Since LED lighting products are standards compliant, retrofitting is usually uncomplicated. However, if (I) the new LED product(s) will not fit into existing sockets OR (ii) the existing sockets are so worn out that they must be replaced OR (iii) you are not sure how to do it, play it safe by buying LED retrofit kits.
These kits contain all components, diagrams and step-by-step instructions to help you install your LED lights safely & correctly, by yourself.
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Problem 3 - REMEMBER TO USE GOOD QUALITY LEDs:
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The impressive longevity of LED lighting (i.e. of the order of 25,000 hours, that we read about) is one of its most highly valued properties.
One of the most important factors responsible for longevity is the quality of LED chips used.
So, don't be lured into buying from little known manufacturers who will, no doubt, offer tempting, low-cost options. Insist on buying from established vendors like Cree, Philips, Feit Electric, GE and so on, even at SIGNIFICANTLY higher price(s), to be assured of longevity.
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Problem 4 - FIGURE OUT WHAT VALUE OF 'CRI' TO USE:
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CRI is an abbreviation for 'Color Rendering Index'. It measures the ability of a light source to faithfully render, or light up, objects of all colors equally.
Not all light sources are capable of doing this. LEDs are among the worst of contemporary lighting technologies in the matter of color rendering, while incandescent bulbs are good examples of such ideal or 'perfect' light sources.
CRI can take values between 0 & 100. A 'perfect' light source is assigned a CRI of 100.
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From the foregoing, it's clear that the higher the CRI value, the better. Hence, when selecting LED light(s), pick up the ones that have the highest CRI values. Also, use a lower cut-off limit of CRI=80.
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Problem 5 - COLOR TEMPERATURE a.k.a CORRELATED COLOR TEMPERATURE (CCT)
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How color and temperature are related needs neonskyltar a little introduction. Let me explain it briefly, this way. Suppose we connect an ordinary incandescent bulb to a source of electricity whose voltage can be varied. Let's start with voltage=zero.
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As the voltage is progressively increased, at some point, the bulb's filament will first turn red. Further increase in voltage will cause the filament's color to change to orange, then yellow, white and so on (to help, memorize the sequence correctly, remember VIBGYOR, in reverse order).
We also know that the heat dissipated by the bulb (and hence its temperature) will increase with the changes in color. This is the basis of correlation between color and temperature in lighting applications.
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We tend to associate the color red with words like 'glowing','fire','hot' etc. Similarly, the color blue is commonly related with words like 'cool','natural' and 'bright'.
But as we have seen in the example above, red color is produced at low temperature, while blue color, at high temperature. Scientists and engineers always prefer to use degrees Kelvin (deg K), so all 'correlated color temperatures (CCTs)' are specified in deg K.