Just a few years ago, LED lamps were considered a technical novelty. Today, LED lighting is used almost everywhere: many public buildings, hotels and offices are illuminated by LED lamps. LED lights can be found even in villages. Lamps of this type are also found in many houses and apartments, since they can be purchased even in grocery stores, not to mention specialized ones, where their assortment is much wider than other types of lamps.
Advantages of LED bulbs
LED lamps have a number of advantages:
- Eco-efficient lamps based on such lamps consume a small amount of electricity.
- The most durable and last 20 times longer than conventional light bulbs.
- Almost does not heat up, so it is convenient to change, safe for children.
- The brightness of such lamps does not change depending on the voltage level and over time.
- Bright lamps are safely installed in chandeliers with power limitation.
- Luminous flux and color as close to natural as possible.
- This is an environmentally friendly analogue of other lamps, as it does not contain hazardous substances for human life and he alth.
- The LED lamp turns on at full power immediately. Does not require warm-up time like fluorescent lamps.
Flaws
There are also disadvantages:
- High price, which in turn is supported by a guarantee from manufacturers for a certain period of service. In the event of a burnout, the lamp can be replaced absolutely free of charge.
- A large percentage of fakes with low light quality and short-lived, so you should buy only from trusted well-known manufacturers who give a guarantee on their products.
The high price pays for itself in 2 months of using LED lamps, so it can not be considered a minus.
Types of LED lamps by shape
Today you can meet the following species:
- LED tubular lamps;
- spot;
- spotlights (mainly used for organizing street lighting).
Tubular LED bulbs
LED bulbs like thisspecies were invented in order to replace luminescent ones, since the latter have many disadvantages. In addition, they do not have a very long service life, which can adversely affect the work of an organization or enterprise, because as a result, production will stop and losses will occur. At present, tubular LED lamps are widely used for lighting in offices, supermarkets, large shopping malls, factories and other enterprises.
They come in two main types:
- matte;
- transparent.
These lamps are made of very durable polymer materials.
Main species
There are many varieties of tubular LED lamps, so we will consider them by type of marking, use, appearance, type of LED and so on. When choosing lamps, you should pay attention to all these indicators and characteristics.
By type of marking:
- T8 - for large rooms;
- T5 - for retail counters, refrigerators, aquariums, etc.
A distinctive feature of T5 LED tubular lamps is their small thickness. The distance between the base contacts is only 16 mm. Such lamps give a stable stream of light, without flickering and twitching. Modern T5 LED lamps consume an order of magnitude less electricity, do not require special fasteners during installation, but are inserted directly into the lamp in place of the old light tube.
T8 LED tubular lamps are the most common type, they have a wide range of applications. They illuminate officescorridors of residential and non-residential premises, balconies, etc. A distinctive feature of such lamps is the distance between the base contacts of 26 mm. They do not flicker, do not buzz, do not contain harmful substances, and are easy to dispose of. Service life - 50000 hours (5 years of intensive work).
By application type:
- For home and office - more energy efficient, cooler, safer, easy to change.
- Outdoor - have a high degree of protection of lamps from dust and moisture, provide bright lighting regardless of weather conditions.
- For Plants - Based on ultraviolet LEDs that replicate sunlight, which has a beneficial effect on the growth and development of plants in the laboratory and at home.
- Industrial - have a high degree of protection, are selected according to a number of characteristics depending on the required production needs.
By the type of LEDs used in the manufacturing process:
- Indicator - low indicators of light quality. One of the forefathers of modern LEDs. Now almost never used due to obsolescence and poor quality.
- SMD - have a small size and almost do not heat up. By far the most common.
- Powerful (1, 3, 5 W) - have great brightness. But this increases the heat. Therefore, there is a heat dissipation problem.
- SOV - according to this technology, diodes are mounted in a single board, therefore, heat dissipation increases. Due to this advantage in the designYou can increase the uniformity of light waves and the brightness of illumination. There are different geometric shapes.
- Filament - with all the advantages of the previous type of lamps, they have a relatively low price. This technology is gaining more and more popularity and may soon replace the rest of its species.
Types by driver:
- Installed inside the housing under the LED strip, powered by a conventional 220V power socket.
- Using an external 12V power supply (as for connecting LED strips).
By appearance, the lamp bulbs are divided into the following types:
- Transparent: light output is full, bright, no light loss.
- Semi-transparent: there is a slight loss of light brightness, the light output is full.
- Matte: Light loss averages 20% but looks better than the rest.
LED size and color
Tubular LED Fluorescent Lamp Classic Sizes:
- 30cm;
- 60cm;
- 90cm;
- 120 cm.
Diversity of sizes is an advantage for application in different places.
There are three types of lighting color:
- White warm.
- Day - based on white.
- Cool white with blue.
For the home, it is recommended to install LED tubular fluorescent lamps.
Features of LED bulbs
The biggest andThe undeniable advantage is the saving of electricity. LED light bulbs are 2 times more energy efficient than other light sources and have many times their lifespan.
And now the main characteristics of LED lamps:
- High efficiency - about 90%. For comparison, in fluorescent - 70%.
- High reflectance of the light wave flux - about 0.9. This happens because the light of the lamp is directed exclusively downwards and does not spray.
- High energy efficiency even for the most inexpensive lamps of this kind.
- High service life - about 70,000 hours.
- Turning on at full brightness without waiting for warm-up, like old lamps. Some modern models have a brightness level control using a special remote control.
- Economy - very little electricity consumption, unlike other types of lamps, with the same power. They allow you to save up to 95% of electricity, which is very profitable at current electricity prices.
- They have a wide range of voltage used for operation - from 80 to 230 V, so these lamps are not afraid of voltage drops.
- The energy consumption for heating the environment and the room is eliminated, electricity is converted only into lighting.
- Does not emit audible noise, which is very convenient in hospitals.
- They do not flicker, therefore they are safe for eyesight, the eyes do not get tired from working under the light of such lamps.
- Standard LEDs in ordinary lamps do not have the function of emitting in the ultraviolet spectrum of rays, therefore they do not attractmidges, mosquitoes in the evenings into the house through an open window. It is very convenient, in the summer during the night you can safely ventilate. The exception is specialized lamps for plants.
- Recycling. You can just throw away the lamps, it's safe.
- Provides high brightness and contrast, high natural color rendering.
Connection diagram
There are many options for connecting tubular LED lamps, one of them is connecting directly to the network. The voltage range in this case can vary from 85 to 265 W.
The lamp is compatible with inductive ballast and can be installed without removing the starter, but be aware that it is not compatible with the electronic ballast, which must be removed before installing the lamp.
There are three main types of wiring diagrams:
- Standard - lamps are put in place of fluorescent ones. However, they must be compatible with the old electromagnetic ballast. And do not forget that you can not install with electronic.
- The ballast (like the ignition unit for xenon lamps) is removed, and the connection is made directly to 220 V.
- The ballast is removed and a new LED lamp is mounted and connected to a 12V power supply.
Three types of lamps are distinguished by connecting wires:
- left side only;
- only on the right side;
- possible connection on both sides.
Mounting Features
It is worth paying attention to the fact that when installing several lamps in one lamp housing, they must be connected in parallel. Otherwise, connecting in series may damage the electronics of the tubular LED lamp.
When replacing and upgrading existing fluorescent lamps, it is required to install a luminaire with a G13 base.
Step by step connection instructions
G13 LED tube light installation step by step with 220V connection:
- Turn off the electricity to turn off the light.
- Turn off and remove fluorescent lamps.
- Dismantle the previous electronic circuit:
- disconnect and dismantle the filling of the ballast;
- remove starters;
- remove the ballast from the electrical circuit;
- disable capacitor (not available on all models);
Then, insert new tubular LED bulbs and apply power.
If the ballast is suitable for the selected type of LED lamp, then it can be left. The main thing is that it should be electromagnetic, not electronic.
12V installation step by step:
- Turn off the electricity to turn off the light.
- Turn off and remove fluorescent lamps.
- Turn off and dismantle the inside of the ballast.
- Stick the LED strip on the reflector, 8 pieces.
- Combine power.
- Install and connect a 12V power supply.
Connecting tubular LED lamps is not at all difficult, so this work can be easily done by yourself.
