Switching To LED? Everything You Need To Know About Buying LED Bulbs.

LED lighting is a great option for those who want to reduce their energy bill, buy light bulbs less often, and take action to help the environment. Because LED lights expel less heat than traditional incandescent light, they can produce brighter light while using less energy. LED lights offer other benefits as well, including better sunlight simulation that can help brighten your spirits and fight Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and offer fun lighting customization in the home. Before you speak to a lighting specialist about how LEDs will work in your home, here are some LED lighting basics to help you learn more about these bulbs for your residential lighting needs.

Call Now Contact Us

What To Consider Before Buying LEDs

Which Watts Are Best
A watt is a measure of how much energy a light draws, not of the brightness itself. The reason many people get watts confused with the amount of light the bulb produces is because in traditional incandescent bulbs, more energy drawn means a brighter light. Since LED lighting is more energy-efficient, it can draw significantly fewer watts while still producing as much light. To determine the brightness of your LED lighting, look for its lumens instead of wattage. Lumens are the actual measure of the brightness of a light source and their number will appear higher since it’s a different form of measurement, but it will give you more consistent lighting going forward. For example, a standard incandescent light bulb that’s 100 watts would only be about 16 to 20 watts for an LED light, but both of them will produce 1600 lumens.

How To Colour Your Life
Incandescent lights often shine with a warm or yellowed tone, but LED lights can come in various colours. A common LED lighting colour is bright white, and this tone can help simulate daylight. This is ideal for areas that don’t receive much sunlight, such as basements, offices, and retail stores. LED lights also come in tones called soft white or warm white, which more closely resemble the yellow tones of incandescent light and candlelight. These are beneficial in environments that are more soothing or require softer tones, such as bedrooms. LED lights can come in any colour, so there are also options to get coloured lights or even colour-changing lights that can connect with your smart device. These fun features can be an easy way to decorate for the holidays.

Get Low With A Dimmer Switch
While some LED lights can be used with dimmer switches, it has to be the correct circuitry for the dimmer to work. If your home doesn’t have the correct circuitry for your LED lighting to work with your traditional dimmer switch, you can upgrade your dimmers. If the dimmer switches you have do work, ensure that you are buying LED lights with dimming capabilities, as they do not all have this as a function.

Make Sure Your Home Is LED Ready
Not every fixture is meant for LED lights. Even though this type of lighting runs a lot less hot than incandescent lights, the bulbs still produce heat, but instead of the heat being in the bulb itself, it goes to the base of the light. This heat needs to dissipate from the base of the bulb and if the fixture is incorrect, the heat may become trapped and send it back into the bulb. While this isn’t dangerous, it does mean your LEDs won’t last as long as they can. Having your home properly retrofitted by a professional lighting consultant will extend the life of your LED light bulbs and will ensure proper lighting throughout the space.

LED Retrofitting And Lighting Services In Calgary

If the lighting fittings in your home aren’t compatible with LED products, consider having them retrofitted. Call the lighting experts at Fluorescent Man Lighting to install LED lighting in your home. We will work with you to create a lighting design plan that will offer you the best lighting for your space as well as focus on aesthetics, atmosphere, and technical aspects, so you can get all of the benefits of LED lighting customized for your home and lifestyle. If you’re looking for a brighter home, call Fluorescent Man’s interior lighting specialists at 1-403-863-8529 or fill out the contact form.

FAQ

Q: What is a lighting retrofit?
A: Lighting retrofit is a process of replacing certain components in an already existing lighting system with more efficient, modern solutions. This allows you to avoid buying brand new lighting fixtures for your entire space, which saves significant amounts of money.

Q: Are there different types of LED retrofits?
A: Yes. There are several different LED retrofit solutions and fixtures for your home or business. Common ones include:

LED tubes
LED troffer lights
LED strip light fixture
LED vapour tight fixture

Q: Can LED bulbs be installed indoors and outdoors?
A: Yes! The Fluorescent Man Lighting and Electrical lighting consultants can quickly and efficiently retrofit both your interior lighting fixtures and exterior lighting fixtures to be compatible with LED technology. LED lighting also operates better in cold conditions than traditional lighting.