What is a LED Fixture and How is it Different?

For well over a hundred years we have changed light bulbs when the old ones burned out. Most (not all) of the bulbs available today are now LED bulbs.

The difference between a light fixture that takes LED bulbs (most any of them can) and a true ‘LED Fixture’ is that the LED Fixture has a permanently installed LED light source. There literally is no light bulb to change.

Face it – Changing light bulbs is a pain.

It has been an accepted requirement to have light, so we haven’t really complained about it. Until now. Experience being light bulb free!

LED Fixtures don’t use light bulbs. Instead, quality LED Fixtures have a permanent pre-installed light source that is designed to last at least 50,000 hours. In fact, LED Fixtures with a 50,000 hour life will last over 22 years if the light fixture is used 6 hours per day.

LED Fixtures represent the best investment in terms of lower overall cost and ease of maintenance

This is accomplished by never having to buy replacement bulbs and much lower energy consumption saving you on your power bill.

With LED Fixtures you never have to worry about mismatched bulbs in different fixtures with different wattages or color temperatures.

Plus, just think – no more light bulb jokes ;)

Outdoors

In residential outdoor lighting situations around a home, Warm White (2700-3000K) is the most popular. It is a friendly light, unlike the cooler light temperatures that are often used in commercial lighting settings.

Most outdoor products we carry for residences are Warm White (3000K), while most commercial style outdoor LED Fixtures we carry are in Daylight White (5000K).

Indoors

Inside a home, most light is preferred to be ‘warm’, with exceptions possibly in a hallway, bathroom, or dressing room.

In a hallway a brighter color temperature like Bright White (4000K) adds more of a white light, helping to make the hallway feel larger and more spacious.

In a bathroom or dressing room Bright White (4000K) or Daylight White (5000K) color temps help provide a more crisp white more representative of the outdoor sun.

We carry the majority of our indoor lighting in Warm White (3000K) and Bright White (4000K).

Some of our indoor items include a Color Select switch (noted in product description) that allows you to choose the color temperature you want in that fixture (3000K, 4000K or 5000K).

Color Rending Index (CRI)

CRI describes how well an LED Fixture consistently produces light in relation to representation of color. The CRI is a number on a scale between 1 and 100 with 100 representing direct daylight on a clear day at noon.

CRI for outdoor fixtures that are on at night typically do not require a high CRI, 80 is fine. When it comes to indoor LED Fixtures, try to purchase fixtures with at least a CRI of 80 or even 90 if possible. If a product doesn’t list CRI in its specs, it might not be very high, and is not a sign of good quality.

Typically the CRI in a bathroom or dressing room should be as high as you can get it in order to have the best representation of color for clothes and makeup. This is what helps you determine the difference between dark navy blue and black when selecting clothing.