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The Lumen: Not Just A Simple Number
Definition:
Lumen: unit of measure equal to the total amount of light emitted
“Lumen” is quickly becoming a buzzword among lighting industry marketing and sales teams.
Companies are quick to throw out high numbers to dazzle their customers before the customers have a chance to understand what lumens really are and why they are important.
Remember, a lumen is a unit of measure equal to the total amount of light emitted in all directions.
When an LED lamp is engineered, the individual LEDs placed into the lamp have a maximum lumen capability rating.
So, to go back to our car analogy, maximum lumen capability would be our car engine’s rated horsepower.
And just like a car’s engine that loses horsepower after being connected to other power-hungry objects (drive-train, A/C, etc.)
so do the diodes lose Lumen power after being connected to a circuit board, being potted in epoxy, and placed behind a lens.
The total Lumen value of a lamp-based solely on the LED’s maximum rated Lumen values is known as a lamp’s Cold Lumen Value.
Conversely, the Lumen value that measures actual total light output through the use of a highly calibrated machine known as an integrating sphere, is known as a lamp’s Warm Lumen Value.
Note: Actual lumen loss varies with every lamp design. There is no way to calculate lumen loss exactly without the use of an advanced machine known as an integrating sphere.
Although the diodes are rated at 400 lumens each, factors such as heat and lenses will affect the Cold Lumen Value resulting in a lower value known as Warm Lumens.
Also, when pushing performance to the limit, quality and longevity are often sacrificed.
At New Vision lighting, we understand that people want lights that work-and keep on working for years to come.
Designing a lamp that over-exerts a diode’s lumen capability is a recipe for disaster.
Much like we would never put our car in neutral and rev the engine for hours on end, we should not do the same for light-emitting diodes by pushing them beyond their limits.
Remember, there is a difference between a lamp’s rateable lumen output (Cold Lumens) and actual lumen output (Warm Lumens).
Additionally, light-emitting diodes have a tendency to become slightly dimmer after a warm-up phase.
So, your 500-lumen lamp could be at 450 lumens or less after 30 minutes of continuous use.
After the initial drop in lumen output during the warm-up phase, lumen output usually levels out for the remainder of the use, until the lamp is turned offen output after a warm-up period-many of our
It’s worth noting that New Vision lighting lists actual (not theoretical) competitors do not.
