Frequently Asked Questions

All our LED lights and bulbs are energy saving that are designed to replace incandescent, fluorescent, CFL, metal halide, high pressure sodium and halogen lights in your office, facility or business. They will reduce your energy consumption by at least 40%, and as much as 80%, depending on the light you choose and the light we are replacing. With LEDs lasting up to 100,000 hours, we can also reduce your maintenance on your lighting.

LEDs are comprised of 3 main components: the LED’s (the chip set that produces light), the driver (converts AC to DC) and the heat sink (to keep everything cool). LEDs take DC power from the driver and create light. The heat sink captures heat from the LEDs and the drivers. Although LEDs produce significantly less heat than the light bulbs we have been used to over the past century, the heat they produce must be managed. The better this is done, the longer the life of the product.

There are many benefits. Here is a list of a few:
a. An immediate reduction in your electricity bill.
b. Less heat. LED fixtures are extremely efficient converting electricity into light.
c. LED Bulbs last a very long time, typically 50,000 to 100,000 hours.
d. They are virtually indestructible.
e. They do not contain mercury or other hazardous materials
f. Highly recyclable – with no hazardous parts, you can easily reclaim most of the parts in an environmentally safe way.

Yes and No.

First, not all LEDs are dimmable. The driver must be designed to allow dimming. Secondly, you must purchase the right type of dimmer. Most retail stores now carry dimmers specifically designed for LED bulbs. Please note, if you purchase a non-dimmable LED bulb and try to dim it, it will cause the bulb to fail and also void the warranty.

Some of our industrial and commercial LED fixtures (high bays, floods, area lighting, retrofits) work with a 0-10V dimming system. 0-10V dimming requires special wiring and a special type of dimmer.
The two most common types of dimming is: 0-10V low voltage and Triac dimming.

They shouldn’t. LED bulbs should not contain mercury or any other hazardous metals or chemicals. CFL’s and fluorescent do contain a very small amount of mercury that needs to be disposed of correctly. So when your LED bulb eventually stops to work, you don’t have to worry about costly or special disposal procedures.

Color temperature for light bulbs is measured on the Kelvin scale. LED Bulbs come in a variety of colors, but the most common are in a range from 2700 Kelvin to 7500 Kelvin. The unfortunate thing is that the only consistent measurement is the Kelvin scale, Many manufacturers like to use terms like Day White, Natural White, Warm White and Cool White, but there is not a standard that defines a Kelvin temperature to associate a color temperature with those terms. The warmer the light, the more yellow tones, the cooler the light, there are more blue tones.
• 2700-3200 – WW – Warm White
• 4000-4500 – NW – Natural White
• 5000-5500 – DW – Day White
• 6500-7500 – CW – Cool White

LED Bulbs are the perfect retrofit for your existing light fixtures. We have standard bases, candelabra, standard or Edison (E26) , mogul (E39), MR16 and other typical bases that are common with incandescent and halogen installations. For fluorescent tubes, we have bi-pin, single pin and HO Ends. Also available are PL based bulbs in G23, GX23, G24 and GX24 bases.

In most cases, our bulbs are the same size if not slightly smaller than the bulbs they replace. That is because LED technology packs a lot of light in a small package.

Both lights are energy efficient light sources that are much more efficient than the incandescent bulbs they replace. Here is a small list of the differences between CFLs and LEDs:

a. CFLs are the spiral tube like bulbs. They are really mini fluorescent bulbs with self contained ballasts. They contain a small amount of mercury. LED bulbs are the new style looking bulbs with heat sinks and round mini globes. They do not contain mercury.b. You can replace a 22W CFL bulb with a 11W LED bulb.
c. LED bulbs are instant on, instant off. CFLs take 30 seconds to 1 minute to warm up after they are turned on
d. LED bulbs are not affected by turning them off and on. CFL bulbs are, as this will reduce their life.

Yes. Some bulbs are designed with water-proof fittings. Others need to be kept in a water-tight fixture. Read all instructions and manuals before using a LED bulb outdoors.

The specification you need to check for is IP Rating. A bulb or fixture IP65 or greater is considered acceptable to work in a wet environment.

Yes. They will fade as the bulb gets near the end of its normal operating life. But it is very gradual and hardly noticeable. This is called Lumen Degradation and is denoted on the website as L70. L70 is the amount of time the light takes to get to 70% of the initial lumen output.

Most of our products come with either a 3 or 5 year manufacturer warranty. Warranties only apply for normal use of the products and do not include misuse or usage for which the product was not intended to perform. All our warranties are parts-only warranty. We do not cover the cost of labor or shipping. All installation instructions must be followed and the bulbs/fixtures cannot be modified in any fashion. Please see our Warranty Information page for more details.

There is a lot that goes into answering this question. DesignLights Consortium has indicated in their specifications that you need at least 10,000 lumens to replace a 400W Metal Halide. Some other factors come into play, like surface reflectivity, obstructions and other source of light, such as natural light sources coming into the building.

We find that the typical range is as low as 17,000 lumens and as high as 23,000 lumens. And we have also found that you need more lumens indoors than you need outdoors to replace 400W Metal Halide.

L70 is the amount of time it takes for a light to degrade to 70% of initial lumen output.

LM-79 is an approved process that measures the electrical and photometric properties of LED products. This process includes luminous flux, electrical power, efficiency, chromaticity as well as the diffusion of luminous intensity. Results of all five metric measurements displayed on a lighting product label originate from test results based on the LM-79 record.

LM-80 is an approved process that measures the maintenance of the luminous flux for a group of electroluminescent diodes (LED) at various operating temperatures. This document recommends testing over the course of a minimum of 6,000 hours (it is stated, however, that a testing period of 10,000 hours is advisable); measurements are taken at 1,000-hour intervals. Beyond those specifications, LM-80 offers no other determination or estimate as to the lifespan (or maintenance of luminous flux) over and above the number of test hours. Despite 10,000-hour testing time slots, recommendations do very little to challenge assertions made by LED-based lighting manufacturers regarding the lifespan of LED products sold on the market today.

Always buy based on lumens, watts is a number that is used to determine how much energy it takes to produce those lumens. It is important to pay attention to lumens per watt, or lm/w. The higher the number, the less energy you will need to produce the light. You will notice that some lights take less energy to produce the same amount of light, and this is something you should watch for. Typically, the higher the ratio, the better.

Almost always, it is the driver. That is why it is important to know who makes the driver in the LED fixture or retrofit you purchase. Typically a good driver should last more than 50,000 hours.

Heat. Heat is the enemy of electronics, the hotter it is, the shorter the light. However, with good design, you can create a light or fixture that can withstand some high heat environments. Typically a fixture or bulb with an external driver will last longer than an integrated fixture that has the LEDs and driver as one unit.

CRI is Color Rendering Index. It is a measurement of the quality of light. Where as lumens is a measurement of the quantity of light, CRI is the measurement of quality. It is a scale between 0 and 100. 0 is bad, 100 is great. LED’s typically are in the 70-95 range. The higher the CRI, the more expensive the LED chip, and therefore the more expensive the product itself.

DLC is DesignLights Consortium, the governing body that certifies the quality and efficiency of LED Lights. It is a standard similar to Energy Star. Whereas Energy Star is for residential products, DLC is for commercial LED products. A DLC Qualified product may be eligible for rebates. Your local utility designates whether you are eligible for rebates or not, and it varies between utility companies. Currently there are two standard, DLC Standard and DLC Premium. DLC Premium is more efficient and will save you more money in terms of operating costs.