood and bricks well, and make reds, yellows, and oranges more vivid while muting greens and blues. Warm white may not be an appropriate choice in business environments where productivity might be affected by employees getting too comfortable, or in settings where accurate color reproduction is necessary (more on that when we talk about Neutral White).
When to choose Cool White (5000-6500K) :
Cool white is sometimes called 'daylight' - and with good reason, as the hint of blue in lights above 5000K or so evokes the brilliant sun and blue skies of a clear, cloudless day. Cooler whites, then, tap into our instinctual affinity for being outside and the freedom and possibilities that come with it. Sunlight on your skin causes D3 vitamins to release into your bloodstream, actually making you happier.
Cool whites can help add a sense of life, excitement, and energy to spaces that warm whites lack. While they do have a small amount of blue in them, it's not as noticeable as the orange/yellow in warm whites, meaning that cool whites also do a pretty good job displaying colors.
Cool whites are popular in office buildings, where this lighting can serve as an enliven-er and morale improver - particularly if the space does not have a source of natural light, such as windows or skylights. They are often used by retailers to 'liven up' or provide energy to what might otherwise be a dull or uninteresting display. Unlike warm whites, which often work well at subtler outputs, cool whites tend to provide better results when they are bright, making your products pop!
Cool whites tend to work less well with wood and bricks than warm whites, as the natural yellows and reds in those materials are rendered less visible by the blueish tints of the cool white. This makes cool whites less useful in residential applications, though they can be used with great effect in areas with neutral (black, white, grey) or cool (blue, green) colors.
When to choose Neutral White (3900-4200K) :
Neutral white light is a relatively modern invention - as it wasn't until lighting technology matured in the mid-1900s that color temperatures could be specified to be anything other than the traditional warm white of incandescent light bulbs. Unlike Warm White and Cool White, there is no 'natural' use for lights in the neutral white range.
Being neutral, however, does have its advantages. Unlike cool and warm whites, neutral white reproduces all colors equally well, so it's the ideal (some might say 'only') choice for displaying merchandise, art, or photography. You'll find neutral whites used almost exclusively in art galleries and museums, and anywhere that accurate color reproduction is important. Performing detailed or high precision work can also be easier under neutral white lighting.
Because warmer and cooler lights accentuate and mute certain colors, neutral whites are also preferred in spaces that feature many colors - where the blue of cool whites and the yellow/orange of warm whites would brighten certain colors while darkening others. A high-quality neutral white is a great choice to make sure branding materials display logos and colors accurately.
As the name implies, Neutral White can be a little, well, neutral - so if you're creating a space with a specific mood in mind, then neutral white lighting can make space feel a little clinical, rather than inviting, or exciting - and if you've gone to the trouble in making a space feel a certain way, then having a light source that merely provides illumination alone as opposed to being part of that space can feel like a letdown.
Conclusion :
A good color temperature choice can be the final, victorious touch on your project, while a poor one can make it fall flat, and in some cases even drive people (maybe even customers!) away. HitLights has LED light strips available in all three categories of color temperature so that you can choose the right product for your project.
Be sure to think hard about what you're trying to accomplish in your space, get in touch with our customer service team if you're having trouble and we'll help you out!
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