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Home Lighting Ideas

1. Why Buy LED Lights from SuperLightingLED.com ?

SuperLightingLED.com prides itself on quality; we guarantee our LED lights and have 24months warranty, any quality problem, free replacement is shipped. 

We only use the best component parts in all our lighting solutions, working with factories that are all ROHS and CE approved. We have high quality controls in place all LED lights are age tested and go through at least 2 quality checks before they are released.

There are many LED lights on the market that do not meet these standards but we guarantee all LED lights sold by SuperLightingLED.com are made to last the long life an Led bulb should do.


2. What is an LED?

A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a device consisting of a semiconductor that emits light energy when an electrical current is passed through it. LEDs can be used for a wide range of lighting applications. It is predicted that LED lights are the future for energy-efficient home lighting.


3. How long do LED Lights last?

LED lights have a much longer life span compared to standard halogen LED lights. In fact LED lights last up to 50000 hours – that’s over 5 years of continuous operation! When you install new LED lights you may never have to replace the LED lights again.


4. Do LED light products provide high quality lighting?

The short answer is YES! We pride ourselves on the quality and the light output of all our LED lights simply choose between warm or cool white. You certainly won't be disappointed with the quality of the lighting!


5. Are LED lights cost-effective?

LED light LED lights are highly energy efficient, resulting is significant electricity savings over the life of the bulb. Electricity costs are on the increase. The average household lighting bill in the UK is around £300 per year. Replace your existing halogen LED lights with LED lights and you can cut your lighting costs by up to 90%. That’s an average saving of over £270 per year!


6. Why do I need an LED-compatible transformer?

You may only need a transformer if you are buying 12v LED lights all 240 LED lights do not require a transformer, 12v LED lights are MR16, G4 and MR11.

Standard electronic transformers can cause certain types of LED lights to flicker, resulting in permanent long-term damage to the LED bulb itself. This problem is most evident in 12V MR16 LED lights where a standard transformer does not provide a smooth flow of current, causing flickering problems. To avoid damaging your new LED lights it is always best to use LED drivers/transformers.


7. Can LED light LED lights be used with dimmers?

Yes. Certain types of LED lights are dimmable, For standard household dimmers you need a trailing edge or low voltage LED dimmer switch.


8. What are the best features of LED lights?

In short, LED lights are the future of household and office lighting, with a number of great features, including:

Extremely energy efficient

Eco-friendly lighting

Significant savings on your electricity bills

Much longer life-span than halogen LED lights

Low temperature operation

Directional light

Low profile and compact size

Breakage and vibration resistance

Life unaffected by rapid cycling

Instant switch on with no warm up time

No IR or UV emissions


9. My dimmer switch isn’t working with my LED lights?

This may be due to a couple of reasons:

Your LED light LED lights may not be dimmable. Not all LED light LED lights have the ability to dim so you must make sure that your LED lights are the dimmable type.

Ensure that you have an LED-compatible dimmer switch. Standard household dimmer switches do not work with LED lights. Dimmable LED lights will only operate effectively with an LED dimmer switch.


10. What are SMDs?

SMDs or Surface Mounted Diodes are the new generation of LED lighting. The majority of our LED lights contain SMDs that are three times brighter than the older LEDs and available in warm white and cool white. LED lights with SMDs generate a high quality light the same colour as normal household LED lights.


11. What are the benefits of using LED lights?

LED light LED lights have many benefits when compared to standard halogen or incandescent LED lights, including:

Extremely energy efficient – 80% of electricity used converted to light energy

The most eco-friendly lighting solution

Huge reductions on your electricity bills

Much longer life-span than halogen LED lights

Low temperature operation

Directional light

Low profile and compact size

Breakage and vibration resistance

Life unaffected by rapid cycling

Instant switch on with no warm up time

No IR or UV emissions


12. My LED lights will not switch on?

This could be due to a number of different reasons. In order to ascertain whether or not you have received a faulty lights:

Please ensure that the lights is receiving power from a switch/dimmer

Please check the LED lights is securely in the fitting

Please place the LED lights in an alternative fitting on the same circuit


13. Will LED lights fit into my old light fixtures?

Yes. all our led lights are designed to be perfect fit to replace your old halogens unless it is other wise staed in the product description.


14. Do I need to replace my fittings to use LED lights?

No. The majority of our LED lights are designed to be retrofit. This means that LED light LED lights are made to fit in existing light fittings, Check our product information details on your chosen bulb before you buy.


15. Which colour is best for indoor use?

The colour choice is down to personal preference. The most popular colour for indoor LED lights is Warm White as it is the closest to the colour given off by traditional halogen spotlights. Our LED lights generate a high quality light the same colour as normal household LED lights.


16. Which colour is best for outdoor use?

The colour choice is down to personal preference. The most popular colour for indoor LED lights is Cool White as it gives a crisp bright light that is perfect for lighting up outdoor spaces.


17. Can I use LEDs on a 12-volt circuit?

Yes.


18. Which is better for LED lights, low voltage circuit or mains circuit?

They are both just as good.


19. How can I save the most money on my electricity bill?

The best way to maximise the savings on your electricity bill is to fit LED lights throughout your home and/or business premises. Replacing traditional forms of halogen and incandescent lighting with LED lights can cut lighting bills by up to 90%.


20. Why do I need to replace my dimmer switch?

The minimum wattage figure on the dimmer switch is too high, typically the majority of leading edge dimmer switches are 60 watts which is way too high for operation with dimmable LED lights. This is why you need an LED compatible dimmer switch for use with dimmable LED lights.


21. What fittings should I have for my bathroom?

Any fittings being placed within a bathroom/wet room/shower room should not only be Fire Rated but also be waterproof and hold a suitable certification of IP65 or higher in order to be compliant with relevant building regulations for bathrooms.


22. What does IP65 mean?

The IP, or Ingress Protection rating of an electrical product is a guide that is used to detail the strength of the enclosure that surrounds the electrical components.

In the case of LED lights LED lights, the IP-rating measures the tolerance to the effect of dust particles and the level of protection against water or liquids. IP65 means that the LED bulb is totally protected against dust and can withstand low-pressure jets of water from all directions – with limited ingress acceptable.


23. What does IP67 mean?

The IP, or Ingress Protection rating of an electrical product is a guide that is used to detail the strength of the enclosure that surrounds the electrical components.

In the case of LED lights LED lights, the IP-rating measures the tolerance to the effect of dust particles and the level of protection against water or liquids. IP67 means that the LED bulb is totally protected against dust and is protected against the effect of immersion in water from 6-39 inches in depth.


24. Do I have to have fire-rated fittings?

Ceilings provide an important barrier that helps to prevent the spread of fire and noise between the floors of a building. Installing recessed downlights punctures this barrier and can reduce the effectiveness of this safety barrier.
Installing fire rated downlights helps to protect your premises from the effects of both fire and noise pollution and aids compliance with new building regulations governing the installation of downlights. Made from intumescent materials, fire rated downlights seal the gap between the ceiling and the fitting to offer up to 90 minutes protection against the spread of fire into the void spaces within your ceiling / loft space. Fire rated downlights are more expensive than non-fire rated downlights. However, the worst decision you can make is to buy cheaper models that look exactly the same only to find out from the electrician fitting them, that building regulations require fire rated downlights for that situation.


25. How hot does an LED lights get?

LED lights run significantly cooler than other types of lighting like halogen or CFLs but they do get hot, but the heat is dissipated by metal heat sinks that take away the heat from the light source itself. Keeping them cool helps maintain the long life span of the LED lights.


26. What is the difference between Warm White, Pure White and Cool White?

When looking to use white LED lighting you may think it would be a very simple choice to choose as there is only one option…white? Wrong; there are actually different various shades of white to choose from. The 3 main shade descriptions of whites are: Warm White (also known as soft white) – is described as warm white does not mean that it is warm to touch, the warm is actually describing the shade of white the LED lights up. Warm white tends to be slightly yellow/brown in colour just like your standard halogen light bulbs. Warm white tends to be used to give a warm, homely feel. The technical specification of warm white is anything from 2700k – 3200k (lower being warmer) Pure White (also known as daylight white, commercial white, bright white) – this is the closest resemblance to daylight white, it tends not to have any yellow (warm) or blue (cool) tint to it. This is used in commercial applications and also to highlight areas; it is generally brighter than warm white. On the Kelvin scale, pure white would be anything from 4500k to 6000k (lower being warmer) Cool White – this white is used the least out of the 3 as it is generally too ‘cool’ (blue tint) for commercial and general use. However, it is the brightest white and can be used to highlight areas. It still looks very white and the blue tint is extremely faint. This is great to create a cool, crisp feel. On the Kelvin scale, this would be 6500k+;


27.Why are LED lights considered a green technology?

LED lights are the only truly eco-friendly lighting solution. Unlike traditional forms of lighting where the majority of the electrical energy is given off in the form of heat, LED lights operate at around 80% efficiency. This means that an LED lights converts 80% of its electricity into light energy with very little given off as heat, compared to an incandescent bulb that only turns 20% of the electricity it uses into light energy.


28. Which driver will I need?

To work out what transformer you require this is quite simple. You take the amount of LED tape you have in metres and x this by the wattage of the LED tape you have, again per metre. For example, 7m of 4.8w LED tape: 7 x 4.8w = 33.6w Therefore you would require a 60w transformer.


29. Can I dim the white LED tape?

The LED tape can be dimmed in various ways. 1 option is with our dimmable transformers: these are available in 12v/24v and in 30w and 100w. These can then be dimmed off a standard Triac wall dimmer (standard in households). We also have Triac dimmable receivers; these go in-between the transformer and the LED strip. These work with both 12v and 24v versions and are ideal for larger projects that use larger transformers such as the 320w. Another option is with our 0-10v receivers, these can be used for both the 12V and 24v versions. They go in-between the transformer and the LED tape and can be linked to such systems as Lutron. We also have the option to dim via DMX. We have DMX receivers available to work with DMX desks and systems to allow you to fully dim as required. Again these go in-between the Transformers and LED tape and can be linked together to dim all the receivers at once.


30. How does ambient temperature affect the performance of LED lights?

The performance of LED lights can be adversely affected by severe changes in ambient temperature or operating the LED lights outside the recommended temperature range. LED lights are tested at an ambient temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, which is adequate for most domestic environments.

However, in more challenging environments, with extreme levels of hot or cold ambient conditions, there may be a decrease in light levels together with an adverse effect on the life span of the bulb. This is why there are specially designed LED lights for use in hazardous and extreme conditions.


31. How often will I have to replace LED lights?

LED lights have a life span of over 50000 hours of continuous operation. This means if you replace your existing halogen LED lights with /new LED lights, you may never have to replace your light LED lights again!


32. How long is 50000 hours?

LED light products have an operational life-cycle of over 50000 hours, this equates to:

5.7 years (24 hours per day)
7.4 years (18 hours per day)
11.4 years (12 hours per day)
17.1 years (8 hours per day)


33. How do I wire up the LED Tape?

For this type of LED tape, you will require just a transformer to get this working. You connect the 2 core starter lead coming out of one end. This is then wired to the transformer, the red wire goes to + and the black wire is wired to -. The 2 core cables can be extended as required for you to mount the transformer as far away as required.


34. Do LED lights have any toxic materials inside them?

No. LED lights are referred to as solid state lighting technology and do not contain any harmful materials unlike certain other types of household lighting that contain toxic substances like mercury.


35. Which wattage do I need?

Deciding on which wattage you require is all down to what kind of application you are fitting the LED tape in. The 5w and 10w is ideal to be used as feature lighting. Lighting to highlight areas, as secondary lighting. Ideal for covings, drop-down ceilings signage etc. to give a smooth halo effect. The 10w would be preferred to the 5w for these applications if there is a high amount of ambient lighting. The 15w and 20w are ideal to be used as general lighting or as feature lighting for areas larger than covings etc. For example, washing down front bars/back bars / under kitchen cabinet lighting as ‘working light’


36. Do LED light LED lights switch on immediately or do they have to warm up?

LED lights are instant on, which means the do not require any time to warm up. Also, LED lights do not give off any potentially harmful IR or UV emissions.


37. Does the level of light produced reduce over the lifetime of the LED lights?

Yes. The level of illumination does decrease over the life span of an LED lights. However due to their extremely long life cycle, this is barely noticeable.


38. When do I need to use the IP67 Heat-shrink?

IP67 Heat-shrink type is required in areas where you will need resistance to water. For example bathrooms, kitchens and exterior. The heat shrink version is waterproof but it cannot be submerged, for example in a pond. The IP67 Heat-shrink is a protective coating over the LED tape, this makes it easy to wipe to clean etc.


39. Is it true that LED lights are energy efficient?

Yes. LED lights operate at around 80% efficiency, compared to an incandescent bulb that is only 20% efficient. This means that an LED lights converts 80% of its electricity into light energy. LED lights are the only truly eco-friendly lighting solution.


40. How do I create custom lengths? Can I cut the tape?

All the LED strips are cuttable. Each can be cut at various points, either 50mm,100mm,150mm or 200mm depending on which wattage version you have. We can either cut the lengths to your specific lengths as required or you can do this yourself. Once cut to length to join this to a transformer or another piece you will need to be capable of soldering, or if not we also supply 2 types of clips. One type is a starter lead clip, which is s clip that joins onto the offcut and has a cable coming out of it. The other clip is a ‘tape to tape clip’, this clip joins 2 pieces together.

 

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