Conversion to LED
The old light sources had their time. LED technology offers numerous advantages such as significantly lower energy consumption and a long lifespan. The conversion of the old lighting to LED lamps therefore is a reasonable step.
Good opportunities to convert to LED
New Constructions
Defect of old luminaire
Furnishing of a room
Renovation
Moving
Replace illuminant or get a new lamp?
There are two options for LED conversion. On the one hand the illuminants of the existing lamp can be replaced. Alternatively, the complete lamp can be replaced with a new lamp with integrated LED’s. Depending on the situation, one or the other solution may be more appropriate.
Replacing illuminants
The easiest way is to replace the old lamps with new ones using LED technology. Many lights in the house have bases of the type B22, E27, or GU10. There is a large selection of LED illuminants for these bases. A replacement of the illuminants is always useful if you want to keep the lamp itself for a few more years.
New LED lamp
If you are planning to buy a new lamp anyway, the purchase of a lamp with integrated LED’s can be useful. These are usually fix installed and cannot be replaced. Some find this disadvantageous, but this is unproblematic due to the long lifespan of LED’s. The advantages are completely new design possibilities.
What to pay attention to when retrofitting
Due to the variety of LED lamps, the conversion seems somewhat complicated at first glance. The LED technology is also more complex than the old light sources. Without being well-informed simply buying any LED light could result in later disappointment. But if you are interested in the following points before buying, you will be enthusiastic about the current LED technology.
Important considerations before retrofitting
Which brightness is needed?
What color temperature do I need?
Which beam angle is suitable?
Should the lamp be dimmable?
Which brightness is needed?
The brightness of LED lamps is no longer given in watts but in lumens. If you want to keep the brightness of the lamp after conversion, you have to find out the brightness of the old bulb.
Our recommendations
In small corridors, rooms with a few square meters and on stairs go with LED lamps with 330 lm. This corresponds approximately to the brightness of a 35W incandescent bulb.
In the entrance area we recommend illuminants with 600 lm, which corresponds approximately to a conventional 50W light.
For a 16 sqm room it is recommended to use LED ceiling lamp with 1400 lm.
Which beam angle is suitable?
Which beam angle is suitable?
Many old light sources had a strong light scattering and radiated the light all around. LED’s have a very directional radiation. For larger beam angles, several LED’s are usually installed in one illuminant. The required beam angle of a light source depends on the lamp to be converted.
Our recommendations
Especially with directional spots, the lumen value of the new LED lamps can usually be lower than with the old illuminant.
The proportion of indirect light that is emitted to the rear or the ceiling, for example, can be omitted.
What color temperature do I need?
The color temperature describes the light color of an LED lamp. Depending on where it is used, there are different color temperatures from warm white to cold white. The exact value is given in Kelvin.
Our recommendations
We recommend lamps with a color temperature of 3000K for a luxury feel. This light color corresponds exactly to the warm white light of old incandescent lamps.
For rooms like storage room, housekeeping and general utility rooms we recommend lamps with 6000K. This light looks brighter, but less cozy.
Should the lamp be dimmable?
Unlike old incandescent lamps and halogen lamps, not all LED lamps can be dimmed. If you want to convert a dimmable lamp to LED, the new bulb or luminaire must be explicitly marked as dimmable.
Some dimmers of older lamps need a certain minimum load, which is not necessarily reached by the new LED lamps. In this case the new lamps flicker or hum or cannot be switched on at all.
Our recommendations
The conversion of dimmable lamps connected to an old dimmer can be one of the most difficult tasks. The only thing that helps here is to try it out.
If the new LED lamp then functions perfectly and the brightness can be regulated, there is no need for further action.
If the new lamp cannot be switched on or flickers or hums, the old dimmer must be replaced with a new LED dimmer.
What else is important? Conversion of low-voltage lights
If low-voltage lights are to be converted to LED’s, a low-voltage variant must also be used. Low-voltage lights are not operated directly with 240V mains voltage. These are connected to a transformer, which usually generates a low-voltage of 12V/24V.
When replacing LED light sources, the same difficulties can occur as when connecting to an old dimmer. Only trying out will help, whether the new LED lamps light up problem-free. Otherwise, the old transformer must be replaced with a new LED transformer.
Waste heat in small lamp glasses
Some luminaires have very small lamp glasses that tightly enclose the illuminant. Even if LED lamps have a high degree of efficiency, a certain part of the energy must be released into the environment in the form of heat.
If particularly bright and powerful lights are used in small lamp glasses, heat accumulation can occur. This can have a negative effect on the LED lifespan.
Retrofit all lights?
Due to our positive experiences with LED technology, we consider the LED conversion of all lights to be reasonable. However, under the following circumstances it must be carefully considered whether a conversion really makes sense or not.
Lighting in very rarely used rooms such as sheds or storerooms (low lighting duration, therefore hardly any savings with LED)
Lighting integrated in furniture (complicated conversion)
Which manufacturers to buy?
Most of the local lamps showed multiple disadvantages. There were switch-on delays, so that the illuminant produced light only a moment after the pressure on the light switch. Also annoying humming noises when switched on or a slight flickering is observed.
Reputed brands which we deal have none of the mentioned disadvantages and have also convinced to perform with very much of the light quality. Also there is minimum warranty claims, which speaks for the quality.
Conclusion
The purchase of new lamps has actually become a little more complicated with LED technology. But if you’ve read this article so far, you know what’s important when converting to LED. If you take these points into account when making your purchase decision, nothing will keep you away from a successful LED conversion.
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