LED Tips - No Tricks
We compiled a list of helpful LED Tips for your benefit and hopefully you might learn something about LED. Out tips include everything from helpful hints when it comes to retrofitting an existing fixture or what to look for when replacing a fixture with LED.
LED Tip 1: How to Choose the Right Color Temperature
Choosing the right color temperature when you choose LED lights is important, and the color temperature will be different depending on the application.
Here is a quick list to help you make your decision.
Color temperatures you should consider are in the range of 2700K to 6500K.
Color temperatures on the lower end (2700K) tend to be warmer (yellow in color).
Color temperatures on the higher end (6500K) tend to be cooler (blue in color).
A good color temperature to replace MH and HID is 5000K.
A good color temperature to replace High Pressure Sodium is 4000K. You could also choose 2700 or 3000K if you like the appearance of a yellow light.
4000K is a great color temperature indoors for offices, schools, hospitals and other areas of work.
3000K is a great color temperature for the home. It contains very little blue light, is soft and warm.
On top of these tips, there is no difference between the LEDs inside a complete fixture and a LED designed to replace the bulb and ballast inside an existing fixture.
LED Tip 2: What you need to know about Power Factor
The Power Factor (PF) of a LED light or driver indicates the ratio of real power used. This is the amount of watts used by the light compared to the apparent power drawn into the lamps circuit. So why does this matter?
PF provides a measurement of how close your load is to that of an incandescent bulb, which has a PF of 1. Historically, incandescent bulbs have had near perfect power factors. All LEDs and drivers are measured against this base line.
A low power factor is also a sign of an inefficient product or light as it draws more current into the circuit than is utilized by the load. In other words, while you think you may be only consuming 100W of energy, you actually may be consuming significantly more because of the fixtures bad PF ratio.
When choosing LED fixtures or fixture conversion units with higher power factors, it minimizes the current capacity of components in your lighting circuit. This includes dimmers and cables as the product is not drawing an excessive amount of current compared to what is required.
The lower the current draws (higher power factor) of LED product, the more LED lamps that can be supplied by one circuit.
A poor PF score means you are using more energy than you may realize.
A Practical Example
100W LED fixture with a PF of 0.5: 100W ÷ 0.5 = 200W (actual) consumption
100W LED fixture with a PF of 0.8: 100W ÷ 0.8 = 125W (actual) consumption
Are there other problems associated with a low Power Factor Score?
Power is recycled from the LED Fixture to the power source, creating a disturbance.
Harmonics from the LED fixture degrade the line and affect the performance of other equipment on the same circuit.
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