As the awareness of the potential savings from LED lighting grows so does the number of products available to UK business.
The pricing of these products varies dramatically even though they all seem to make the same performance claims. With BritishLED lighting we believe it is essential to provide the facts and not marketing hyperbole, enabling prospective customers to make informed decisions prior to purchasing.
Chinese LED T8 Tube 15W
Typical LED tube
Philips MASTER LEDtube
All of these examples share some common limitations which the BritishLED tubes have been designed to address.
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Some of the key metrics when assessing the quality and suitability of LED tubes for your business include:
Efficacy (Lumens/watt)
Competitors - Vary from as low as 40lm/W to max 75lm/W
BritishLED tubes output 94lm/W (clear) and 84.6lm/W (diffused)
Why is this important? – To qualify for an Enhanced Capital Allowance general interior LED lighting must achieve a min. 60lm/W. This is an accepted method for measuring how efficiently the unit is producing visible light from electricity. The higher the number the more efficient the unit with the maximum possible efficacy being 683lm/W.
Reliability
Competitors – Erratic temperature control means variable, unpredictable LED life and performance. Driver design not capable of matching claimed LED chip lives and will fail well before LEDs. (Also see Warranty)
BritishLED have a unique patented microprocessor controlled driver, zero current in-rush and no power capacitors resulting in consistent performance and long life. (See Warranty)
Why is this important? – Apart from the obvious concerns around investing in products with unreliable performance, to qualify for an Enhanced Capital Allowance the unit must also be able to provide a light output (in lumens) after 6000 hours of continuous operation that is not less than 90% of the initial light output (in lumens).
Installation
Competitors – For Switch-start, virtually all require rewiring and for electronic ballasts all competitors require extensive rewiring by a qualified electrician. Adjustable end caps are rare and of low quality.
BritishLED tubes are the only truly, direct replacement, no rewiring, (no electrician required) across the entire range of fittings for magnetic or electronic ballasts. Fully adjustable end caps across the range. 100% safe no metal tubing.
Why is this important? – Hugely important as the cost of having to engage electricians for every installation is prohibitive and not factored into the cost of ordinary LED tubes therefore enormous cost savings are achieved by using BritishLED tubes that you or any member of staff can install in complete safety with no risk of shock.
Warranty
Competitors – Max. 3 Years only, despite the claims of anything from 40 to 100k hours lamp life. Most will warranty LEDs for 30k hours and provide a separate warranty cover of only 4k hours per year for the driver.
BritishLED tube warranty is 5 years (expected lamp life 50k hours) uniquely this covers both LEDs and driver.
Why is this important? – This is the most important measure as it tells you very clearly what the various manufacturers really believe their products are capable of, regardless of the marketing and sales claims. It is essential to understand that all lamp life references are the number of hours the LEDs will deliver a sufficient amount of light and that this is not the expected system life (electronics, driver, materials etc.) However, due to the patented microprocessor design at the heart of the BritishLED tube we are able to warranty the tube as a ‘system’ (LEDs & driver etc.) for 5 years.
The points covered above are crucial in understanding which products are the best investment for your business, please contact us to discuss these or any other related issues in more detail.
