LED Bulbs: How to Choose the Right Ones

These bulbs last 50 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and 5 times longer than energy-saving bulbs. Unlike energy-saving bulbs, they do not contain heavy metals that are highly toxic, such as mercury, and they do not emit harmful radiation, while in most cases the materials they are made of are recyclable. Added to all this is the economy in electricity consumption, as the energy savings that can be achieved by using LED bulbs reach up to 90%.

LED bulbs can replace any bulb, regardless of base or socket. Nothing more is needed than to unscrew your old bulb from the socket and replace it with an LED one.

To choose the right LED bulb that will fully meet your needs, you simply need to follow the steps below:

Check the socket type where the bulb will be installed.
Select the desired light color tone.
Select the power of the bulb.
Check the operating voltage of the socket.
Select additional features and functions

Step 1 - Check socket type

The most basic step in choosing an LED bulb is to check the socket or base where it will be installed. There are many types of sockets and bases, but usually in a home or workplace, we encounter the most common ones, such as E27 or E14, where we use the screw-in bulbs known to us, the GU10, G9, G4, GU5.3, or the bases G13 and G5 for fluorescent-type LED bulbs.

The simplest way to do this is to unscrew the old bulb and look on its surface for the indicated type. If the bulb does not indicate its type, you can still find it by measuring the diameter of its base, then checking the image below to see whether your measurement matches one of the main socket types.

At this point, a note should be added regarding fluorescent-type LED bulbs. In these cases, in addition to the base, you should also know their length. This is a very simple process, since even if this information is not written on the old bulb, you can measure its length or the length of the base where the new one will be installed.

Step 2 - Choosing the desired light shade

Depending on the space and the purpose for which the lighting is used, it can be classified into various types. Such types are decorative lighting, task lighting, and lighting for relaxation.

Therefore, it is important to choose the desired lighting shade according to your needs and preferences.

The shade of white light (CCT) - The shades of white light range from warm white to cool white. This is usually expressed in degrees Kelvin, as shown in the image below. Warm white: values lower than 3000K, Natural white: values from 3000K to 5000K, Cool white: values greater than 5000K. There are also adjustable LED bulbs, which do not have a predefined shade, but operate within a wide range of white color, which you can adjust according to the occasion or your mood.

By observing the images below, you can see how this color difference is reflected in the space.

Additionally, you will find available bulbs in various colors such as yellow, red, blue, and many more, which also meet the needs of decorative lighting.

Beyond these, you will also come across the new trend in bulbs, the so-called RGB or RGBW, which provide the flexibility to adjust the lighting exactly as you desire. These bulbs, give you the ability, via the remote control included in their packaging or through a smartphone app, to adjust their color tone, choosing from a huge range of colors. The difference between these two types is that the RGBW can, in addition to their color palette, also add shades of white light to the space.

Step 3 - Choosing the Power of the Bulb.

Choosing the power of the bulb is a crucial step, as it determines how bright the light emitted by the bulb will be.

The first thing you need to know is that the power of the bulbs is measured in W (Watt) and their brightness is measured in Lm (Lumen). These are two characteristics that are closely related and help you make the right choice for an LED bulb, in order to achieve the best possible result in terms of brightness with the lowest energy consumption cost.

Start by checking if your fixture already has a bulb of an older type, such as incandescent or halogen, which provides satisfactory lighting intensity. Then remove it and examine the wattage indicated to find the corresponding LED bulb that will meet your needs. At this point, you will need to make some simple calculations to determine the LED bulb. Depending on the type of bulb, there is a correlation between the Lumen that it can typically produce per watt. This correlation is presented in the table below and will assist you in your calculations.

Type of Lamp	Watt	Lumen
Incandescent	1	12
Halogen	1	20
Led	1	90

Therefore, if for example the bulb you unscrewed from the light fixture is an incandescent bulb and it states 60W, the brightness it produces is 60 x 12 = 720 Lumen. To achieve the equivalent result with an LED bulb, you do our calculation, 720 : 90 = 8 W.

Here lies the secret to the success of LED bulbs, in terms of energy savings, since the brightness levels of an LED bulb of just 8W are equivalent to that of a 60W incandescent bulb or a 36W halogen bulb.

If there is no bulb in your light fixture, then consult the table below, which shows how many Lumen are needed per square meter, depending on the type of room.

Room Type	Lumen per square meter
Kitchen	250-400
Bedroom	100-200
Living Room	300-400
Office	300-400
Bathroom	200-300
Hallway	50-100

With the following example, you will see how to make use of the data in the table to choose the best LED bulb that will fully meet your needs.

Let’s assume that you want to install LED bulbs in your kitchen, which has a three-light fixture, and you want it to be very bright. Referring to the table above, we see that to achieve this, you need three bulbs that together provide a brightness output of 400 Lumen per square meter. You know that your kitchen is 10 square meters, so you need a total of 400 x 10 = 4000 Lumen to adequately cover the space.

Given that LED bulbs produce an average of 90 Lumen per Watt and calculating that you will need 4000 : 90 = 45W, since you have a three-light fixture with three 15W LED bulbs, you will fully cover your space.

Step 4 - Check the socket operating voltage.

An important factor that should be examined when choosing a bulb is the operating voltage. The majority of light fixtures use bulbs that operate at 220V, but this should not be taken for granted, as some of them have a transformer and accept 12V, 24V or, more rarely, 42V bulbs. To confirm this, check what is written on the old bulb you have removed.

Step 5 - Choose additional features and functions

In addition to their basic characteristics, LED bulbs may also have extra functions and features that make our daily lives easier. Below you can see in detail the main ones.

Dimmable

This term refers to all bulbs that give you the ability to adjust the light intensity of the bulb. This can be done in two ways. The first is through the appropriate wall dimmer, while the second is for the bulb to have its own remote control that provides this function.

Smart

Here are all the LED bulbs that have the ability to connect via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so their operation can be fully controlled through an app on our smartphone. In addition, we will also find smart bulbs that are even more technologically advanced and can connect with Smart Home systems, such as Google Home, Apple Homekit, Amazon Alexa.

Filament

LED Filament, Edison, or Retro bulbs are LED technology bulbs that are designed in such a way that their appearance resembles old-style incandescent bulbs. In addition to the distinctive aesthetic they bring to a space, they have the advantage of being able to emit light at a wide beam angle of up to 360 degrees.

Remote Control

There is a wide variety of LED bulbs that include a remote control in their packaging, which gives you the ability to operate their functions. You can turn your bulb on or off and, additionally, when it is dimmable or RGB, you can adjust its brightness or change its color.