A-1 LED customers in Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana are saving big by switching to LED lighting solutions. But why? Understanding how LEDs work and what sets them apart from traditional bulbs can make the benefits of switching to LED more clear for consumers! At A-1 LED, our team of local lighting experts has worked hard to bring our customers the best service and quality of work, growing to become Arkansas’s biggest commercial lighting company.
So if you’re looking at the lighting options available to your business, but you’re not sure what some of the technical terms might mean for you, we can help break it down! We want you to understand your options so you can make the best decision for your space.
Lumens
Whether you’re browsing bulbs wholesale through a service like A-1 LED Direct or shopping in store, one term you will frequently see is lumens. So what are lumens? Lumens measure bulb brightness and tell you how much light it will produce. The more lumens you see, the brighter the light that bulb will produce. You might be used to scanning a product for Watts as a testament to brightness, but Watts are actually a measure of energy usage, not light output. Because LED technology is much more energy efficient than traditional bulbs, Wattage is no longer an accurate measure for brightness. Many LEDs will have low Wattage because they do not use much energy, but will have high lumens because they are capable of producing bright light with less power. So if you’re looking for bright lights for a large space or a space with high ceilings, you’ll need to look for higher lumens.
Color Temperature
Color temperature, also known as Correlated Color Temperature (CCT), measures the color output for white lights. These measurements are in Kelvin values and will be noted with a K next to the number–ranging anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000. Generally, white light color temperature is categorized as cool, warm, or neutral. Lower Kelvin values are associated with warmer light, while higher values are associated with cooler light. The breakdown below can help you decide which CCT to look for when you’re browsing for bulbs!
- 2,200K – 2,700K: Warm and cozy
- 3,000K – 3,500K: Neutral white
- 4,000K – 4,500K: Cool white
- 5,000K – 6,500K: Daylight or outdoor
Cooler, brighter workspace that eliminates eye strain, boosts productivity, and improves morale. For certain businesses like restaurants or stores, creating a warmer, cozier environment might be what’s right for the comfort of your customers. Having a choice over the color temperature of the bulbs you uses gives you more freedom to customize your space–a great benefit of using LED lighting solutions.
CRI
The Color Rendering Index, or CRI, measures how accurately a light source renders color. Sunlight has the highest possible rating at 100 CRI. When choosing lighting for your space, don’t overlook CRI. Depending on your needs, it may be important for you to choose lighting with a high CRI rating. If you’re in an industrial setting, a lower CRI rating may not matter if color rendering is not important to the work. However, if you work in retail or a business selling merchandise to consumers, using lighting that renders colors accurately is important and can lead to less product returns. Generally, LED lighting has a minimum of 70 CRI which is considered acceptable in terms of color rendering.
How Can We Help?
Now that you know more about what to look for when browsing the bulbs and lighting solutions on the market today, you can feel confident that your purchases will serve your space well. If you’re looking to buy bulbs wholesale, you can shop at A-1 LED Direct–we ship all across the nation!
If you’re still not sure what will work best for your business, let us know! We offer free energy assessments, so our trained team will come to you to assess your current setup, and then provide a report with our suggestions for tailored solutions that will brighten your space and save you money on your monthly energy bill.
