How to choose the right LED light bulb for your Fixtures

Announcement posted by Light Online Australia 07 Jan 2016

Changing a burned out light bulb can be a daunting task, especially when it’s for an uncommon use or fixture

Every light fixture benefits from a well-chosen bulb whether it is a Downlight or LED Tubes, innovations over the past few years made LED light bulbs a very good choice. LED bulbs offer both practical and aesthetic advantages over incandescent and fluorescent lights. They are energy efficient, long-lived, and give clear consistent light.

Choosing the right light bulb can be difficult, especially when it is for an uncommon fixture. The good news is we can make it much easier. Since top considerations for choosing a new bulb include fixture, technology, wattage and colour temperature, answering these few questions will give you a strong foundation for your search.

1. What kind of lamp base and shape you are after?

Naturally when we choose a light bulb we consider the base of it by thinking about the fixture being used. If it is replacing an old light globe after unscrewing your burned-out bulb and examining it for relevant information such as lamp base, brand name or wattage, you’ll need to consider its application and check the requirements of the fixture. At some cases you may think about using a new light fixture or replacing the faulty ones before using the new bulbs. Popular household bulb shapes include A19, decorative chandelier in candle shape, and outdoor reflector such as PAR, MR, and BR type bulbs.

Moreover, having the right base type on your bulb ensures it will screw into your fixture properly. Depending on the application, light bulbs can be wide and varied. If you need further help to identify your bulb, ask one of our lighting experts here at Light Online, We’re always happy to help!

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Choosing the right light bulb can be difficult, especially when it is for an uncommon fixture. The good news is we can make it much easier.

2. What wattage do you need?

Again, if the wattage you need isn’t specified on your old bulb, you can always check your fixture. Fixtures such as ceiling fans, lamps, or general overhead lights are rated to accept a certain wattage, which you can look up on the manufacturer’s website if it’s not printed on the fixture. When replacing an incandescent with an LED or CFL bulb, however, they will typically be labelled in terms of wattage equivalence; “60W equal” bulbs, for example. These 60W equal bulbs may use as little as 8 watts to actually operate—this rating simply means that they produce as much light as 60W incandescent and will work fine in fixtures rated to accept 60 watts.

3. Do you want bright, white light or comfortable, orange light?

The colour of light, ranging from the orange glow of a candle to the bright blue light of the sun, is called colour temperature. Colour temperature has nothing to do with physical heat. The colour temperature scale is even backward from an ambient temperature scale: the lower the colour temperature, the warmer (or more orange) the light is; the higher the colour temperature, the cooler (or more blue) the light is. Measured in degrees Kelvin, most lights have colour temperatures between 2700K and 6500K, and the particular colour temperature you need depends on your room and application. Check out choosing colour temperatures for more advice.

4. Need a dimmable option?

There are more dimmable LED lamps in market right now and you have the variety of options to choose when it comes to dimmer controls. Each bulbs and brands may differ in this area therefore careful considerations from the manual is recommended to know further about the selected lamp.

5. What lumen do you need?

Lumen is the standard unit for measuring the amount of light produced by a light source. It is equal to the amount of light hitting one square foot of surface one foot away from the light. Essentially, the higher the lumens, the brighter the light.

6. Have any Beam angle considerations?

The beam angle is something you need to pay attention to when choosing the right LED lighting for your space. This is as important as the Lumens. Beam angle indicates the spread of light from the light source. A narrow beam gives a strong light which is better for accent lighting. A wide beam gives a more general, softer light