10 Things to Consider when purchasing LED Lighting
Everyone knows the benefits of LED
lighting compared to traditional incandescent bulb based lighting. It is well
published that LEDs Luminaires are some 90% more efficient and also have an up
to 25 times longer life span. So the decision to change from incandescent to
LED technology is an easy one. However, comparing LED based lighting to halogen
lamps is like comparing apples and oranges.
With so many LED products on the market how do you decide which ones
to purchase?
If you are looking at upgrading or
building new with LED lighting there is usually a substantial cost involved so you want to
make sure you select the best lamps for your purpose and that they will provide the
return on investment. This means they should last as long as promised and provide the
light performance desired. It is important to compare apples with apples as they say.
Here are the 10 most important things to consider when deciding to
invest in LED lighting.
Not all LED lights are created equal!
1: Light Output
There are large differences of LED
Luminaires in light performance for the power consumed (lumens per watt).
Unlike traditional incandescent lamps or halogen lamps where the amount of
power a lamp uses (wattage) is usually a pretty good indication for how bright
it will be.
The same applies to color reproduction.
For halogen lamps this is quite consistent. One LED lamp can be very different
from another.
Lumens are a common measurement used to
describe the amount of light a lamp produces.
Example of suggested
lumen comparisons
This measurement is too often based on
the LED’s manufactured rating (Raw Lumens). This however is can be misleading
and not the actual measure of useful light emitted by a LED lamp.
Factors such as the power used to drive
the lamp, thermal losses and optic and lens losses as light rays travel through
the lens all contribute to a possible 20-50% decrease of the light lumens
emitted by the LED. Good optic skills, circuit design and material selection
are required to minimize internal lumen losses.
The best measure of a lamps true light output is by comparing lux
diagrams.
Lumen ratings can be misleading because
they refer to the total light emitted from a Luminaire, no matter whether this
emitted in a useful direction. Lux and candela ratings refer to the actual
light intensity from the lamp at given distances and direction. This way you
know what light levels to expect when designing your lighting layout.
Quality lighting manufacturers, using
state of the art photometric equipment, are able to provide accurate lux or
candela charts so consumers get a fair representation of the expected Luminaire
performance.
Lux and Candela
charts are more useful measurements when comparing LED lamp output
For accurate light performance,compare Lux Charts.
Hella marine use lux and candela diagrams
to illustrate accurate light output and beam angles
Other aspects to consider when reviewing
luminaire performance include beam angle, and evenness of illumination, as well
as color temperature and color rendering which we cover in later sections.
2: Beam Angle
If you stare directly into a LED
luminaire, chances are it will appear bright and dazzle you. In fact, looking
directly at some of the high power LED chips for extended periods can be
hazardous to the eye.
The better optic design shows an evenly bright surface of the entire luminaire without any bright spots. Hella marine LED lamps use efficient lens and optic designs to reduce glare and eye strain while still projecting the light in an evenly distributed pattern. For example, down lights will often have a wide spread optic to fill a room and by overlapping the wide spread beams from several Luminaires shadows are much reduced, where as other lamps like spotlights or courtesy lighting may be designed to
focus or direct the light in a specific direction to achieve a specific effect.
Make sure you select a light with a lens and optic design that
reduces eye strain and a light pattern to suit your application.
3: Power Consumption
As mentioned earlier, LED lamps can save
up to 90% of power compared to a traditional incandescent lamp.
It is a common misconception that all 4W
lamps produce the same light performance. A well designed 3 watt LED lamp can
produce a lot more light than a 4-watt lamp. Much of the performance greatly
depends on the LED use and as mentioned earlier the quality of the optic,
thermal management and electronic.
Do not judge an LED on Wattage alone, as
two different 4 watt lamps may not have the same light output.
As LED technology is steadily advancing
manufacturers have been able to produce LEDs with a much greater lumen per watt
performance. This means lamps are getting brighter and your power consumption
from lighting is reducing. So efficacy, which is the measurement of lumens per
watt, is an important consideration.
Graph illustrates
how mass produced LEDs have become more efficient over the last decade.
Note: measurements
are raw (theoretical) lumens per watt.
Comparing lumens per watt.
If possible, try and compare the lumens
per watt to get an accurate measurement of how the percentage of the power is
being used to effectively generate light.
Based on
manufacturers listed Lumen’s and power consumption Hella marine EuroLED 75
lamps have
exceptional efficacy ratings (lumens per Watt)
Although LEDs run cooler than
incandescent lamps they still generate heat and need to be cooled. The more
power used in a LED lamp the more heat is generated and this can adversely
affect the long term lamp performance.
Hella marine frequently upgrades its
products to the latest LEDs technology from renowned manufacturers. Our drive
circuits never drive the LEDs to their maximum rated current. This means Hella
marine products are less likely to degrade in light performance and ensuring a
longer economic life.
4: Color temperature
(Kelvins) and Rendering
Index (CRI)
When white LED lighting first became
available it quickly gained a reputation for creating cold or blue color tones.
As technology has developed LED color temperatures have advanced and today LED
Luminaires are available in a wide range of colors temperatures, from similar
to natural day light or the warm tungsten glow of traditional incandescent
lamps.
LED colors set the tone and feel of your
vessel so choosing Luminaires that complement your interior or exterior is
important.
Hella marine LED
interior lamps are usually available in either 2700-3000K (warm white) or
5000K (day white) color
options
Think about what feel you want on your vessel. Cooler white colors
(5000K) usually suit white gel-coat boats and exteriors while lush upholstery
or varnished timbers look and feel better with a warmer (3000K) light.
Look for interior lamps with an 80+ color rendering index
CRI ratings >80 produce natural colors
As LED technology continues to advance so does the color rendering ability of LED’s. The higher the CRI rating the better and truer color reproduction you will get of various objects. For example, sunlight has the highest CRI rating of 100. LED lamps with a CRI rating of 80 or higher will reproduce the color scheme of the interior with good accuracy.
It is also worth explaining that after
LEDs have been manufactured they get selected into various grades based on
their color temperature and efficiency.
Hella marine ensures they use the same
brightness and color temperature grade is used to ensure consistency of the
luminaire, meaning a number of lamps fitted to a room will all have the same appearance
e.g. color temperature and intensity.
5: Thermal
Management
The notion that LED lamps run cool only
holds true compared to incandescent lamps that are too hot to safely touch after
operating for a short period. Fact is the LEDs and the electronic do heat up and if not
cooled effectively will affect the light performance and the expected life span of the lamp.
A very hot running LED Luminaire can cause issues interacting with the surrounding
materials, particularly in recessed lamps, that prevents the heat to dissipate.
High power LED lamps do generate heat so
the lamp needs to be designed to efficiently transport this heat away from the
LED itself. LEDs that overheat, meaning the junction temperature of the LED
rises above a set threshold, will permanently degrade, significantly reducing
their luminous efficacy.
Well engineered thermal management of a
LED device is essential for long-term reliability.
High output lamps should be designed to
dissipate heat through heat sinks or thermally conductive materials. Hella
marine use aluminum housings with radiating cooling fins to dissipate heat over
large surface areas away from the lamp.
Hella marine has also introduced a
revolutionary new ceramic based thermal polymer that has unique heat
distribution properties. This will be explained further when we discuss the
importance of the materials used to manufacture durable and reliable LED lamps.
6: Materials
Maritime environments are very harsh,
salty, high humidity coupled with strong UV. Lamps manufactured using low grade
corrosive metals or poorly coated alloys soon degrade and rust. This can cause
unsightly rust stains on the vessel and blemish the appearance of the lamp. Eventually the
housing and sealing systems will break down allowing moisture to enter the lamp.
Once this happens it’s only a matter of a short time until the electronics fail.
Durable housings are needed to protect internal components and electronics.
Most consumers will have purchased and experienced products made from plastic materials that deteriorate, fade
and become brittle very quickly when exposed to the sun. Continuous exposure to UV
can also cause LED lamps to become brittle and crack which eventually enables water or moisture inside.
Hella marine only manufactures products
from materials which are highly resistant to
UV radiation, salt and permanent high humidity.
Hella marine products are manufactured using high quality, corrosion resistant materials that have been tested and proven to be extremely durable in the marine environment.
For exterior and high impact areas Hella marine has introduced Grilamid® as the material of choice.
Offering excellent transparency (similar
to glass) and characterized by its very high impact and fatigue strength Grilamid® is
also resistant to long term UV exposure and chemically induced stress cracking.
Metal heat sinks are generally used to disperse excess heat away from the lamp and cool the LEDs, however metal based lamps that have not been well coated can quickly corrode or the coating can flake off in the harsh marine environment. This results in unsightly appearances and seals can get compromised allowing moisture to then access sensitive electronic circuits. Hella marine have introduced a new high grade Corosafe coating for aluminum products that are subjected to the harsh environment.
Hella marine have also started using a revolutionary new ceramic polymer with outstanding thermal performance.
New Ceramic Polymer housings provide complete corrosion resistance.
The replacement of metal based housing heat-sinks
with thermally conductive plastic not only opens a myriad of design options,
but also removes potential surface deterioration and corrosion risks.
This is especially important in
demanding environmental conditions such as the corrosive, salt laden, moist
marine environment where lights are constantly exposed to the elements and sometimes
temporarily submerged.
The other benefits of using this new ceramic thermal polymer
is this material can be precisely molded, meaning Hella marine can maintain
exact dimensions for precision fitments.
Less metal also means less weight: Lamps
with thermally conductive plastic
are up to 60% lighter than comparable metal bodied lamps. The
much lower mass significantly reduces the stress on
mounting points in high vibration and shock applications.
7: Sealing (IP Rating)
As LEDs are electronic devices it is
important to protect them from moisture and other contaminants that will
degrade or harm the lamp. In a marine environment this is even more important
as the chance of getting water, condensation or salt spray around the lamp is
highly likely even in interior applications.
Examples of
different LED manufacturers and methods of sealing lamps.
Look for lamps with an IP 67 rating.
The most effective way to protect the
lamp and its internal components is by completely sealing the
lamp.
All commercial and leisure Hella marine LED lamps are at least IP 67, meaning the same luminaire can be
fitted to both the interior and exterior on your vessel, in either wet or dry conditions. With the same fully sealed
LED light fitted both on the interior and exterior, a consistent lighting scheme can be kept and the vessel can be safely cleaned or water blasted without fear of water ingress into the lamps.
8: Electro Magnetic
Interference (EMI)
Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) is an increasingly relevant safety concern, especially for many emergency and industrial applications. As electronic devices such as LED lamps become more common, so does the risk of unintended electromagnetic interference (EMI) that can have adverse effects on other
sensitive devices such as radios or communication equipment.
All Hella marine LED products are tested and certified to
international standard CE for electromagnetic
interference. Hella Marine recognizes the importance of low emissions, so
products are designed to have values significantly below the recognized
levels for international standards, and lower than market norms.
In addition, due to market requests
Hella marine has also introduced a new RFCommSafe™ range of products, developed
in recognition that some radio communication equipment can self-tune to be very
sensitive in remote locations. In these situations, the limits prescribed by
regulatory requirements and as defined in international standards such as EN
60945, IEC 61547, EN 55015 (CISPR 15) standards may not be sufficient to ensure
there is no interference with very sensitive radio.
communication equipment. IEC 61547, EN 55015 (CISPR 15)
standards may not be sufficient
to ensure there is no
interference with very sensitive
radio communication
equipment.
Hella marine’s new RFCommSafe™ range is proven to have no
noise and will not interfere
with other electronic devices.
9: Warranty
We hope this booklet has been helpful to
explain the many factors that contribute to the design and manufacture of
quality and reliable LED lamps. Depending on the brand of LED lamp purchased
you can expect between a 12 month and 7-year warranty and this commitment of
the manufacturer will be an indication for the confidence level a manufacturer
places in the long-term durability of his product.
Buy from a trusted brand which has a reputation to stand behind their products.
All Hella marine LED lamps have a 5-year
warranty with the exception of the NaviLED Tri-color Anchor lamp which carries
a 7-year warranty. Our long warranty term serves your peace of mind that the
product you purchase from us will not only work flawlessly for a long-time but
will also maintain its appearance. Should you have any issues or need to
claim under our warranty, Hella marine has an extensive distribution network in
over 30 countries.
10: Cost
Obviously cost is an important
consideration when making a product decision.
Quality LED lamps are usually more
expensive than incandescent lamps and there are price differences between LED
lamps as well. As explained in this booklet there are vast differences as to
the material choices and construction methods and standards a manufacturer
designs to.
It is important to not only consider the
initial expense but the life time cost of the lamp or your vessel.
The power saving and longer life span
usually well off-sets the initial price paid over the life time of the LED lamp. How well
a LED lamp is designed, engineered and made will determine the eventual life span. Consider the total cost of purchase,
maintenance and efficiency, repair and replacement costs when purchasing your
next LED product. Astute purchasers prefer to pay for a quality lamp with increased
output, efficiency, light patterns and a 5 year warranty.
Test
1 - What is the IP rating for a
completely sealed lamp?
2 - What is the standard warranty period
on Hella marine LED lamps?
3 - What does CRI stand for?
4 - That does ‘efficacy’ mean?
5 - What lens material is used on the Sea
Hawk series lamps?
6 - What can excess heat do to LEDs?
7 - What is the best measurement to use
when comparing LED light output?
8 - Can you name the 10 top things to
consider when purchasing LED lighting?
9 - In how many countries is Hella
marine distributed in?
10 - How do you find your nearest Hella
marine distributor?
For any questions contact us at info@apexlighting.com