Blog

Whilst the Latin phrase Caveat Emptor meaning ‘buyer beware’ might sound a bit stern, it’s always wise to check before you buy, especially with regard to a rapidly-developing technology such as LED lighting.

To avoid receiving the wrong bulbs and enduring the inconvenience of having to return them, here’s a short buying guide that should help you to make informed decisions about which you require.

After all, buying a light bulb should be just as simple as changing one!

First, Take Measurements

Measure the height and diameter of your fittings to ensure that your bulbs will fit. Although most LED bulbs are designed to retrofit and replace your existing bulbs, sometimes there’s the possibility that they’ll be slightly greater in length.

This can create problems if you’re replacing the bulbs in recessed lighting fixtures, as the bulb needs to fit into a small cavity behind a clear glass cover. Therefore, compare the height and diameter of the bulbs you want to buy, alongside the dimensions of your light fitting.

Check the bulb’s dimensions in the specification table on each product page of our website, as they’re clearly displayed there:

A general rule to adhere to is if your supplier or manufacturer doesn’t provide you with accurate bulb specifications, it’s probably best to avoid their products.

Check The Base Configuration

This is the all-important bulb fitting, often known as its ‘cap’. If your bulb doesn’t fit or isn’t compatible, then it’s essentially useless to you. Make sure you know exactly what base configuration you’re looking for. This will make your search a lot quicker and easier, and you’ll be able to ask all the relevant questions when you need to.

Some of the most common bases include MR16, GU10, B22 Bayonet Cap and E27 Edison Screw Cap. Check the original packaging on your existing bulbs, or use our handy fitting guide to discover which you need.

Analyse The Colour Temperature

LED Bulbs are able to produce light in different shades of white, ranging anywhere from sharp, bluish fluorescent colour temperatures to a warm incandescent glow.

While personal preference plays an important part in choosing a colour temperature, it also allows you to look at things objectively.

Soft light, more often known as “warm white” is designed for general, ambient illumination. It has a Kelvin rating of around 3000K and is most often used in areas such as the living room and bedroom, its light being much more convivial and conducive to relaxation.

Cooler, sharper colours, known as “cool white” have a 6000K rating and are ideal for applications requiring effect and accent lighting. A general rule-of-thumb, is that it’s best suited to more functional rooms in which some degree of task-centred activity takes place.  Thus, it’s very often employed in rooms such as the kitchen or bathroom, but it’s also popular with people for their gardens and general outdoor illumination.

In between the warm and cool colour temperatures lies the “daylight” option.  As its name suggests it’s the closest approximation of natural light that LED colour temperatures are able to achieve. That said, LED bulbs are becoming known for their high CRI (Colour Rendering Index), so you might be able to imagine using it in virtually any room of your home.

Check The Watts ‘n’ Lumens

LED Lights produce the same number of Lumens of light as incandescent bulbs, only for a fraction of the energy requirement.

Despite light intensity being measured in lumens and not watts, checking the equivalent wattage is one quick and easy way to identify exactly which low-energy LED bulb you’ll need to replace your existing light bulbs.

All LED bulbs have a ‘real wattage’ and an ‘equivalent wattage.’ The real wattage indicates the actual amount of power the LED uses, whereas the equivalent wattage denotes the power of the bulb it is designed to replace.

For example, a GU10 80 SMD LED Bulb has a real wattage of 3.3 watts, but has an equivalent wattage to that of a 50 watt incandescent bulb.

When you’re buying an LED light bulb, therefore, the first thing to do is check the wattage of the bulbs you intend to replace. Then, simply search for the LED bulb whose equivalent wattage is the same as this figure.

Check The Bulb’s Efficiency

Everyone wants a bulb that can produce the most light for the lowest cost. The true efficiency of a light bulb is best calculated on a lumen per watt basis. Lumens are a measurement of the amount of visible light a bulb produces, while watts are how much energy it needs to work.

The most efficient bulbs can be found by working out the lumen-to-watt ratio. Simply divide the number of lumens by the number of watts. The higher the lumen-to-watt ratio, the more energy-efficient will be the bulb.

Check The Price

Last, but most people’s very first consideration, is the cost of the bulb.

This is quite different for LED bulbs, because calculating the price of an energy-saving LED bulb has much more far-reaching implications than the initial cost.

Although investing in your LED replacement bulb will cost slightly more than incandescent bulbs and CFLs, its incredible longevity, low maintenance requirement and much reduced energy-consumption will save you a great deal of money over its lifetime.

Indeed, when compared with the 1,200 hour lifespan of incandescent and 5,000 – 8,000 hours of CFLs, the LED bulb’s 50,000 hour life-expectancy will ensure it’s still kickin’ out the lumens for a very long time to come, so make sure you factor this into the equation, when considering which bulb to buy.

By following these simple steps, you can make sure you that every bulb you buy is a winner. Remember, if there’s anything you’re unsure of, give us a call on 0116 321 4120 and our customer service advisors will clear things right up for you.

You’re also more than welcome to send us an e-mail enquiry to cs@wled.co.uk if you’d prefer.