Five years ago, LED lights were technical gimmick, now LED bulbs are sold each home improvement store, the vast majority of apartments likely will be illuminated LED in five years lamps.
In this article I will try to answer the questions that often arise in those first encounters with LED lamps.
1. Why Buy LED lamps?
Conventional light bulbs shine perfectly, but very energoneeffektivny - 95% of the energy they have transformed into heat. Fun fact: after the ban of the sale of light bulbs, more powerful 100 watt manufacturers, as if nothing had happened, continued to produce them, but do not call lights, and the "Radiant" and in fact they are right.
Modern LED lamps consume 8-10 times less energy than incandescent bulbs for the same luminous flux, which means when illuminated LED lamps for lighting can pay 8-10 times smaller.
I made a calculation of the cost of one-bedroom apartment conventional lighting and LED lamps.
Of course, the calculation is very approximate. Nonetheless 3-5 thousand rubles a year - is quite real savings for an average apartment. Pay attention to the time of burning lamps. Manufacturers promise to 1,000 hours of lamp bulbs (in reality, often light bulbs burn out much earlier), but even if you have worked for your lamps 1000 hours, they will have to change in the corridor and the room twice a year, and in the kitchen and one bedroom time. With the average cost of the lamp 30 rubles it will take more 690 rubles.
LED lamps do not have to be changed every six months. Manufacturers promise to 25-50 thousand hours of operation. This is a 11-22 years with daily use for 6 hours.
LED lamp kit for this averaged apartments will cost 4380 rubles (7 E27 6W lamps for 280 rubles, 11 candles 4W at 220 rubles) and they will be paid back in less than a year.
Good LED bulbs give the same comfortable light as incandescent bulbs and you can not distinguish them from the light of light bulbs.
60-watt incandescent bulb with a decrease in the supply voltage to 207 B starts to shine as 40-watt, and if the voltage drops to 180 volts (which is often the case in rural areas) 60-watt bulb, "transformed" in the 25-watt. LED lamp shines when any voltages with equal brightness and no fear surges.
Unlike incandescent bulbs, LED lamps have a small heat. Lamps do not heat the room when it and so hot. The child will not burn a light bulb in a table lamp.
A more LED bulbs provide the freedom and comfort. No longer need to worry about saving electricity when the bulb consumes 6 watts, not 60, it is possible to simply switch off. I used to always turn off the light in the hallway, now he is always on when I'm at home. So it is more convenient.
And one final argument in favor of buying LED lamps. Do not treat them as expendable. You buy them for a long time. Treat them the same way as a chandelier or lamp, in which you install them, because most likely you will ever replace them together, because LED bulb has not burned.
2. LED and energy-saving lamps are one and the same? And if not, what is better?
Of course, the LED lamp can be considered energy-efficient, but in Russian the word "Energy-saving" was assigned to the compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and CFL and LED bulbs - quite different things.
LED bulbs CFLs are much better for several reasons:
• type LED lamp does not contain hazardous substances, and the flask any CFL contains mercury;
• type LED lamp consumes less energy for the same light output;
• type LED lamp ignites instantly at full brightness, and gradually gaining CFL brightness from 20% to 100% per minute at room temperature and more slowly at low temperatures;
• Do CFLs bad spectrum consisting of the peaks of several colors. The spectrum of the LED lamp is much closer to natural light and the light bulb.
3. What's lit?
In 1923, the Soviet physicist Oleg Losev discovered electroluminescence semiconductor junction. The first light-emitting diodes that use this principle and called - "Losev Light" (Light Losev). First came the red LED, and then in the early '70s there were yellow and green LEDs. Blue LED was created in 1971 by Jacob Panchechnikovym, but it was extremely expensive. In 1990, Japanese Sugi Nakamura created a cheap and bright blue LED.
20 years ago it was thought that the white LED can not be created, however, after the appearance of a blue LED it has become possible to make white light sources with three crystals (RGB).
In 1996 came the first white phosphor LEDs. They ultraviolet light or a blue LED is converted to white using the phosphor.
By 2005, the luminous efficacy of LEDs has reached a value of 100 lm / W or more. It is possible to start to use a phosphor for LED lighting, because LED is one of the most efficient light sources.
4. What are the LED bulbs?
LED lamps are available in different housings with different types of caps. This is the usual "pear", "candle" and "balls" with caps E27 and E14, and "mirror" lamp R39, R50, R63, and spotlights with GU10 base and GU5.3, capsule lamp socket G4, and G9, Ceiling lamp socket GX53.
In the LED lamps use different types of LEDs. The first LED lamps used conventional LEDs in plastic housing.
Now the high-power LEDs in buildings used only in some lamps.
In most modern lamps used unpackaged LEDs and LED assemblies.
Recently COB LED emitters are used more often (chip on board). The plurality of LEDs are covered by a single phosphor.
Variety COB - LED strands (led filament). The plurality of LEDs are placed on the glass strip, coated with a phosphor.
In the latest generation of lamps Crystal Ceramic MCOB emitters are arranged on a circular plate made of transparent ceramic.
LED lamps are available with different color temperature light: 2700K - yellow light like the lamps bulbs, 3000K - slightly Bole comfortable white light, 4000K - white light, 6500K - cool white shine. In my opinion the house more suitable for lamps with a color temperature of 2700-3000K.
5. Is it always the LED lamp can be simply screwed in place of the usual?
No not always. There are two issues that you may encounter:
• Work with the switch having an indicator. A large number of LED lamps can not work with switches that have light. They break out or poorly lit when the switch is turned off. This is due to the fact that a small current is constantly flowing through the lamp. Out of this situation are two: either use the lamp works correctly with these switches on or off the indicator inside the switch.
• Dimming. Most LED lamps can not work with dimmer (dimmer), but there are special dimmable LED lamps (usually they are much more expensive than usual). Unlike incandescent bulbs, with a decrease in the brightness of the LED lamp does not change the color of light (a normal bulb it turns yellow). Many dimmable LED lamps dimmed not up to scratch, but only up to 15-20% of full brightness.
6. Whether all LED lamps are good, and if not, what good are distinguished from the bad?
In conventional incandescent lamps, everything is simple: the bulb and the tungsten filament. LED lamp is arranged much more complicated and its quality depends on the quality of LED, phosphor and electronics.
There are three important parameters affecting the quality of light that gives light:
• Pulsating light. Many substandard lamps have a high ripple (flicker) light. Such light visually nekomforten and people quickly get tired of it. When looking from one object to another is visible strobe effect (visible as a few items instead of one). The human eye sees more than 40% ripple. There are two ways to check for light ripple - pencil test (Take the usual length of the tip of a pencil and start very quickly to move them in a semicircle back and forth. If the individual can not see the contours of a pencil - no flicker, if it is seen "a few sticks" - the light blinks) and check with your smartphone camera (If you look at the light through a smartphone camera, usually with a glimmer of light on the screen will go to the strip, with what they are brighter, the flicker stronger). Lamps with apparent surge can not be used in residential areas.
• Color Rendering Index (CRI). The spectrum of light of LED lamps is different from the spectrum of sunlight and light ordinary incandescent lamps. Though light and it appears white, some color components in it more and some less. CRI indicates how uniform the level of the different color components in the world. At low CRI less visible light shades. Such light is visually unpleasant, moreover understand that it is not so very difficult. In lamps and sun lamps CRI = 100, in he conventional LED lamps is more than 80, have a very good more than 90. Lamps with CRI below 80 in residential areas should be avoided.
• The angle of illumination. LED lamps type "pear" are of two kinds. At first the protective cap has a hemispherical shape having the same diameter as the body. These lamps do not shine back and if they shine down in the chandelier, the ceiling will remain dark, which can be visually ugly. The second type of lamp transparent dome has a diameter greater than the body and a little lamp shining and back. LED lamp filaments or transparent disks have an equally large angle of illumination as conventional filament lamp.
Halogen spotlights provide a narrow beam of light with an illumination angle of about 30 degrees, and the majority of LED spotlights shining diffuse light with an angle of about 100 degrees. Such lamps in the false ceiling "blind" due to too wide an angle. Only a few LED spotlights have a lens and a narrow-angle light as a halogen lamp.
And three more problems that can often be encountered in LED lamps:
• Non-compliance of the luminous flux and the equivalent of the stated values. Unfortunately, often the packaging of LED lamps write inflated value of the luminous flux and the equivalent. You can find the lamp, which is specified luminous flux of 600 lm and that the lamp replaces a 60-watt incandescent Lama, but in fact it shines only as a 40-watt bulb.
• mismatch of color temperature stated. Very often there are lamps, the color temperature of the light that is different from what the manufacturer promises. Instead, you can meet 2700K 3100K and 6000K instead of 7200K even.
• premature lamp failure. Manufacturers indicate the service life of LED lamps from 15,000 to 50,000 hours, into the same lamp sometimes break down after a few months of work.
7. How to choose high-quality LED lamp?
In the Russian market presents a lamp several dozen brands. Most of them - Russian brands that manufacture lamps in China to order. Many people think that once the Chinese lamp, better and cheaper to buy them in the Chinese online stores, but it's a big mistake. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Chinese lamps stores of very poor quality. The power and luminous flux have much lower than promised, color rendering index (CRI) is low, many lamps there pulsation, sometimes reaching up to 100%, the color temperature normalized (the Chinese "warm white light 2700-3500K" often write and that is in fact no one knows), is no guarantee for such lamps there is no change at the output of their failure is not out. I tested several dozen tubes of Chinese online shopping and good among them there was only one, the cost is more expensive than a similar lamp in Russia.
I know of only four brands that do not overstate the luminous flux and the equivalent on the packaging. It Ikea, Osram, Philips and Diall, so when buying lamps of all other brands better to take lamp "with a stock". If you need to replace a 40-watt light bulb, better take the one that says "the equivalent of 60 watts incandescent lamps."
If you're buying is possible to turn on the lamp, make sure it does not flicker using pencil test or smartphone. Lamps with unacceptable ripple across even brands such as Osram.
If flicker found at home, feel free to return the lamp - according to Russian laws, LED lamps can be returned to the store within 14 days of purchase.
Pay attention to the warranty periods (warranty on the lamp is from one to five years) and save receipts. The lamps should be exchanged at the point of purchase.
In order to know exactly what are the LED lamps of different models, which they give real light beam, which incandescent lamps are able to fully replace what they CRI, color temperature and ripple, whether they can work properly with switches that have I created light project http://lamptest.ru. I regularly tested LED lamps and publish the results. Who tested nearly 1,700 models of lamps.
For more than two years in my apartment there is no other light sources other than LEDs. This gives a good power savings, does away with the frequent lamp replacement and gives more freedom - for example, I often do not turn off the light in the hallway, because the lamp consumes only 7 watts.
Hopefully soon appear and LED lighting in your home.
© 2016 Alex Nadozhin
The main theme of my blog - Equipment for human life. I write reviews, share experiences, talk about all sorts of interesting things. And I'm doing stories of the interesting places and tell about interesting events.
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p.s. This article was written for the corporate blog on M-Video Geektimes and for the first time published there.