When updating home lighting devices such as lamps and bulbs Today we have a multitude of options, both conventional as intelligentalthough in both cases there are a series of technical characteristics What is good to know before going to the store.
And it is that, Not all LED bulbs are the samethere are a series of fundamental key aspects that it is necessary to know when purchasing a specific model so that it is suitable for our home and the use we want to give it.
Bushing type
First of all we must know the bushing type which our light bulb will use. It is the cylindrical part that is attached to it and fitted inside the lamp holder. The connections integrated into it can be metallic or made of a conductive material that allows the passage of electricity, while the exterior is generally made of plastic or ceramic.
When replacing an old incandescent or low consumption light bulb with a new one LED modelwe must look at the type of bushing we have at home, the most common being the so-called E27, E14, GU10 and MR16.
- E27 socket: It is the most traditional and one of the most used, with coarse size Edison type thread and low consumption, halogen and LED bulbs can be connected to it.
- E14 socket: It is also with Edison type thread but smaller size than the previous one. It is very common in chandeliers or others with candle type bulbs. The bulbs that can be connected to this socket can be low consumption, halogen and LED.
- GU10 socket: Is two pin and is attached by means of clamps to the lamp holder. Its main characteristic is that these sockets have the end of the terminal thicker, so that to insert the bulb into the socket you have to do it by turning it slightly to the right.
- MR16 socket: The pins are spaced 5.3mm apart and usually include a 12 volt transformer to make it compatible with LED bulbs. It is attached by pressure by inserting the thin pins into the clamp-type socket of the lamp holder.
Light color temperature
Once we know what type of socket our lamp has, it is worth looking at the color temperature what we want for our light, a factor that It is measured in degrees Kelvin or “K”. The range goes from 1500 Kelvins for the warmest light temperatures to 9000 Kelvins for natural whites.
- For example, if we choose a light bulb between 1500 and 3000 K We will have a yellow light similar to that of traditional incandescent bulbs.
- If we buy a light bulb with a color temperature of between 3000 and 5500 K We will have lighting with a neutral white very similar to that of low-consumption light bulbs.
- If we prefer a more natural light similar to that present outdoors from the sun, then we should opt for a bulb with a temperature greater than 5500 K.
Light beam illumination angle
The next factor to take into account is related to the light emission anglealso called solid angle. It is the angle of the cone of light that the bulb will produce, indicated in degrees.
The LED type are bulbs that usually emit a beam of more directional light than classic incandescents, so they have a smaller lighting angle.
If we want a focused and intense type of light, it is better to choose a LED bulb with a small solid angle. If, on the other hand, we prefer a more ambient and generalized light, we will have to look for a bulb with large emission angles.
Power of LED bulbs
When talking about the power of an LED bulb, there are several aspects that should be taken into account. To begin with, the amount of light emitted by the bulb, which is measured in lumens (lm) and is directly related to your electrical power consumed measured in watts (W).
The relationship between both values gives us the term lumen/watt efficiencya value that as a general rule is around 60 Lm/w, although there are very different levels of efficiency that depend on each specific model, so it is advisable to look at some table of equivalent values given by the manufacturer to find out how our light bulb behaves in relation to other technologies such as incandescent or low consumption.
As we can see in the table, replacing a traditional light bulb with LED allows us to obtain the same amount of light using far fewer watts of electrical powerwhich will result in a notable reduction in home energy consumption at the end of the month.
Usefull lifetime
Another important factor that should be known is the one related to the LED bulb lifespan, a fact that will generally go hand in hand with the price that each specific model will have. For this reason, sometimes there are apparently very attractive offers but they hide less durable bulbs.
Manufacturers often express this value in different ways. For example, indicating the number of hours of lifea value that indicates the number of hours that the LED bulb will work correctly.
They can also give us the number of ignition cycles, a value that refers to the number of times we can turn the light bulb on or off without it being damaged. Or the ignition time, a value that refers to the period that passes until the bulb reaches 60% of its luminosity.
Cover image | Jose Antonio Carmona
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