Downlight is a common light fixture that can be used for both commercial lighting and home lighting. There are many types of downlights on the market, and consumers often do not know how to choose. As a professional led down light manufacturer in China, GRNLED will tell you how to choose the right LED downlight today
- What is a downlight?
Downlights are generally composed of light sources, electrical components, lamp cups, etc. Downlights with traditional light sources generally have a screw cap, which can be installed with energy-saving lamps, incandescent lamps and other lamps. Now it is generally an LED downlight, the light source is an LED, and generally includes a driving power supply, a diffuser plate, etc., there are various types of downlights embedded in the ceiling, called recessed type, and surface-mounted type.
- What are the benefits of LED downlights?
The light sources of downlights include energy-saving lamps, LEDs, halogen lamps, etc. The commonly used downlight sources are LEDs.
There are different classifications of LED light sources. Common ones are DIP LEDs, which are plug-in LEDs, or straw-hat LEDs. SMD type [Surface Mounted Devices] originally refers to a form of packaging, which is used in the LED industry to refer to SMD lamp beads, High power LED is high power LED, and COB is centrally packaged LED and so on. The earliest LED downlights used straw hat LEDs, but they are basically useless now. The use of 1w or 3w high-power LEDs alone for downlights has become less and less.
Now mostly SMD and COB are used. SMD has uniform light emission, long life, relatively simple process and high-cost performance. COB has good chromatic aberration and good heat dissipation. Both types of LED light sources have their own advantages. Relatively speaking, COB costs a little more.
In addition to the advantages of general LED lamps, such as energy saving, environmental protection, long life, etc., LED downlights also have other advantages.
- How to choose downlights?
1). look at style and appearance
Although the design of downlights is generally relatively simple, but the appearance is still there, and Panasonic has done a good job in this regard. In this era of looking at the appearance of everything, it is more important to choose a lamp that looks good to you.
The selection of downlights also needs to look at the quality. Downlights are generally composed of light sources. Now they are generally composed of LED lamp beads, drivers, lamp cups and other structural components. Pay attention to the quality of these parts. LED lamp beads are mainly about brightness and life, the driver is mainly about the stability of current, and the lamp cup is mainly about heat dissipation and robustness.
Generally speaking, the workmanship is insufficient. For example, whether the shell material is made of aluminum, of course, there are materials that have better heat dissipation than aluminum, but they are usually expensive and not conventional products.
2). Choose the famous brand driver.
Because the driver is inside, it is generally invisible from the outside, so we can only see it through the relevant parameters, such as the warranty time, the power factor of the driver, efficiency, etc. Good quality products generally write the parameters of this piece or provide product warranty period.
3). Choose downlight with top quality led chips.
Since the lamp beads are also inside, the quality cannot be seen, but we can know the quality of the lamp beads from the presence or absence of glare, the softness of the light, and the warranty time. If the optical distribution of the lamp beads is unreasonable, it will cause glare, If the lamp bead is guaranteed for a long time, it means that the heat dissipation can be done well. If the heat dissipation is done well, the service life of the lamp bead can be guaranteed.
Buying a well-known brand can save you some of the hassle of shopping. It does not mean that it is not good to have products that are not branded. As long as they are products of regular manufacturers and have relevant certifications, you can choose good products by paying attention to screening.
Note: Embedded downlights need to be suspended ceilings, so the floor height still has certain requirements, especially after the ceiling is completed, if the clear height is less than 2.6m, you need to carefully consider whether you need to install downlights.
- Choose suitable wattage for led downlight
The selection of the wattage of the downlight can refer to the floor height. If the floor height is about 3 meters, you can choose about 3w. When the main light design is adopted, you can also choose the downlight with 5w or more power. If it is designed with a main light, you can choose 3w or 1w. The floor height of about 3.5 meters can choose about 6w, and the higher floor height can choose 8w or even higher power. Factors such as area, floor height, light efficiency of downlights, and personal preference need to be considered. These are approximate references, unlike classrooms, libraries and other places that have relevant standards for illuminance. After all, it is a place for individuals to rest and live. It is recommended for reference, and you need to feel comfortable.
- Choose suitable color temperature
Generally, the living room can choose a color temperature of about 4000-5000k. Because the application scene of the living room is changeable, it is best to choose a color temperature that can be used. In addition, because the number of downlights is relatively large, pay attention to the consistency of the color temperature, and the color temperature is inconsistent. If so, it doesn’t feel good either.
- Pay more attention on glare value
Glare refers to the strong contrast of light that causes discomfort to the human eye, and it is necessary to avoid glare as much as possible. The generation of glare is mainly related to the optical design of the lamps, the installation angle, the human visual angle and so on. If used as basic lighting, try to choose a downlight with deep anti-glare.
