10 Tips for Choosing the Right LED Downlights
1. LUMENS: You are paying for light (Lumens), not Watts, so be careful not to select a downlight just by wattage. However, this indicates that more efficient and better quality lights will have higher lumens/watts, reducing power usage. Some suppliers and their packaging will need to be more accurate and will supply the LED chip lumens rather than the actual output lumens. The output lumens will be about 15% less but sometimes even as much as half. If you are not sure about the packaging, do a comparison. 2. DIMMING: Check whether the downlights are dimmable or not. Most LED downlights are dimmable, although the dimmer switch can affect how much they dim. Some downlights do not dim as well as others and can flicker on lower settings. Dimming can be very useful in creating the right mood and reducing glare but, just as important, will save energy usage and often increase life span. When a downlight is dimmed, it saves power according to the level at which it is dimmed...