5 Things First-time LED Buyers Should Know

Buying an LED light bulb can be tricky and is an experience very much unlike buying a regular incandescent light bulb. But it’s something you’ll have to do sooner or later, what with incandescent light bulbs finally phased being out.

If you’re looking to retrofit your [city] home with LED light bulbs, but don’t quite know where to start, read this guide to know everything about them.

1. Do LEDs Cost a Lot of Money?

Not anymore. While it’s true that LEDs fetched prices of more than $25 to $30 a bulb in the past, the increase in demand for LEDs and the improvements in manufacturing processes have helped make production of LEDs cheaper and faster, which in turn has driven prices down.

Today, you will find LED light bulbs for less than $5.00. While that’s still more expensive than incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), do remember that the energy savings you get from using LEDs offsets the price you paid to buy them.

In other words, the investment of buying LEDs pays off for itself in the long run.

2. Confused by the Labels?

Thankfully, government regulations now mandate that the packaging on LED light bulbs, and even CFLs and halogens, contains information on the following:

• Brightness, measured in lumens
• Energy consumption, measured in watts
• Color temperature, measured in degrees Kelvin
• Lifespan, usually measured in hours
• Beam spread

Some LED bulbs will also have charts comparing the electricity consumption and output between the LED and its incandescent and CFL equivalent, making it easier for buyers to make comparisons.

3. Don’t LEDs Emit a Dull, Bluish Light?

They used to, much to the frustration of early adopters.

Today, LEDs are capable of generating just about any color in the color spectrum. But for ordinary buyers, what you should pay attention to is the bulb’s color temperature, measured in degrees Kelvin as mentioned earlier.

The higher the LED’s temperature, the cooler, or bluer, the light it generates. For example, an LED labeled as “Daylight” will have a color temperature of around 4500 K, which means it will generate a bright, white light—about as close to daylight at noon as you can get.

If you want to get the warm, yellow glow of an incandescent light bulb, go for a lower color temperature, like 2700 K.

4. Most LEDs are Dimmable

If you loved the dimming abilities of incandescent light bulbs, you’ll love LEDs too in no time. Because LEDs generate a light that’s proportionate to the electric current fed to them, the brightness of the light they emit can be controlled with a dimming controller.

Some LED bulbs work fine with existing third-party dimmers, so all you have to do is screw them in to your dimmer-connected sockets.

Not all LEDs are dimmable, however, so be sure to check the label.

5. Some LEDs are “Smart”

Besides being great for general lighting, some LEDS have extra features added to them, such as the Wi-Fi connectivity and the ability to play music. This is largely because the engineering in LEDs is much closer to microchips than traditional lighting.