Price of light Led light?
What does the price of light LED light really consist of? In summary, the following issues:
- quality of the led circuit,
- service life,
- dimmability,
- light moisture protection
- serviceability
- and ease of installation
These are the features that make up the price of light LED light. Before and after the purchase, speed, flexibility in delivering the product, handling of errors and complaints, and other personalised service available are also reflected in the sales price and are essential to the bottom line.
Why do LED luminaires that look the same have different prices?
Many LED luminaires look very similar, and it is difficult to compare, for example, white LED panels online on the basis of a picture alone. Even with a long list of product features, it can be difficult to pick out the most relevant ones. A high price is not always a direct indication of the quality of the LED, and on the other hand you can sometimes get good quality for a low price. The price of LED lights is a combination of several things. The Led Store has been developing its own LedStore collection and design expertise for over 10 years to ensure that its customers always get the full experience of their LED lighting. In this article, we have compiled our experience of the main issues affecting price and quality in LED luminaires.
The homogeneity of the materials and components used is important when it comes to products that have a long service life and are constantly in the product range. Working methods and finishing also cost money, which increases the price of light LED light. These are choices ordered by the manufacturer and made by the manufacturer, which are difficult to assess as a customer before you buy.
Material and components of luminaires
There are differences in the body materials of the luminaires. The LED requires protection from the luminaire body and a surface against which the LED circuit will cool and not break. In LedStore, the body of the light is always metal, usually aluminium, unless otherwise specified. You may also come across plastic spots or thin tin frames on the market. A plastic, sealed body close to the LED circuit cools the LED less well than an aluminium one, and luminaires with a metal body may warp from heat. Competition in the market is fierce, so some manufacturers use cheaper materials instead of aluminium.
The LED light source can be an integral part of the luminaire or removable and replaceable. We have both. LED luminaires with fixed LEDs have their advantages. In many cases, they provide a tighter structure, which is better for luminaires designed especially for wet areas. A fixed LED often gives a more compact shape to light and increases compactness, e.g. for damp locations and outdoor luminaires. More important than the replaceability of the LED circuit or module is, in our experience, the replaceability of the transformer or power supply, as a good quality LED circuit can easily last more than 10 years without needing replacement. In LedStore luminaires, driver supply is replaceable in almost all products. In other words, the design of the product also affects the price of light LED light.
Colour rendering performance CRI and the importance of the LED chip
The LED circuit used in the luminaire contributes to the price. High-quality LED circuits that reproduce colours well are naturally more expensive than LED circuits with poor colour reproduction and high variation between circuits. The amount of light output from an LED chip also affects the price of the LED chip (LED efficiency). In most cases, a light with a higher efficiency is also more expensive.
At LedStore, we focus on colour rendering, so that the lighting shows the colours of the interior as they are, and does not distort them. Our luminaires have a CRI of over 90 and many of our models have a CRI of 97. We’ve seen a lot of panels on sale with a colour rendering index of less than 80, which is fine for warehouses, but once you’ve carefully chosen the colours for your interior, it’s not worth installing in residential and office spaces. Better LED circuits cost more, which means that the price of light also goes up. We use a certified measuring instrument for our own quality control.
The colour rendering index is expressed as a number on a scale from zero to 100, where 0 = no colour reproduction and 100 = full colour reproduction. Sometimes the scale is also seen in the negative direction, where light can even reduce a particular hue in the environment. For LED luminaires, the colour rendering index is also given as the so-called. Ra values, which are often measured on a smaller scale than CRI. This Ra figure does not include, for example, shades of red, or skin tones, in which case the value is called the Ra value. an embellished figure for the actual quality of the LED.
The colour rendering index does not indicate the colour of light, but how well the light reproduces the colours of other objects. The colour temperature of light, on the other hand, indicates the colour of the white light produced by light. The colour temperature is expressed in Kelvin. A traditional incandescent bulb is typically 2 700K (yellowish), an office light 4 000K (white), outdoors in Finland around 5 500K (bluish). Today, the most popular light tones in interior design are 3 000K (warm white) and 4 000K (neutral white).
In earlier light sources, the colour rendering index did not play such an important role. Namely, light sources such as incandescent lamps always had a high level of light in terms of colour rendering index. LED technology has brought energy savings and other benefits, but attention must be paid to the colour rendering index.
Serviceability and ease of installation
The price of lights luminaires is affected by the number of interchangeable parts and connectors, which often increase the price of light. Also e.g. the possibility of chaining in the transformer can increase the price. This is natural, because the more parts and joints a luminaire has, the more laborious it is to manufacture.
However, the fact that the light has to be chained can significantly reduce the cost of installation. If the light can be chained with quick connectors, installation is even faster (no need to drill screws) and the wiring can be simplified, making installation quicker. Of course, this may not necessarily be the case if the contract price is agreed in advance, but for most renovation projects, the time and method of installation of light is important.
With a separate driver connected to the luminaire via a quick connector, maintenance is easy. The transformer is the first part of the LED luminaire to fail, if something breaks. So it is good that it is possible to change the driver. Electronic drivers are wearing parts of light.
The picture below shows the quality features of LedStore’s high colour rendering index spotlight in a decompressed format. They are:
- high quality aluminium body
- anti-glare diffuser
- a lens that controls the angle of light opening
- high quality led circuit
- well cooling aluminium module
- quick connectors for transformer
- chainable driver.
Price and features of Led lights
A variety of features are now available for LED luminaires. The LED’ lights are dimmable, moisture-proof and also have colour temperature control of the light. Some of the features come from the so-called. on top of the trade (damp-proofing is often standard) and some are more expensive to implement. Almost all LedStore LED luminaires are dimmable and can be dimmed using wired, “basic” rotary dimmers. Rotary dimmers are relatively cheap to buy. If, in addition to dimming, the lights need to be adjusted for colour temperature, this will add a small additional cost to the lighting.
For example, colour temperature controlled (CCT) luminaires require additional features, but controlling the colour temperature of the light also brings many more possibilities for the use of light. Dimmers with colour temperature control are available from LedStore in both wired and wireless versions.
It is therefore worth considering the lighting needs and requirements for different spaces, as well as the desired solutions for the use of lighting, already at the design stage. At the quotation stage, you should also make sure that the price of light LED light includes all the necessary parts, such as the power supply/transformer. At LedStore, almost all lights include driver in the price, except for a few spotlights and LED strips, where the transformer requirement is calculated by the number of metres used. It can often be the case that savings in one area result in costs in another. It is always worth asking for a total quote for a package.
Feel free to contact us and check out our products and implementations either in our online store ledstore.fi or in our servicing LedStore store in Vantaa Koivuhaa, Mesikukantie 16. Free parking in the courtyard.
