There is a huge variety of choice on the market for LED bulbs and with that comes an equally varied price range for lighting. What separates the bottom end of the market from the top? And how does this impact your school or business when it comes to installing LED lights?
FALSE ECONOMY
At the point of purchase, a cheaper LED light bulb can seem like an obvious choice. At the bottom end of the market, lights costing a few pounds can be an easy way to reduce costs. Your initial outlay is less and it can reduce the overall quote or cost from your professional lighting installation company.
Yet, with low-cost lighting comes the problem of low-quality bulbs. The life span of the cheaper LED bulb is an unknown quantity. It could last a few months or a few years. Either way, these lights do not come with a guarantee of service so there is a hidden price tag on each low-quality bulb installed.
For example, a bulb that costs £5 may need to be replaced every two years. Over the course of 10 years, you would have incurred a £25 fee in products plus labour time for the actual changing of the bulbs. Let’s say a small maintenance fee comes to around £1,000 per annum for a school building and that quickly adds up over the course of a decade.
An LED bulb that costs a little more but has a guarantee of quality can last between 10-20 years in a high usage area such as a school, office or warehouse. You would only need to pay for the initial product and installation in the building and therefore reduce the need for maintenance. In fact, if a bulb is known for its quality then the 5-year guarantee has already saved money on maintenance.
BRIGHTNESS AND FLICKER
Financial costs are not the only consideration when looking at the true value of LED bulbs. Lower quality bulbs could mean that the colour and brightness of the bulb is compromised. When selecting lighting for schools, the brightness of the bulb impacts the accessibility for all children within the school. Likewise, the colour that the bulb gives out can have an impact on children’s ability to concentrate and work.
The cheaper the bulb, the more likely it is to flicker. Often flickers occur in LED bulbs that are unnoticed by the human eye but in low-quality bulbs these flickers are more pronounced. This can be distracting and even cause headaches, dizziness, eye strain and in some cases, fits. When you invest in good quality LED lights you should not get any flicker.
WASTE
When your lighting options need replacing on a regular basis, you are creating more waste that needs to be recycled. One bulb which lasts for 15 years has a better financial and environmental impact that many lights over the same period. If you are looking to reduce your environmental impact then high-quality LED bulbs will do just that.
Here at Save Energy 2 Day, we only use high-quality bulbs in our installations. Our lights come with a 5-year guarantee and once installed, we do not expect to be changing any bulbs for at least the next decade.
