LED Lights Terminology

The benefits of LEDs were known for many years now, yet for a long time, they were considered too expensive to be used in households. Fortunately, technological advancements enabled such solutions to become more affordable and accessible, so it’s not that uncommon to find LED systems in houses nowadays.

Why is LED lighting getting so popular?

At the very beginning, it’s important to explain what LED technology really is. We’ve all heard the name, but not many would be able to say what it stands for. LED is a short name for Light Emitting Diode, and it describes a semiconductor light source that transforms the energy that passes through it into the photons that are emitted.

One of the biggest advantages this lighting option has over the traditional incandescent light bulbs is its longevity. On the shelves of almost any store you’ll go to, you’ll be able to find LED lights that can last up to even 50 000 hours before they’ll have to be replaced. And keep in mind that they do not just burn out like the typical bulbs you’re used to. As time passes, you’ll start noticing that your LEDs dim slightly. That 50 000 hours limit mentioned above is just a moment when the level of brightness they provide is no longer considered to be sufficient. When you compare this with your old bulbs that had to be replaced every 2000 hours, the difference is striking.

However, it’s not just the lifespan that makes LED lighting so popular among many people. Its energy-saving qualities are equally important. It simply needs a lot less energy to guarantee the same amount of light as the old bulbs. So even though you’ll have to spend a bit more on your lighting at the beginning, you’ll quickly make it up due to reduced energy bills and the fact that you won’t have to buy the replacements for a really long time. Plus, by using solutions like LED tapes and LED profiles, you can easily implement them in various design projects, to make your home truly personalised and full of unique decorative features. Whether you decide to go with skirting board LED lights, or choose a LED strip profile to light up your stairs or install a LED aluminium channel to provide light underneath your kitchen cabinets is entirely up to you. Your biggest limitation here is your own imagination because the possibilities are huge.

LED terminology

No one expects you to become an expert on the subject. This is our job, after all. But to make sure you choose the best options available on the market, you need to get familiar with the terms you may hear or find on the boxes. This way you’ll avoid misunderstandings and make sure that the whole process goes smoothly without the need for returning your purchase and getting it exchanged for a more suitable one.

CRI

Colour Rendering Index, or CRI for short, is a scale from 0 to 100 that describes how accurate a specific light source is at rendering colours of an object. It’s an important factor to keep in mind when shopping for new lighting, whether it’s for commercial or domestic use, especially if you want to highlight certain elements of the interior design. For the best results, you should focus on lighting with 80-100 CRI as it’ll provide the most realistic colours to make your space look natural and appealing.

CCT

Correlated Colour Temperature, CCT for short, is a scale that indicates whether lighting will provide warm or cold light. Before making your decision, you should carefully consider what you need your light to be. Warmer light can help you create a relaxing atmosphere in your home, but you’ll need brighter options for the rooms you work in to ensure good visibility. For example, you can decide to install LED aluminium extrusion under your kitchen cabinets as LED light strip housing. But if your task lighting isn’t bright enough, it won’t give you satisfying results. CCT is measured in the degrees Kelvin (K), and by choosing solutions with higher degrees, you’ll get light closer to sunlight in appearance.

Watt

A watt is a unit of electrical power. It describes how much energy a bulb needs to emit a certain amount of light. It used to be the most important factor for incandescent lighting because the higher wattage was directly correlated with the brightness of the light. However, the situation is a bit different when it comes to LED lights. They can provide you with the same amount of light while using significantly less energy. A 5 watt LED bulb is capable of giving you the same lighting as a 40-watt incandescent bulb.

Lumen

To find out more about the brightness of an LED bulb you’re looking at, you need to look at the number of lumens it generates. It describes the total amount of light emitted by a light source. The higher the lumen value of your chosen bulb, the brighter the light it’ll provide. The increasing popularity of LED lighting is caused by the fact that it can produce a lot more lumens than old incandescent bulbs by using the same amount of energy, making it much more energy-efficient.

LED Power supplies

Whether you decide to go with LED lighting strips or to install LED profile light, every lighting fixture you build will require a reliable source of energy. That’s why finding the right LED power supplies is essential to guarantee that your LEDs will work properly. Since it will ensure that a consistent amount of power gets to each part of it without overheating the lights, it’s an essential element of any LED lighting system.