Today’s modern interiors often focus on a lighting plan. Gone are the days when a single lamp or bulb merely illuminated a room. Ambient light provided by downlights creates an excellent effect combined with other lighting styles. If you are looking for the perfect LED downlight to purchase for your home, there are several factors you need to consider.
When you have numerous options to choose from, it can pose a challenge in deciding which one to buy. Here is a guide to what you need to look out for when purchasing LED downlights.
Start with the brightness level
To avoid any confusion, the brightness of an LED bulb is indicated in lumens, and not wattage. It is common to interchange these two parameters, but they essentially measure two different things. A bulb’s lumens pertain to its total light produced. Therefore, a higher lumen rating means a brighter LED bulb. For the purpose of comparison, a bulb’s wattage relates to the amount of power used to produce a specific amount of light.
In general, LED lights are highly economical because a low wattage LED bulb produces light that is equivalent to a high wattage halogen or fluorescent lamp. In choosing the right brightness level, you’ll need to take into account the room size and how many downlights you need to achieve the desired brightness level.
LED bulb quality
Suppliers won’t always tell the buyer about an LED bulb’s build quality. Look for LED downlights made with aluminium heatsinks and frames. Aluminium is more effective in diffusing heat than plastic, which makes the bulb more durable. If you have the budget for it, always select an LED downlight with an external driver and with aluminium frames or heatsinks.
LED light colour temperature
The colour temperature of an LED downlight usually refers to whether the light emitted is bluish or yellowish. The bulb’s colour temperature significantly impacts the ambience and mood of a room. If you want LED downlights that are more soothing, opt for a warm white colour temperature. For rooms where you need more focus, such as a home office or library, choose LED downlights with cool white colour temperature.
Fixed or adjustable frames
An adjustable frame is quite useful for areas in your home when you want to have the option to adjust the light’s direction. Some examples include a study room, the kitchen, or in the bathroom. Nonetheless, if this feature is not necessary, you can opt for fixed LED downlights instead.
The option to dim lights
Another cool feature that you can choose for LED downlights is the option to dim it when necessary. This particular feature is perfect for bedrooms and entertainment areas where you want to adjust lighting according to the mood.
A surface socket or outlet
There are LED downlights with the option to have a surface socket or outlet. Similar to any appliance you plug in for power, you can do the same with an LED downlight. This feature is useful when replacing a broken or faulty light bulb.
Leave a Reply