Every year, from TV screens and other media, it is becoming increasingly loud and clear that mineral reserves are running out, so the cost of energy is constantly increasing and it is time to think about saving. This also applies to electric energy, since its production is interconnected with other areas (oil products for lubricating the bearings of generators, smelting of metal for wires by plants, etc.). To reduce the cost of paying bills, it is first recommended that you do not forget to turn off the lights in those rooms where it is not necessary, then replace the light sources with more progressive ones, and at the end use the Smart Home technology. Everyone has already learned how to turn off the lights, the computerization of the average citizen’s home is still a long way off, but to study what the luminous flux is and change the lamps is just the time, especially fluorescent and LED solutions can already be purchased on every market counter, not to mention stores.
Few people know that when choosing a replacement for conventional incandescent lamps, it is necessary to pay attention not only to the electric power and color temperature consumed by the new models, but also to the emitted light flux. It is highly discouraged to forget about this, as a situation may arise when the extolled model of a new lamp in this parameter is inferior to the old one. Its luminous flux may be less than that of a person serving faithfully. Although such a replacement will save energy, it is unlikely to bring joy. What is the luminous flux, as applied to lighting lamps? This is the amount of radiant energy that makes up the entire spectrum of radiation that is captured by the human eye and is defined as "light." For measurement, a special spherical recorder is used.
The luminous flux of an incandescent lamp, which for many years has been a standard source of lighting, has long been measured and defined in GOSTs. Released in 1999 for popular 60 W lamps, it indicates a minimum luminous flux of at least 620 lm (lumens), and varieties with an increased flux should give out more than 710 lm. Moreover, after a month of continuous operation, the decrease in luminous flux should not fall below 85% of the nominal. In this parameter, incandescent lamps have no equal. Is it a lot or a little - 600 lumens?
To answer this question, you need to familiarize yourself with the technical characteristics of their modern analogs based on LEDs. Not all manufacturers indicate the luminous flux of LED lamps on the packaging. It is understandable: the power consumption is always written in capital letters (it is really small), and the color temperature and, moreover, the luminous flux are either not mentioned at all or written in small letters.
As an example, consider a 100 W incandescent lamp and an LED model equivalent to it. Everyone knows that LEDs have relatively low power, but at the same time they can give out enough light energy in terms of each watt. If for an incandescent lamp (100 W) this parameter is 10 lm / W, then for an LED as much as 61 lm / W. Someone has already calculated that the luminous flux of an 11 W LED lamp is 617 lm, and for 100 W of incandescent light - 1000 lm. Bottom line: currently, to replace the incandescent lamp shown in the example, you will need to purchase a 15 W LED model.
Every day there are new varieties of lamps that can more effectively give off light energy. The use of advanced diodes and control circuits allows to increase the final efficiency. The main thing when buying is to read the manufacturer's specifications. Moreover, not only what is written in large letters on the front side, but also all the other parameters indicated.