Does Raw Lumens determine brightness? Or is it Wattage? Or is it AMP Draw? just trying to compare different brands of LED lights. thanks in advance for your replies.
The lumens definition is: “a unit of luminous flux in the International System of Units, that is equal to the amount of light given out through a solid angle by a source of one candela intensity radiating equally in all directions.” Basically, lumens equal brightness. And watts do not. Watts measure energy use, not actual light output. With the role out of energy efficient LED technology, we really can't use or rely on wattage for indication of brightness. Amperage is defined as 'the strength of an electric current in amperes.' We found this as a pretty good descrition of voltage, amerage and current: "Voltage is measured in volts, current is measured in amps and resistance is measured in ohms. A neat analogy to help understand these terms is a system of plumbing pipes. The voltage is equivalent to the water pressure, the current is equivalent to the flow rate, and the resistance is like the pipe size." While some lights may have a higher quantity of lumens, a key factor is the internal housing and lens of the light itself. Just because a light is bright, does not mean that beam of light is focused or able to produce light in a usable beam pattern (ie, spot beam, flood beam, hyperspot beam, etc). We firmly believe you get what you pay for when it comes to LED lighting. Let us know if you want a quote for any LED lighting.
**I have been in the lighting-energy efficiency field for 33 years. Your reply is on point and easy to understand to anyone not in the field.
Okay, I'm with you so far, but how to do the actual comparison? Let's compare a couple of offerings that I'm considering for my 2017. Manufacturer #1, lets call them N&S, have dual 40" light bars with 36x5watt Cree LEDs in each bar (but only 10 amps per bar at 12 volts DC, so 120 watts), with apparently about 15,000 lumens per bar (so 30,000 lumens for dual bars). Manufacturer #2. lets call them Jabba, have a single 30" bar with 24 LEDS (about 170 watts, but 12 amps, so must be assuming 13.8 volts DC) putting out about 19,000 lumens, but about 2x $$ for one 30" bar compared to two 40" bars from #1. What am I missing? Is there something about #2's optics that makes them superior and that much more expensive? Thanks.
The biggest difference between the two is the quality of the lights themselves. The first, is a straight from China kind of light (and does not come with a complete wiring harness). The second is machined in the US, assembled in the US and has an impressive warranty should anything go wrong. The optics have also been thoroughly tested and perform to spec. You also have to look at the size of the operation/business. One has huge overhead, the other is likely retailed from someone's home. If price is the primary driver, it's hard to justify 2x the cost. If quality is your driver, then more times than not it's going to cost more. We don't sell "N&S", but if you're looking for a quote on "Jabba", we can help there!
