Just a few years ago, LED lamps were considered a technical innovation. Today, LED lighting is used almost everywhere: many public buildings, hotels and offices are illuminated by LED lamps. LED lights can be found even in villages. Lamps of this type are also found in many houses and apartments, since they can be purchased even in grocery stores, not to mention specialized ones, where their assortment is much wider than lamps of other types.
LED lamp benefits
LED lamps have several advantages:
- Economic lamps based on such lamps consume a small amount of electricity.
- They are the most durable and last 20 times longer than ordinary bulbs.
- Almost do not heat up, so it is convenient to change, safe for children.
- The brightness of such lamps does not change depending on the voltage level and over time.
- Bright lamps are safely installed in chandeliers with limited power.
- Luminous flux and color are as close as possible to natural ones.
- This is an environmentally friendly analogue of other lamps, as it does not contain hazardous substances in human life and health.
- The LED lamp immediately turns on at full power. It does not take time to warm up, such as fluorescent lamps.
disadvantages
There are also disadvantages:
- The high price, which in turn is supported by a guarantee from manufacturers for a certain service life. In case of burnout, the lamp can be replaced absolutely free.
- A large percentage of fakes with low quality of light and short-lived, so you should buy only from trusted reputable manufacturers who give a guarantee on their products.
The high price pays for itself in 2 months of using LED lamps, so it can be considered a minus.
Types of LED lamps in shape
Today you can meet the following types:
- LED tube lamps ;
- point;
- floodlights (mainly used for street lighting).
LED tube light
LED lamps of this kind were invented in order to replace fluorescent lamps, since the latter have many shortcomings. In addition, they do not have a very long service life, which may adversely affect the work of the organization or enterprise, as this will result in production shutdown and losses. At present, tubular LED lamps are widely used for organizing lighting in offices, supermarkets, large shopping centers, factories and other enterprises.
They are of two main types:
Such lamps are made of very durable polymer materials.
The main types
There are many varieties of tubular LED lamps, so we will consider them by type of labeling, use, appearance , type of LEDs and so on. When choosing lamps, you should pay attention to all these indicators and characteristics.
By type of labeling:
- T8 - for large rooms;
- T5 - for trade counters, refrigerators, aquariums, etc.
A distinctive feature of T5 LED tube lamps is their small thickness. Between the contacts of the base, the distance is only 16 mm. Such lamps give a steady stream of light, without flickering and twitching. Modern T5 LED lamps consume an order of magnitude less energy, during installation they do not require special fixtures, but are inserted directly into the lamp in place of the old light tube.
LED tube lamps T8 - the most common form, they have a wide range of applications. They illuminate offices, corridors of residential and non-residential premises, balconies, etc. A distinctive feature of such lamps is the distance between the contacts of the base is 26 mm. They do not flicker, do not buzz, do not contain harmful substances, are easy to dispose of. Service life - 50,000 hours (5 years of intensive work).
By type of application:
- For home and office - more energy-efficient, provide less heating, safer, easy to change.
- Street - characterized by a high degree of protection of lamps from dust and moisture, provide bright lighting regardless of weather conditions.
- For plants - they are based on ultraviolet LEDs that repeat sunlight, which has a beneficial effect on plant growth and development in laboratory and home conditions.
- Industrial - characterized by a high degree of protection, are selected according to a number of characteristics depending on the required production needs.
By the type of LEDs used in the manufacturing process:
- Indicator - low indicators of light quality. One of the progenitors of modern LEDs. Now almost nowhere to be used due to obsolescence and poor quality.
- SMD - are small in size and almost do not heat up. At the moment, the most common.
- Powerful (1, 3, 5 W) - have a high brightness. But due to this, the heating increases. Therefore, there is a problem of heat removal.
- OWL - according to this technology, diodes are mounted on a single board, so the heat sink increases. Due to this design advantage, it is possible to increase the uniformity of light waves and the brightness of the lighting. There are different geometric shapes.
- Filament - with all the advantages of the previous type of lamp, they have a relatively low price. Such technology is gaining more and more popularity and may soon displace the rest of its representatives.
Types of drivers:
- It is installed inside the case under the LED strip, power is supplied from a conventional 220 V source, like a socket.
- Using an external power supply from 12 V (as for connecting LED strips).
In appearance, bulb lamps are divided into the following types:
- Transparent: the luminous flux is full, bright, there is no light loss.
- Translucent: there are insignificant losses in the brightness of lighting, the luminous flux is full.
- Matte: the average light loss is 20%, but looks better than the rest.
Dimensions and color of LED lamps
Classic sizes of tubular LED fluorescent lamps:
A variety of sizes is an advantage for application in various places.
Lighting color is of three types:
- White is warm.
- Daytime - based on white color.
- Cool white with blue.
For the home, it is recommended to install LED tubular fluorescent lamps.
LED lamp features
The biggest and undeniable advantage is the saving of electricity. LED bulbs are 2 times more energy efficient than other light sources and many times superior to them in terms of service life.
And now the main characteristics of LED lamps:
- High efficiency - about 90%. For comparison, in luminescent - 70%.
- A high reflection coefficient of the light wave flux is about 0.9. This is because the light from the lamp is directed exclusively downward and is not sprayed.
- High energy efficiency even with the most inexpensive lamps of this kind.
- High service life - about 70,000 hours.
- Turning on at full brightness without waiting for warming up, like with old lamps. Some modern models have a brightness level control using a special remote control.
- Profitability - a very small consumption of electricity, unlike other types of lamps, at the same power. They save up to 95% of electricity, at current prices for electricity it is very profitable.
- They have a wide range of voltage used for operation - from 80 to 230 V, so such lamps are not afraid of voltage drops.
- Energy consumption for heating the environment and rooms is excluded, electricity is converted only into lighting.
- They do not make sound noise, which is very convenient in hospitals.
- They do not flicker, therefore they are safe for sight, eyes do not get tired from working under the light of such lamps.
- Standard LEDs in ordinary lamps do not have the function of radiation in the ultraviolet spectrum of the rays, so they do not attract midges, mosquitoes in the evenings into the house through an open window. It is very convenient, in summer you can calmly ventilate during the night. An exception are specialized lamps for plants.
- Disposal The lamps can be simply thrown away, it is safe.
- Provide high brightness and contrast, have high natural color reproduction.
Wiring diagram
There are many options for connecting tubular LED lamps, one of them is connecting directly to the network. The voltage range can vary from 85 to 265 watts.
The lamp is compatible with inductive ballast and can be installed without removing the starter, but it should be noted that it is incompatible with the electronic ballast, which must be removed before installing the lamp.
There are three main types of connection schemes:
- Standard - lamps are replaced by fluorescent ones. However, they must be compatible with old electromagnetic ballast. And do not forget that you can not install with electronic.
- The control gear (like the ignition unit for xenon lamps) is removed, and the connection takes place directly at 220 V.
- The control gear is removed and a new LED lamp is mounted and connected to a 12 V power supply.
By connecting the wires, three types of lamps are distinguished:
- only on the left side;
- only on the right side;
- connection is possible on both sides.
Mounting Features
It is worth paying attention to the fact that when installing several lamps in one lamp housing, they must be connected in parallel. Otherwise, a series connection may damage the electronic filling of the tube LED lamp.
When replacing and upgrading existing fluorescent lamps, a luminaire must be installed with the G13 socket.
Step-by-step connection instructions
Step-by-step installation of LED tube lamps G13 with connection to 220 V:
- Turn off the electricity to turn off the light.
- Turn off and remove the fluorescent lamps.
- To dismantle the previous electronic circuit:
- disconnect and dismantle the filling of the ballast;
- remove starters;
- remove the ballast from the electrical circuit;
- disconnect the capacitor (not available on all models);
Then insert new tubular LED lamps and apply power.
If the ballast is suitable for the selected type of LED lamp, then it can be left. The main thing is that it be electromagnetic, not electronic.
Step-by-step installation with connection to 12 V:
- Turn off the electricity to turn off the light.
- Turn off and remove the fluorescent lamps.
- Disconnect and dismantle the filling of the ballast.
- Stick LED strip, 8 lengths on the reflector.
- Combine food.
- Install and connect a 12 V power supply.
Connecting tubular LED lamps is not at all difficult, so this work can be easily done independently.