In general, the technical quality of LED bulbs has increased in recent years, assessed Raitis Narvilis, representative of SIA “Ekoled”.
“Where once those lamps were more or less welded in China and assembled by hand, you can now see that the boards for the latest models are produced in a very high quality. This means that robotic technology is used. If the machine puts it. together, it means there are fewer problems in the end for the user, even less chance of something going wrong, “he explained.
Toms Lācis, the project manager of the “Elektrum” Energy Efficiency Center, added that as demand increased, the price of LED bulbs also dropped significantly.
“The price of LED bulbs has dropped three or four times due to demand, and as a result the range available is much wider. Now we can easily buy them from many distant countries and as a result, if the price has already been low and continue order the bulb with a euro promotion, then you have to see what the quality is, “Lācis explained.
“If we buy the product in Europe, in a shop with a guarantee, then we can trust the light bulb [kalpos] the specified warranty period is even longer, “he advised.
Lacis pointed out that when choosing LED bulbs, one can still be guided by the manufacturer’s brand recognition. Although products from a well-known manufacturer are more expensive, they will likely also be of higher quality.
“If you recognize the brand, the guarantee is greater, but the other option is to look at the box, the packaging, how much the manufacturers have worked on it. Consequently, it is good if there are numbers, more information, maybe even the standards according to light bulbs, a kind of ENEC, for example, were tested “, suggested Ingmārs Felcis-Kaipšteins, head of the laboratory of the” Baltic Research Center “.
ENEC is a high quality European mark for electrical products that demonstrates compliance with European safety standards, which certifies that the bulb or lamp has passed several European recognized electrical safety tests. Felcis-Kaipstein pointed out that the ENEC mark indicates a higher quality than, for example, CE.
To avoid the marketing tricks of the manufacturers, it is best to take a picture and look for the signs or markings on the packaging on the Internet and check the meaning of each symbol. It should also be remembered that the energy efficiency indicators were recently changed – you can familiarize yourself with the new label on the website label2020.lv.
Felcis-Kaipstein recalled that when choosing light bulbs, watts are no longer decisive – the brightness of an LED bulb is characterized by the luminous flux, whose unit of measurement is lumen (lm) – the more lumens, the more light the bulb emits. .
“Another thing I would suggest, which is the most valuable thing to look at on lamps, is the lumens (lm), or the amount of light. The watts are no longer useful. Where you had the good old filament bulbs with 100 watts. , you now have something like four five-watt bulbs that give the same lumens – what you have to look at is the lumens, ”he pointed out.
For example, he recommended choosing a 500 lumen bulb for table and reading lighting and no less than 1000 for ceiling lighting.
On the other hand, the light color of bulbs is measured in kelvins (K). The less kelvin, the more yellow the light, the more – the bluer. At home, Felcis-Kaipstein advised to forget about 5000-6000 kelvin bulbs, because they emit such bright, white light that it will look like an operating room. 4000 kelvin bulbs can be used in the bathroom or study, but elsewhere it is better to put 3000 kelvin bulbs.
It is also worth paying attention to the effect of blue light on eyesight. Most bulbs are marked with a risk group or RG, which indicates the effect of light on the eyes.
“It is very likely that the zero risk group (RG0), which has no damage, or RG1, is specified when the damage is minimal. RG2 means that there is already some more serious damage, so it should already be specified what the safe distance should come from the light source, so as not to cause eye damage. RG3 will probably not be available in stores, because it is not allowed to be sold, “explained Felcis-Kaipstein.
