How to choose and buy led downlights in 2022

What is downlights

Downlights are generally composed of light sources, electrical components, lamp cups and so on. The down lamp of traditional illuminant has the cap of a screw mouth commonly, which can install lamps and lanterns, such as energy-saving lamp, incandescent lamp. The trend now is LED downlights. The light source is LED, generally also includes driving power supply, diffusion plate, etc., there are embedded in the ceiling called dark mounted type, and also has bright mounted type and other types of downlights.

The benefits of led downlights

Downlights have energy-saving lamps, LED, halogen lamps and so on. Now the commonly used downlights source is LED.

There are different categories of LED light sources. Common ones are DIP led, also known as plug-in led, or straw hat led. SMD downlights type (Surface Mounted Devices) originally refers to a form of packaging, used in the LED industry specifically refers to the patch type lamp bead. High power LED downlights means providing a lot of power. There is COB downlights which are centrally packaged led. The earliest LED downlights used straw hat led, but they are basically not used now.

Now mostly SMD and COB are used. SMD downlights has uniform light emission, long life, relatively simple process and high cost performance. COB downlights has good chromatic aberration and good heat dissipation. Both types of LED downlights sources have their own advantages. Relatively speaking, COB costs a little more.

In addition to the advantages of general LED downlights, such as energy saving, environmental protection, long life, etc., LED downlights also have other advantages.

it is directional lighting & accent lighting. If there is main lighting, downlights play the role of auxiliary lighting. For example, downlights are installed on the ceiling which is above the sofa, that is beneficial to turn on the downlights and see more clearly when reading books or newspapers on the sofa. A large number of led downlights will be used for lighting without main lights, so that in addition to meeting basic lighting needs, it can also make the light more layered. In places like the kitchen, the kitchen led downlights are not exposed, occupy a small space, and the light is soft. When the main lights such as ceiling lights are insufficient, led downlights can be used as auxiliary lighting to make the light of picking and chopping vegetables clearer and brighter.

How to choose led downlights

How to buy led downlights? You can see from the following aspects:

Firstly, when you choose led downlights, you need to look at style and appearance of the led downlights. Although the design of led downlights is generally relatively simple, but the face score is still needed, and Lediant Lighting has done a good job in this regard. In this era of looking at the Face score of everything, it is more important to choose led downlights that looks good. The selection of led downlights also needs to check the quality. Downlights are generally composed of light sources. Now they are generally composed of LED lamp beads, drivers, lamp cups and other structural components. Pay attention to the quality of these parts is enough. LED lamp beads are mainly concerned with brightness and lifespan, drivers are mainly concerned with the stability of current, and lamp cups are mainly concerned with heat dissipation and robustness. Generally speaking, it mainly depends on the workmanship, for example, whether the shell material is made of aluminum or not. Of course, there are materials that have better heat dissipation than aluminum, but they are usually expensive and not conventional products. By the way, Lediant Lighting is specialist ODM&OEM supplier of LED downlights and has CE, ISO, TUV, SAA and BSCI approvals. Lediant Lighting can offer one stop service from product design, tooling, package design and video creation.

Secondly, look at the workmanship of the drive. Because the driver is inside, it is generally invisible from the outside, so we can only see it through the relevant parameters, such as the warranty time, the power factor, efficiency, etc. Good quality products generally write the parameters of this piece or provide product warranty period. Most of Lediant Lighting led downlights have a 5-year warranty period, and a few have a 3-year warranty period.

Thirdly, look at the light source. Since the lamp beads are also inside, the quality cannot be seen, but we can know the quality of the lamp beads from the presence or absence of glare, the softness of the light, and the warranty time. If the optical distribution of the lamp beads is unreasonable, it will cause glare, If the lamp bead is guaranteed for a long time, it means that the heat dissipation can be done well. If the heat dissipation is done well, the service life of the lamp bead can be guaranteed. Lediant Lighting has a variety of low glare led downlights and anti-glare led downlights.

Note: If you want to use recessed led downlights, your house need to do suspended ceiling. In this case, the floor height still has certain requirements, especially after the ceiling is completed, if the clear height is less than 2.6m, it needs to be carefully considered whether it is necessary to install led downlights.

Optical parameters such as:

Illuminance

The general recommendation for the overall illuminance requirement of the living room is around 30-100lx. For example, if near the desktop and sofa, because you may need to read books and newspapers, etc., the illumination requirements are generally around 150-300lx. If there is main lighting, you can add led downlights to areas that need accent lighting, such as tables and sofas. If it is lighting without main lights, because the calculation based on illuminance is relatively complicated, and factors such as distance and wall reflectivity also need to be considered. But we can use a rough algorithm. You can first multiply the area by the illuminance required parameter，and then divide by the luminous flux of a single downlights. You can roughly calculate the number of downlights needed. Then make settings according to the relevant design.

Power

The choice of wattage of led downlights can refer to the floor height. For those with a floor height of about 3 meters, you can choose about 3W led downlights. When using no main light design, you can also choose 5W led downlights or even higher power downlights. Lediant has several 5W led downlights that I am happy to recommend to you. If it is designed with a main light, you can choose 1W or 3W led downlights. The floor height of about 3.5 meters can choose about 6W led downlights, and the higher floor height can choose 8W led downlights or even higher power. 6W led downlights is the main product of Lediant Lighting, we have many different styles of 6W led downlights. There are also several types of 8W downlights and other wattage led downlights. If you want to know more about led downlights, you can go to our official website. You need to consider factors such as area, floor height, downlights efficacy, and personal preference. These are approximate references, unlike classrooms, libraries and other places where there are relevant standards for illuminance. After all, it is a place for individuals to rest and live. It is recommended for reference, the most important thing is to feel comfortable.

Color Temperature

In general, the living room can choose a color temperature of about 4000-5000k. Due to the changeable application scenarios in the living room, it is best to choose dimmable led downlights. Many types of Lediant led downlights have 3CCT or 4CCT switchable. The range of color temperature can be 2700~6000K. Also we have dim to warm led downlights for you choose. In addition, due to the relatively large number of downlights used, it is necessary to pay attention to the consistency of color temperature. If the color temperature is inconsistent, it will not feel good.

Glare

Glare refers to the discomfort caused by the strong contrast of light to the human eye, so try to avoid glare as much as possible. The generation of glare is mainly related to the optical design of the lamps, the installation angle, the human visual angle and so on. If used as basic lighting, try to choose a downlights with low glare or anti glare. Here recommend you our new series led downlights: Hera 8W Anti-Glare with Colorful Magnetic Bezel LED Downlights. We have specially designed two options for you to choose. Both of them have anti-glare features and magnetic bezel with multiple colors. The only difference between them is that their different optical design. Which one do you like better? Come to our website to know more.

Anti Blue-ray

Too much blue light can damage the eyes to a certain extent, but don't worry too much, because the light we see generally has blue light components, as long as there is not too much blue light. Countries have relevant standards. As long as it meets the anti-blue light level, such as RG0, you can use it with confidence.

CRI

Generally speaking, the higher the color rendering index, the better the color reproduction effect, and the CRI of led downlights is generally above 80. The CRI of most Lediant led downlights is 80 and several types can reach 90. The installation of the downlights should be more than 30 to 50cm away from the wall to avoid the formation of more obtrusive light spots and cause glare. In addition, prolonged exposure will also make the walls yellow, affecting the appearance. The light spots between the led downlights should transition naturally, and the distance between the led downlights should be about 1 to 2 meters.

Light Distribution Curve

The light shape of the led downlights is commonly known as the light spot. The central light intensity is obvious, and the transition to the periphery is soft, which is a better light spot.

Installation Method

Most are embedded led downlights. A few are surface mounted downlights. Lediant Lighting provide embedded led downlights. Some of them are tool-free type, i.e. plug & play.  

Regarding the size of the downlights, here shows general situation:

Common sizes of downlights openings are:

2 inches, 2.5 inches, 3 inches, 3.5 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, 6 inches, 8 inches

1 inch = 25.4mm  The general opening in the led downlights industry is 4 inches, that is, the opening is 10cm.

*2 inch hole diameter is 50mm, the led downlights power is usually 3W.

*2.5 inch hole diameter is 65mm, the led downlights power is usually 5W.

*3 inch hole diameter is 75mm, the led downlights power is usually 7-10W.

*3.5 inch hole diameter is 90mm, the led downlights power is usually 7-10W.

*4 inch hole diameter is 120mm, the led downlights power is usually 12-15W.

*6 inch hole diameter is 150mm, the led downlights power is usually 18-25W.

*8 inch hole diameter is 200mm, the led downlights power is usually 25-35W.

Lediant Lighting led downlights have a variety of power options. For commercial led downlights, the power range can be 8W~45W. For residential led downlights,the commonly used power is 5W, 6W, 7W, 8W, 10w, 12W. For smart controlled led downlights, we provide 7W, 10W and 12W options. If you need other power, it is also can be designed. After all, Lediant is specialist ODM&OEM supplier of LED downlights, which can offer one stop service from product design, tooling, package design and video creation.

Conclusion

Led downlights can be used for both main lighting and non-main lighting.

When there is main lighting, led downlights will be selected as auxiliary lighting, and led downlights will be installed where key lighting is required. In the lighting without the main light, led downlights and spotlights will be used more to achieve the lighting effect, which can make the light more layered.

When choosing a led downlights, you need to consider the appearance, power size, opening size, brightness, color temperature, glare or not, color rendering index, whether the installation method is exposed or hidden, etc. In addition, friends who like intelligent control can choose smart downlights, It can also realize linkage control. About the smart led downlights, this year we launched a new series: Kaleido. Kaleido is the new ultramodern smart control low baffle RGB+W led downlights, which has following features:

*Anti-glare Main Lighting (Reflector)

*Edge-light Creates Mood Lighting

*Grouping & Matching Automatically

*Main Light & Side Light, Mutual non-interference in each other

*Unaffected by phone APP upgrade

If you want to know more about led downlights, you can follow our official website or social media.