Top Tip – Why Choose LEDs?

LEDs are often seen as the most expensive alternative to standard light bulbs, when it fact there are many more factors to consider that make them much more advantageous than they seem. LEDs (light emitting diodes), are the most energy efficient option, they typically have a longer life, they have no lighting delay and have a low annual running cost.

ZEROhomebills.com stock LEDs. Click here to see the range.

Energy Efficiency

LEDs are reportedly the most energy-efficient bulbs on the market internationally. They are estimated to use 90% less energy than traditional incandescents and can sometimes pay for themselves through energy savings in just a couple of months.

As an installer, you should also be considering how much the light fixture might impact efficiency. As LEDs are sensitive to thermal and electrical conditions, they must be integrated carefully into lighting fixtures. The efficiency of a badly designed fixture that uses even the best LEDs will be restricted.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are the most common type of energy-saver bulb, and they use 60%-80% less than incandescents. Halogens use 20-30% less.

Cost Effectiveness

Often customers are deterred by the high buying cost of LEDs, as they have a more premium price than other bulb options.

When selling bulbs on to customers it should be emphasized that the LED bulbs will pay off eventually, and they’ll get a longer bulb life. The Annual running cost for an LED is roughly £1.71 according to which?, compared to £2.04 for CFLs, and £8.42 for Halogens.

ZEROhomebills.com stock a range of high quality LEDs from the best international brands. As with most products, there may well be other LEDs on the market that appear to be cheaper. In these cases, they might be lower quality and will not last as long, so initial cost saving might not be the most cost effective solution in the long run.

Long Life

LEDs claim to be ultra long lasting – potentially lasting for 25-30 years, depending on what you buy and how it’s used.

An LEDs “luminaire useful life” is often described by the number of operating hours, rather than days, until the LED luminaire is emitting 70 percent of its initial light output. Good-quality LED lighting products are expected to have a useful life of 30,000 to 50,000 hours or even longer. A typical incandescent bulb lasts about 1,000 hours and a comparable CFL lasts 8,000 to 10,000 hours.

Watts & Lumens

The average home-owner might look at the bulb Wattage when considering brightness. As bulb technology has evolved, the Wattage no longer dictates the brightness as bulbs now need a lot less power to produce the same amount of light.

The brightness is now measure in Lumens. The greater the Lumen number, the brighter the bulb. In the table below, you can see equivalent Watt and Lumen output for 4 of the UK’s standard bulbs:

ZEROhomebills.com stock LED’s ranging from 250 lumen to 15200 lumen. Click here to see the range.

Kelvin Scale (Light Colour)

Light Bulbs also come in different colours, which can be selected based on where they are installed and what the desired effect is. The colour is measured in Kelvins which is normally a measure of temperature. Techie Top Tip – 

The colour ranges from warm yellows to cold blues. You can see in the chart below, the scale and effect of any Kelvin rating.

Lower Kelvin numbers give a warmer glow and are better for homely domestic environments. Colder high Kelvin numbers are more commonly used in offices and commercial properties.

0Bills stock LEDs ranging from 2,700 and 6,000 Kelvin. Click here to see the range.