LED Lighting

Giving Power to the Power Factor

We are all looking for the most efficient ways to accomplish our goals: we are all looking to work smarter, not harder.

Why would we expect our LED light bulb, which we bought for its efficiency, to work any differently? But unlike so many other aspects of our lives, how do we check and balance the workload of an individual LED bulb?

We could try standing by with an electricity meter, monitoring the energy used by our lamps, but in all our petty glory, that is not going to tell us the efficiency of the energy used for that bulb. Thankfully, Euri Lighting provides a unit of measurement to its consumers known as the Power Factor that accurately measures the efficiency of each and every light bulb.

The Power Factor of an LED indicates the amount of power being used to light a bulb, minus wasted energy. A low Power Factor draws more current than a high Power Factor to produce an equivalent amount of light, thus costing you more money. Ideally, an LED would have a Power Factor of 1.0, meaning that zero energy is being wasted on bulb inefficiencies. The more likely number seen on the market for consumers is a 0.9 Power Factor, meaning that only 0.1 energy is being wasted due to inefficiencies in the bulb or its fixture.

Low Power Factors are most often a consequence of poor circuit design in the drivers controlling the LEDs. Poor Power Factor creates distortions known as the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) in the waveforms between the voltage and currents. The level of THD is what determines the degree of energy loss. A poor Power Factor is going to be the result of LED manufacturers trying to cut costs, thereby producing a lower quality product.

Heat is a strong indication of wasted energy– many LED bulbs on the market struggle with keeping cool, and come equipped with large heat sinks and vents that encircle the base, which dissipate heat created by less efficient energy usage. Euri Lighting’s Smooth Body line showcases highly efficient LED bulbs with smaller heat sinks and higher Power Factors, providing top-rate performance across the industry.

When you’re out there comparing LED light bulbs, and wondering what the difference is between bulbs with the same lumen output and the same wattage, check to see what the Power Factor is– a lower Power Factor may be the cheaper option, but in the end will cost you more money in wasted lighting energy and additional cooling costs.

Euri Lighting conveniently offers the Power Factor and other pertinent information for each one of our products on our website, www.eurilighting.com. Be sure to download the Specification Sheet to review all information regarding our lighting products

Author: Hannah Rothblatt

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *