Factsheets

Short answer, they are unlikely to be compatible. Symptoms may include flickering, poor low level dimming control or other issues of instability.

Some things were never meant to work together. If you intend to upgrade some lights to LED, ensure that there are no old technology lights remaining on the same circuit.

When we have a chance to escape the city and the sky is clear, the stars are an amazing sight. Unfortunately, light pollution is the primary reason our view of the stars is limited in cities.

Lux and Lumens are often confused. “Lumens” is the total amount of light produced by the lamp or light fitting, while we use “Lux” as a measure to know how much of that light is arriving on to a particular point of a surface. Lux meters can be purchased cheaply to allow measurement of light on your working surfaces, but the cost and complexity of accurately measuring Lumens is far greater.

Do LED’s work with “drivers” or “transformers?” Short answer, it depends on the design configuration….Most mains operated LED downlights commonly available in Australia today need a driver, which is a collection of electronics that delivers a trickle of DC current to the LED chips to make them illuminate.

LED downlights operate at far lower temperatures than the halogen lamps that are still prolific in Australian homes and businesses. However, even the smaller amount of heat LED lights generate must be carefully considered according to the installation environment.

Misinformation abounds on this topic. The reality is that conventional light sources emit Ultra Violet (UV) rays which are well know to attract insects.

A lesser known but critical LED light specification is the Ta rating. Ta, or “ambient temperature,” is the reference temperature of the ambient air when the product is tested to deliver the rated performance.

There are generally good savings to be had when buying online or directly from manufacturers. However, in the case of LED lights it pays to be particularly cautious since a great deal more due diligence is required to deliver a successful buying outcome in the LED lighting industry, compared to, say, buying “non-technical” products.

LED prices vary considerably in the market. Here are a few of those reasons summarised, noting these are technical reasons only and cost variations due to other market factors are not considered here...