A Guide to Home LED Lighting

LED Lighting for Home — LED lighting are versatile and gaining popularity. They come in a range of styles to meet the user requirements such as strip lighting, 600 X 600 led panel lights, LED modules, etc. Let us learn more about these energy efficient, environment-friendly lights.

What are LED lights? — LED Lighting for Home

The Light Emitting Diode is a two-lead p-n junction diode. This semiconductor emits light when activated with a suitable voltage applied to the leads. The light is emitted when the electrons flow into the electron holes releasing energy in the form of light photons.

Semiconductors used for LED bulbs are elements from group III-V of the periodic table. For example – gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium phosphide (GaP), or gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP). Semiconductors called substrates are ‘doped’ with impurities to emit assorted coloursof light from the diode.

Why Should You Choose Them?

The LEDs have become energy efficient – they emit more light for per units of energy consumed. Besides the production costs have lowered leading to lowered prices. They produce more light compared to the Compact Florescent Lights (CFL) at 55-70 lumens per watt, and the traditional incandescent bulbs at 13-18 lumens per watt. The lifespan of a LED is 50000 hours. This means if you use the LED for 10 hours a day it will last you approximately 13.7 years. This reduces the costs to as low as $3.31 per year.

Diverse Types for Diverse Needs

LED manufacturers are not only increasing their efficiency but expanding options too. How to choose one for yourself? Consider;

The Lumens

When you see the wattage on the packet it is a smaller number than the LED. For example; 60W bulb equals 800 lumens of LED. This is because the LEDs use less energy to produce a higher illumination. Here, the unit of illumination is lumens instead of watts. The more the lumens, more the light produced.

The Kelvins

All lights have colours and hues but with LEDs, there is a larger variation. The Kelvin Temperature Scale measures the colours that range from 1000 – 10000K. The idea behind the scale comes from heating of metal. The more you heat it – the more it glows with the hues of orange when it is hot to yellow when it’s glowing and blue at extremely hot. The scale is the measure of the colour the LED light will generate.

There are three kinds, the first is ‘cosy’. This is a warm light ranging from 2000 – 3000 kelvins. Perfect for a romantic, intimate setting like a bedroom or a restaurant. The ‘cool’ light is bright and ranges from 3500 – 4500 kelvins. Perfect for lighting things to reveal their details as in clothes or jewellery shops. While the ‘daylight’ is invigorating and ranges from 4500 – 6500 kelvins. These are perfect for offices and places of learning to induce alertness.

There are tuneable LED lights that change hues according to your mood and activity you are doing. For example, you may turn the hue to 4500K while reading in bed and turn it down to a 1000K to sleep using a controller.

The CRI

CRI (Colour Rendering Index) is the measure of how precisely a light source (in this case the LED) illuminates the objects’ true colours. A CRI ranges from 0 – 100%. This means a bulb with 80% CRI will show 80% true colours of an object, while CRI 92 will be 92% accurate.

The Shape

Light bulbs get their nomenclature in the letter – number format. The leading letter is the name of the shape while the number indicates their diameter or length. The number denotes the diameter indicated in 1/8th of an inch while the other parts are measured in centimetres. For example, the code R20 means 20/8 or 2.5″ in diameter. The household bulbs like the A19 use the metric system.

There are BR30, PAR, A19 and many others to choose from to fit your household futures. But let your creative juices flow and choose from a wide range of shapes and sizes. They are very versatile. You can choose LEDs depending on their shape such as – strip lights, panels, modules, bulbs, downlights, etc.

Or you can choose the 600 X 600 led panel lights for recessed lighting in the office or kitchen ceiling to give a daylight effect. Use them as outdoor lightings, tube lights, ground lights, wall lights, table lamps, marker lights, etc. They come in a variety of shapes to fit in an array of fixtures such as the chandeliers, sconces, spotlights, etc.

Other Features (LED Lighting for Home)

But why are some LEDs costlier than the others? The answer is ‘features’. The more the features the higher the price.

• Dimmable LEDs come with a dimmer switch. You can increase or decrease the lumens.
• The 3-way LEDs give you three distinct levels of light. For example, 320, 820 and 1650 lumens. You can program this feature before you fix this bulb in a 3-way switch.
• Energy star LEDsuse significantly less energy and offer the same illumination compared to other bulbs. They pass through rigorous testing.
• Smart LEDs can be controlled via a smartphone app which may include voice control. They are dimmable and can be programmed to a schedule. This means they will automatically shut down at daybreak and come on at dusk. They can be set to dim after a certain hour at night to induce a cosy feeling – lulling the senses to sleep. You could link the LEDs to your security system to come on as soon as the smart lock at your door is released. These LEDs are controlled by a smart hub.
• Tuneable LEDs can turn any colour ranging from white bright daylight to a warm candlelight. This means their Kelvins can be modulated to suit your mood.
• Smart colour changing LEDs boast a spectrum of 16 million colours that can be modulated according to your mood. They can also do other smart things such as turn red when the smoke alarm goes off or flash green when you receive an email or turn blue when it rains outside.

We Recommend

LED Lighting for Home — The 600 X 600 led panel lights for offices, schools, kitchens, airports, etc. The smart colour changing LEDs for homes with the deaf who cannot hear the sound alerts. The tuneable LEDs for bedrooms, restaurants, meditation rooms, etc. And dimmable lights for hospital wards and operation theatres etc.

About the author

Elena Tahora is a passionate lighting engineer, with a passion for interior design. She has 7 years of experience in lighting and design. When she is not working, Elena enjoys travelling and helping her local charity Arka foundation.