The led down light is the “bread and butter” of lighting. Its discreet appearance, practicality and good ability to blend well with other lights make it an ideal lighting choice. It plays an important role in home lighting. Therefore, it is absolutely vital to get the best led downlights.
However, there are so many kinds of led down lights available on the market. How do we determine which light to buy? This article will answer this question by explaining some of the key factors to consider, and help make better decisions in choosing led downlights.
Choose a Led Down Light with High Brightness
The first thing needed to be considered is the brightness level. Firstly, let’s make it very clear that the brightness of a led down light is measured by lumen, not wattage.
Lumen is the measure of the total light output from a light source. This means the higher the rated lumen, the brighter the down light will appear. Wattage, on the other hand, measures the energy consumed to produce a set amount of light output. This explains why modern led down lights are so much more energy efficient than older fluorescent or halogen downlights.
Choose a Led Down Light with High Build Quality
Build quality is also one of the factors that you are supposed to pay attention to. Like many things in life, it is a case of “you get what you pay for”. The raw materials and components used for led downlights have a huge impact on its performance and durability. The main factors are:
1. Frame and Heatsink Quality - Aluminium heatsinks are of good durability and reliability and have better heat dissipation performance than plastic heatsinks. Superior downlights are most manufactured of aluminium frames and heatsinks.
2. LED Driver Quality - Downlights with built-in LED drivers are typically more durable and reliable than that with built-in LED drivers.
3. Diffuser Quality - Another factor that affects build quality is the quality of the diffuser. Inferior diffusers are easy to break and often diffuse poorer-quality light.
We suggest the led down light with an aluminium body, aluminium heatsink and an external LED driver.
Choose a Led Down Light with Proper Beam Angle
The beam angle is the amount of light that travels from the light and can be measured in degrees. Since led down lights are concave, most have a beam angle of 45°. In contrast, a conventional bulb has a beam angle of 360°.
We recommend selecting led down lights with a narrow beam (of 25°) if you want concentrated lighting, e.g. in the kitchen, which is perfect for focusing on smaller details within the room. However, if you are looking at downlights for the living room, a wider beam (of 60°) is preferable because it will give you a soft light.
No matter what the room size, it is always better to get soft light instead of glaring light. Generally, if you're not sure about which beam angle is suitable, the best led downlights are those with beam angles from 60 to 120 degrees because they work well in the majority of cases.
Choose a Led Down Light with Excellent Color Temperature
When buying a led down light for home, people always want the one that offers warm, ambient feel. “Warm white” sounds ideal - but it is just a description, and not a very accurate one. To get the effect you want, it is much better to look for the actual colour temperature, which is measured in Kelvin (K). The K is larger, the light is softer.
Choose a Led Down Light with Dimming Feature
The led down lights can be dimmable or non-dimmable. A dimmer switch can be added to the dimmable down light to control its light output level. The dimming function is very useful whenever the surrounding lighting has a major impact on our entertainment or leisure experience. The dimmer gives us the flexibility to adjust the down light to maximum capacity when it needs to be clearly viewed and to turn down the light when it is necessary to relax.
A dimmable led down light is a wise choice for adjusting the lighting level for entertainment or relaxation reasons.
Choose A Led Down Light With Long Warranty
Finally, don't ignore the warranty section! For economic efficiency, you’d better choose the led down lights with the longest possible warranty period. If a failure occurs unfortunately, it can save a lot of repair & replace costs.
Work with an LED lighting professional to help you select the best led downlights according to your unique needs.
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