Luminous Efficacy of LED Lights: Core Advantages & Tips

Under the background of global energy transition and dual-carbon target promotion, energy saving and upgrading in the field of lighting is inevitable, LED light efficiency as a core indicator of product performance, directly determines the energy utilization rate, the use of cost and environmental benefits, this paper will start from the basic concept of luminous efficiency. This article will start from the basic concept of luminous efficacy, analyze the advantages of high luminous efficacy LED lamps, and share the practical methods to improve, and provide professional guidance for the selection and application of solar energy LED street lamps and other products.

 

 

What's luminous efficacy?

 

Luminous Efficacy (Luminous Efficacy) is a measure of the efficiency of light energy into visible light, the core indicator, i.e., luminous flux (lm) and power (W) ratio, the unit of lm/W, directly related to the energy-saving potential of the lighting system and the cost of use. The lighting field in the LED chip luminous efficacy and luminous efficacy of the lamps and lanterns of the significant difference between the former focusing on the power conversion efficiency of a single chip, the latter for the inclusion of chips, reflectors, heat sinks and other components of the entire lighting equipment, by the LED drive efficiency, heat dissipation effect and other factors.

 

Benefits of high luminous efficacy

 

Energy-saving and high efficiency

 

The core advantage of high luminous efficacy LED lights lies in the energy-saving LED lighting characteristics, which can produce more visible light with the same consumption of electricity, and the energy utilization rate far exceeds that of traditional lighting technology. This advantage is especially significant in large-scale scenarios such as high efficiency LED lamps for street lighting. According to statistics, the use of high efficiency LED street lamps to replace traditional street lamps can realize power savings of 30%-50%.

 

Long lifespan and durability

 

High luminous efficacy LED lamps work with relatively low heat, which can effectively slow down the aging speed of the chip and prolong its service life. For roadway lighting, urban public area lighting and other scenarios, long lifespan means less maintenance and lower replacement costs, significantly reducing the full life cycle cost of the lighting system.

 

Cost-saving

 

High efficacy LED lamps are cost-saving in several dimensions. Fewer luminaires are required for the same lighting needs, directly reducing equipment purchase and installation costs. Longer lamp life reduces the frequency of replacement, reducing material and labor costs. Energy-efficient features result in savings on electricity bills that accumulate over time.

 

Environmental-friendly

 

The energy-efficient nature of high efficiency LED lamps directly reduces the need for fossil energy and CO2 emissions, contributing to low carbon goals. At the same time, LED lamps do not contain mercury and other harmful heavy metals, so the production, use and disposal processes are less polluting to the environment, making them a more environmentally friendly lighting choice.

 

Short payback period

 

High-efficiency LED lamps can meet the lighting demand with lower power, and their significant energy-saving characteristics make them widely applicable to Energy Performance Contract (EPC) projects. Municipalities or project owners can offset their upfront investment with the savings in electricity costs. The significant energy savings from high luminous efficacy can significantly shorten the payback period and reduce project risk.

 

Practical ways to improve LED lights efficiency

 

Optimize LED driver power supply

 

LED driver power supply is the core component that regulates the power supply of the LED chip, and its efficiency has a direct impact on the overall luminous efficacy of the LED lights. It is recommended to choose power factor higher than 0.9, efficiency rating of 90% or more of the power supply, effectively reduce the energy conversion loss, improve LED drive efficiency and overall product performance.

 

Selection of high-efficiency LED chips

 

LED chips are the core light-emitting components of LED lights, the chip luminous efficacy directly determines the level of basic luminous efficacy. At present, high-quality high-efficiency LED chip luminous efficiency can reach 200-220 lm / W, in the product selection, give priority to the selection of such high-specification chips, can enhance the efficiency of LED lamps from the source, to reduce the long-term use of cost.

 

Reasonably increase the number of LED chips

 

In some scenarios, over-driving a small number of LED chips will lead to high heat and decreased efficiency. Reasonable increase in the number of chips, the light-emitting load will be evenly distributed, so that each chip to run at a lower power, can effectively reduce the heat generated to improve the overall luminous efficiency and product stability.

 

Optimized heat sink design

 

Heat dissipation is a key factor affecting the efficiency and life of LED lamps, and excessive temperature will cause the chip's luminous efficiency to drop and its life to be shortened. Optimize LED heat dissipation design, use aluminum alloy or copper and other materials with excellent thermal conductivity to make heat sinks, and enhance heat dissipation effect by optimizing structure and increasing surface area to ensure long-term stable operation of LED lamps.

 

 

Choose high transmittance optical components

 

The optical components of LED lights are responsible for transmitting light, and their transmittance directly affects the utilization rate of light. Choosing high transmittance components with a transmittance of 90% or more, such as lenses with anti-reflective coatings and high-quality diffuser, can minimize light loss and improve the efficiency and uniformity of light transmission.

 

Application of reflective film to enhance light utilization

 

Application of high reflectivity materials, such as aluminum alloy reflectors and nano-coated reflective films inside LED luminaires can re-reflect stray light back to the target lighting area, enhance the total light output of the luminaire without increasing the additional energy consumption, and effectively improve the light utilization rate.

 

All-round optimization of system design

 

The overall efficiency improvement of LED lighting system requires all-round optimization at the system level, including reasonable regulation of power supply voltage, scientific planning of luminaire layout, selection of high-quality wiring components, integration of intelligent control components, etc., to realize the efficient use of energy, which is also the key direction of how to improve the efficiency of LED lights.

 

Why are LED lights more energy efficient?

 

Higher luminous efficiency

 

The core energy-saving advantage of LED lights stems from their luminous efficiency, which far exceeds that of traditional lighting. There are significant differences in the luminous efficacy of different lighting technologies, as shown in the table below:

 

Lighting Type	Luminous Efficacy Range (lm/W)
Incandescent Lamp	10–15
Fluorescent Lamp	50–100
Modern LED Lamp	200+

 

As you can see from the table data, the light efficiency of modern LED lamps is more than 13 times that of incandescent lamps and more than 2 times that of fluorescent lamps, which is the core reason why LED are more energy efficient than incandescent lamps.

 

Lower heat generation

 

Traditional lighting products have serious energy losses, with most of the power dissipated in the form of heat. For example, incandescent lamps about 90% of the electrical energy into heat, only about 10% into visible light. LED lamps use semiconductor light-emitting principle, can be most of the electrical energy directly into visible light, heat generation is greatly reduced, reducing the ineffective loss of energy.

 

Directional lighting

 

Traditional lighting products are mostly omnidirectional, requiring additional components such as reflectors to guide the light, which generates a large amount of light loss in the process. LED lamps have the characteristic of directional light emission, and the light can be emitted directly towards the target area without the need for complex guiding components, which significantly reduces the waste of light and improves the utilization efficiency.

 

Advanced driver technology

 

LED lamps are powered by an electronic drive power supply, which is more efficient than the ballasts or transformers used in traditional lighting and reduces energy loss during the power conversion process. At the same time, the high quality of the drive power supply can maintain a stable power supply voltage, which improves the stability of the lighting effect and the efficiency of energy utilization.

 

Dimmability and smart controls

 

LED lamps have good dimming performance and are compatible with a variety of intelligent control systems to realize refined energy management. For example, through the motion sensor to realize “people come to light, people go to light”, through the dimmer in the night when the traffic flow is reduced to reduce the brightness, through the daylight sensing system to use natural light to reduce artificial lighting energy consumption.

 

 

Long lifespan

 

LED lamps have a much longer lifespan than traditional lighting products, as shown in the table below:

 

Lighting Type	Service Life (Hours)
Incandescent Lamp	Approx. 1,000
Fluorescent Lamp	8,000–15,000
LED Lamp	50,000–100,000

 

Longer life means that LED lamps are replaced less frequently, reducing energy consumption and environmental impact during production, transportation and installation, as well as reducing labor and material costs during maintenance.

 

No warm-up time

 

Traditional compact fluorescent lamps require a warm-up time of a few seconds to a dozen seconds to reach full brightness after they are turned on, resulting in unnecessary energy loss during the warm-up process. LED lights, on the other hand, can reach full brightness instantly without warming up, which not only improves the convenience of use, but also avoids the waste of energy during the warm-up process.

 

As a core indicator of the performance of lighting products, LED light efficiency directly determines the energy-saving effect, cost and environmental value. High luminous efficiency LED lights with multiple advantages, in road lighting and other large-scale scenes in the application of significant value, through the optimization of the drive power supply, selection of high-efficiency LED chips, optimization of LED heat dissipation design and other ways to further improve efficiency. In the future, energy-saving LED lighting products will play a greater role in energy saving and carbon reduction, especially solar LED street lights, such as the combination of new energy products, both high luminous efficacy and zero energy consumption advantages, it is worth to be widely promoted.