To take advantage of its benefits, several factors must be taken into account, ranging from the quality of the product to the purpose of the installation.

 

The number of people interested in changing the lighting of their homes or businesses to LED devices has been increasing. However, they do not always keep in mind that this involves more than just buying an LED retrofit and installing it.

To the extent that we understand the concepts and functions, it will be better to use them.

Considerations for upgrading your lighting system to LED and not burning it out trying

 

First of all, what is a retrofit? It can be said that it is the same. Still, it is not the same as an LED luminaire. With the development of this technology, it was sought to adapt its devices to the traditional lighting infrastructure to be compatible and could be installed in a similar way as with an incandescent or a fluorescent tube.

 

It must be borne in mind that the technology and components of an LED system are different from those of conventional lighting. With this in mind, when we select from the range of products and see their packaging, we can see a series of information that will help us choose the most appropriate one.

 

For starters, Correlated Color Temperature or CCT indicates how warm or cool the emitted light will be and is measured in degrees Kelvin (K). This may seem irrelevant, but indeed on more than one occasion, we have found ourselves at the home of a friend or family member, and when we go to their room, the atmosphere feels uncomfortable. The reason could be that you are using a cold light source, which is not recommended in rest spaces since it generates a state of alertness or concentration (useful in workspaces). On the other hand, if the lighting tends to a warm temperature, we will indeed have said, oh, how cozy your house is! Since, in effect, it provides an atmosphere of tranquility,

 

So if you want an environment with warm light, the range goes from 1000-3000K, while cold morning will be above 4000K. Or, if you're going to be sure, you can consult a specialist to detail the purpose and installation space so that you can make the best option.

 

Likewise, one of the benefits of the LED is its long functional life, information that we can read on its packaging, such as the number of functional hours offered by the product. In today's market, it is possible to find equipment with a life of up to 50,000 hours.

 

Previously, with traditional lighting sources, it was enough to know the number of Watts to choose the most appropriate; with the arrival of the LED, the use of the term luminous efficiency or light output is more pertinent, being its unit of measurement lumen per watt (lm/ w). This tells us how much light the lamp generates for each watt spent, so the higher the light output, the better its use.

 

Now, in the case of offices or businesses, where more specific lighting is required, often there was an installation of fluorescent tubes, the most common mistake is to omit the type of angle that the LED tubes have. Compared to the 360º fluorescent lamp, which implies a wider illumination, the LED tubes have a more directional angle with a maximum of 120º and a concentrated flux in the center. What can generate is that the upper part of the walls is in darkness. The best way to avoid this is to check the optics and photometric information or to have a sample of the luminaire and verify its distribution.

 

If you have dimming equipment, please verify that the LED luminaire is compatible since they do not always work correctly with dimmers designed for incandescent. At low levels, they can generate the annoying flicker effect and a lot of frustration. Again, if you are not sure, you can ask a specialist.

 

Another recurring situation is getting carried away by the low cost without verifying what type of guarantees the brand offers or if it has a service center in the country to make it valid. It is also essential to know if your manufacturers belong to an association linked to the industry, implying that their products have been tested to high standards. You have to be well informed about it so that in the long term, it is not counterproductive.

 

Indeed, LED lighting brings with it a series of benefits both for the quality and efficiency of the lighting system and substantial savings in electricity costs and care for the environment. If we want to take advantage of them correctly, it is preferable to consider these recommendations. 

Finally, there is always the proposal to seek advice from an expert to understand the needs of your space and the project you have in mind.