With so many different LED globes on the market today it can hard to determine what is the best choice for your needs.

Traditionally you would always ask “What’s the Wattage?” of a globe to help make your selection, but with the advances in technology that question can now mislead you into making the wrong choice.

[caption id="attachment_164" align="alignright" width="431" caption="Watts vs Lumens Chart"][/caption]

Watts measure the amount of power a globe uses and not the light output, so basing your choice just on the wattage of a globe can lead you to selecting the wrong globe.

The measurement that best describes the light output of a globe is Luminous Flux or Lumens (lm) as you’ll commonly see. Lumens are a measurement of the “amount” of visible light emitted by a source.

 

*Having a look at the image you can see what standard incandescent globes wattages correspond to Lumen outputs.

 

After you have found a globe that you believe gives enough light the second factor consider when choosing your LED Downlight is the Beam Angle of the LED Globe.

A standard halogen downlight has a beam angle of 60o allowing you to space your downlights 1-1.5m apart whilst still giving you enough light. LEDs have always been more directional lights meaning their beam angles are generally around 30-45o though with advances in technology there are now wider beam angles available.

Knowing the beam angle of your LED globe will help determine how far apart you should space your LED Downlight. An LED with a beam angle of 45o would mean that installing them further then around 1.2m apart will generate black spots as there won’t be enough light emitted to cover the distance.

Obtaining the right information can help you make the right decision and effectively save you money in the long run.