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Frequently Asked Questions about LED Technology and Fixtures

If you don't find what you are looking for, just contact us with any questions you have no matter how simple or complex they may seem. We are here to help!

1. What are LED Lights and do they save energy?

2. How do LEDs Work?
LEDs are comprised of 3 main components: the LED's (the chip set that produces light), the driver (converts AC to DC) and the heat sink (to keep everything cool). LEDs take DC power from the driver and create light. The heat sink captures heat from the LEDs and the drivers. Although LEDs produce significantly less heat than the light bulbs we have been used to over the past century, the heat they produce must be managed. The better this is done, the longer the life of the product. LEDs also performs the job of converting electricity to light more efficiently than other light sources, that is why we can replace a 65W incandescent light bulb with a 12W LED bulb.

3. What are the benefits of replacing your ordinary bulbs with the LED?

    a. An immediate reduction in your electricity bill.
    b. Less heat. LED fixtures are extremely efficient converting electricity into light.
    c. LED Bulbs last a very long time, from 30,000 to 200,000 hours.
    d. They are virtually indestructible.
    e. They do not contain mercury or other hazardous materials

4. How much money can you save when converting to LED?
It all depends what you are converting. Incandescent to LED, fluorescent to LED, Metal Halide to LED. Fortunately, we built a very simple and information Energy savings calculator. Enter in a few fields or select one of our existing energy savings scenario, and let it calculate your energy savings. We tried to make it simple and easy to use.


Want to see how much you could save? Click here to try our Energy Savings Calculator


5. Can LED bulbs be used with dimmer controls?

Some of our industrial and commercial LED fixtures (high bays, floods, area lighting, retrofits) work with a 0-10V dimming system. 0-10V dimming requires special wiring and a special type of dimmer.

6. Do they contain any hazardous or heavy metals like Mercury?

7. What color temperatures are available with LED bulbs?


Here are the typical range of color temperatures on MyLEDLightingGuide:

    2700-3200 - WW - Warm White
    4000-4500 - NW - Natural White
    5000-5500 - DW - Day White
    6500-7500 - CW - Cool White

8. What type of bases are available?
LED Bulbs are the perfect retrofit for your existing light fixtures. We have standard bases, candelabra, standard or Edison (E26) , mogul (E39), MR16 and other typical bases that are common with incandescent and halogen installations. For fluorescent tubes, we have bi-pin, single pin and HO Ends. We carry PL based bulbs in G23, GX23, G24 and GX24 bases.

9. What are the sizes of the bulbs? How do they operate in comparison to the original light bulbs?
In most cases, are bulbs are the same size if not slightly smaller than the bulbs they replace. That is because LED technology packs a lot of light in a small package.

10. What's the difference between LED and CFL?

        b. You can replace a 22W CFL bulb with a 11W LED bulb.

11. Can LEDs be used in outside lights?
Yes. Some bulbs are designed with water-proof fittings. Others need to be kept in a water-tight fixture. Read all instructions and manuals before using a LED bulb outdoors.

12. Will the light levels decrease over the life of the bulb?

Yes. They will fade as the bulb gets near the end of its normal operating life. But it is very gradual and hardly noticeable. This is called Lumen Degradation and is denoted on the website as L70. L70 is the amount of time the light takes to get to 70% of the initial lumen output.

13. How long do the bulbs last and what sort of warranty is associated with your LED bulbs?
Most of our bulbs come with either a 3 or 5 year manufacturer warranty. Warranties only apply for normal use of bulbs and do not include misuse or usage for which the bulb was not intended to perform. All our warranties are parts-only warranty. We do not cover the cost of labor or shipping.

14. How many lumens do I need to replace 400W Metal Halide fixture?
There is a lot that goes into answering this question. DesignLights Consortium has indicated in their specifications that you need at least 10,000 lumens to replace a 400W Metal Halide. Some other factors come into play, like surface reflectivity, obstructions and other source of light, such as natural light sources coming into the building. MyLEDLightingGuide designs light solutions. We are product agnostic, we will select the best product that meets your needs. So we have the ability to replace 400W Metal Halide with 10,000 lumens up to 30,000 lumens. We do find that you need more lumens indoors to do a proper replacement than you do outdoors.

15. How many lumens do I need to replace 400W Metal Halide High Bay?
We find that the typical range is as low as 17,000 lumens and as high as 23,000 lumens. Photo-metrics plays a major part in determining how much you need, spacing, and reflectivity of the environment. As we said above, we have found that you need more lumens indoors than you need outdoors to replace 400W Metal Halide.

16. What are the steps required to replace a fluorescent tube in an existing fixture?
There are several steps, but essentially this is no more difficult than a bulb and ballast replacement.
    1. Remove the fluorescent tubes, and then remove the ballast.
    2. Replace the existing tombstones (only if necessary). This step may be required with single ended powered tubes if you have shunted tombstones.
    3. Rewire the fixture to accommodate the LED tubes.

Note: there are also ballast compatible tubes that allow you to convert to LED by simply removing the old fluorescent tube and replacing it with the LED tube. Click Here to see our ballast compatible tube.

Our internal driver LED Tubes use AC current, and then converts the power to DC within the internal LED driver to light the LED's. There are some tubes that can be driven from the fluorescent ballast, but we do not supply those tubes as we see fluorescent ballasts as a maintenance item. Ballasts consume about 4+ watts per fluorescent tube installed, so leaving the ballast in place reduces the energy savings as well.

We also can supply externally driven LED tubes. With these tubes, the driver is externally housed outside the tube, and is usually installed where the fluorescent ballast was located. External drivers act the same way as internal drivers; they accept AC power, convert it to DC which is supplied to the LEDs in the tube.

In the case where you have a native DC system (such as solar systems) you are best to look for externally driven LED tubes and forgo the installation of the driver. You will have to make sure the DC power that is supplied to the fixture is compatible with the DC power requirement of the tubes.

17. What is single ended power and double ended power mean in terms of fluorescent tubes?

In single ended powered tubes, you power only one end. This type of installation is referred to as un-shunted. Since the tube has two pins on that end, you would send line to one pin and neutral to the other. (think of line and neutral as the black and white wires of electrical wire)

In double ended powered tubes, you power both ends, one with line source, the other with neutral. This type of installation is referred to as shunted.

In most cases, our tubes our single ended powered tubes. It conforms with the latest UL standards for safety. Proper installation of our tubes in existing UL fixtures maintains the UL certification of the existing fixture.

We can also provide new fluorescent ends (tombstones) so that you can convert over to single ended powered tubes.

18. What are ballast compatible LED Tubes?
A ballast compatible tube is one where you can pull out the existing tube, leave the ballast installed, and install the LED tube.

19. Do Ballast Compatible Tubes work with all ballasts?

No, but they work with most electronic ballasts.

20. What is L70?
L70 is the amount of time it takes for a light to degrade to 70% of initial lumen output

21. When I buy LED, should I buy based on watts or lumens?
Always buy based on lumens, watts is a number that is used to determine how much energy it takes to produce those lumens. It is important to pay attention to lumens per watt, or lm/w. The higher the number, the less energy you will need to produce the light. You will notice that some lights take less energy to produce the same amount of light, and this is something you should watch for. Typically, the higher the ratio, the better.

22. What component of the LED system is typically the first to fail?
Almost always, it is the driver. That is why it is important to know who makes the driver in the LED fixture or retrofit you purchase. Brand names like Meanwell and Philips are good. A LED product with a 1 or 2 year warranty is an indication of how good the driver is in that product. Typically a good driver should last more than 50,000 hours.

23. What is the most common reason LEDs fail?
Heat. Heat is the enemy of electronics, the hotter it is, the shorter the light. However, with good design, you can create a light or fixture that can withstand some high heat environments. Typically a fixture or bulb with an external driver will last longer than an integrated fixture that has the LEDs and driver as one unit.

24. What is CRI?

25. What is DesignLists Consortium (DLC)?
DLC is DesignLights Consortium, the governing body that certifies the quality and efficiency of LED Lights. It is a standard similar to Energy Star. Where as Energy Star is for home owner type products, DLC is for commercial grade LED products. A DLC Qualified product may be eligible for rebates. Your local utility designates whether you are eligible for rebates or not, and it varies between utility companies. Currently there are two standard, DLC Standard and DLC Premium. DLC Premium is more efficient and will save you more money in terms of operating costs.

26. What's better, new fixtures or retrofitting?
That's not a simple answer. For example, if your fixtures are relatively new and in good shape, retrofitting is a very good option. If your fixtures are old and deteriorating, then you might want to consider a new fixture. Both new and retrofit should last a long time. Both should perform well. Retrofitting is not prone to failure if you purchase the right LED retrofit kit to replace your existing bulbs. So the simple is there are no simple answers, but you can click here to learn more.

Have Any More Unanswered Questions?
If you still have questions left unanswered after reading this page, please contact us by clicking here. We will answer literally any question you have related to saving energy and LED technology / products. No question is too stupid to ask, so ask away!

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