Sheerled Lighting LED is more than off the shelf

Sheerled Lighting LED is more than off the shelf. They’re your partner in designing and delivering complete solutions for your next lighting project.
Sheerled Lighting LED is a family owned LED lighting OEM based in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Launched in 2007 by Joel Gehly, a lighting engineer with multiple patents and 30 years of lighting technology experience, the company quickly grew from humble beginnings to design, development, and local manufacturing innovative lighting products. In 2009 the company partnered and was mentored by the Erie Technology Incubator at Gannon University. Growing significantly throughout the incubation process this company quickly blossomed into a team of engineers and business professionals dedicated to creating local jobs and serving their customer base.
Now located in its own manufacturing and fulfillment plant in Erie Pennsylvania, Sheerled Lighting LED strives to serve all people, its community and the environment through the supply of and manufacture of technologically advanced and eco-conscious products. The team at Sheerled Lighting LED promotes and supplies innovative LED lighting products, LED bulbs and LED technology to consumers, in commercial, industrial and residential applications.
The entire team at Sheerled Lighting LED is dedicated to doing business in a professional, honest and ethical manner, committed to treating customers, vendors and associates with respect. They endeavor to educate people about the technology of LED products. They work to provide honest and helpful information to their customers about “Sheerled Technology” while offering top quality, fairly priced LED products to help our world environment.
Sheerled Lighting LED is your source for quality, American LED lights and fixtures. With quality products backed with industry leading warranties combined with exceptional services, they bridge the gap between distributors, contractors and LED lighting solutions.

Led Light Bulbs

LED Vs Standard Light Bulbs

We’ve all heard the old joke about how many people it takes to change a light bulb and whilst the variations of these witticisms are amusing, what is less amusing is being faced with having to frequently replace a bulb in your ceiling or wall lighting. That is the dilemma encountered by many when using standard light bulbs, which is why we are promoting our LED light bulbs as they last a lot longer than normal bulbs.

A standard incandescent light bulb will deliver around 1200 hours of light, whereas an LED bulb could give you up to 50,000 hours – lasting over 41 times as long!

Eventually, LED bulbs will probably become the standard and the only reason they are not already is down to the fact they have a narrower and more focussed light beam. However advances in technology mean that LED bulbs are getting better and better and with prices now much more reasonable than when these items first came on the market, they are a very viable solution for the customer.

LED bulbs are now being designed for even more applications, meaning that their use is becoming more widespread. We stock a wide range of LED light bulbs, including dimmable bulbs, spotlights and globe bulbs, which can help you save money on running costs without the bother of frequent replacement.

Please click here to view our full range

LED BULBS COMPATIBLE WITH SMART THINGS

LIFX now compatible with SmartThings

Your LIFX lights are more connected than ever, thanks to our newest integration with Samsung SmartThings. Whether you have LIFX lights, Samsung SmartCams, Yale Real Living deadbolts or Bose Soundtouch speakers, with a SmartThings Hub you can connect these smart devices and let them communicate with each other seamlessly. Create a smarter home that automatically reacts as life happens.

In addition to the SmartThings Hub, SmartThings also have a family of sensors to help you create the ultimate connected home. There are multipurpose sensors that can detect movement and when things open and close, arrival sensors to notify when family come and go, motion sensors for security, power outlets to control electronic devices, water leak sensors and temperature and humidity sensors. You can see a full list of available SmartThings here.

With all these SmartThings the options for LIFX are endless. You can create smart routines to turn your lights off when your leave for work in the morning and back on when you arrive home. You could even turn on your lights to a low dim when SmartThing Motion Sensors detect movement late at night to help guide you to the bathroom rather than waking up the entire house. You have complete control to create experiences that enhance your unique lifestyle.

Connecting your LIFX lights to a SmartThings Hub is simple as they talk to each other via the cloud. The SmartThings app will guide you through the setup and connect via your LIFX Cloud account. Once connected you can configure routines to control your LIFX lights and even control your bulbs directly via the SmartThings app.

SmartThings are available for sale within the US,Canada and as of September 10th 2015 the UK and Ireland. You can purchase them online 

Act fast to save big on LED light bulbs

If you love the idea of long-lasting LED bulbs but not the price, 

If, like me, you’ve been disappointed by the CFL bulbs that don’t last the promised nine or 10 years, there's an opportunity today to try LEDs at a great price. I've had to responsibly dispose of mercury-filled (and short-lived) CFL bulbs more times than I can count, and it's made me hesitant to invest in LEDs, which have a higher price than CFLs. LEDs are supposed to pay for themselves over time — but then again, so were CFLs. I've been waiting for a great deal on LEDs, and today I found one.

Today, Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day is LED light bulbs at up to 60 percent off. The bulbs all come from a company called Energetic Lighting, and the company is offering four different options.

In 2011, MNN's Matt Hickman was excited about the low price of a single £15 40-watt equivalent LED bulb. Just four years later, we now can pay under £4 a piece 40-watt equivalent bulbs. And it's not just the low cost that makes these LEDs an attractive purchase. In addition to lasting three times as long as CFLs, LEDs are less fragile, don’t release mercury if they get broken and turn on more quickly.

According to a U.K. Department of Energy study, LEDs and CFLs consume the same amount of energy in their lifetimes, but an LED lasts three times as long as a CFL. New LEDs that should be introduced later this year are expected to be even more energy-efficient.

The deal is good only today, so if you’re interested, don’t hesitate.

LED Light Bulbs Your Brighter Choice

Why Are LED Light Bulbs Your Brighter Choice?

As we all know, LED light bulbs are a huge improvement over incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescents (CFLs).

With LED light bulb or lamp technologies improving, there is a growing market for energy efficient lighting options for businesses! Today, we will discuss and take a look at some reasons why we need or choose LED light bulbs above all. Why LED bulbs are brighter choice, and what benefits of LED lights will bring to our life:

1. Carbook Footprint
LEDs emit just under 514 lbs of CO2 per year, while CFLs (1028 lbs of CO2 per year), and incandescents (whopping 4405 lbs of CO2 per year!). Obviousely, LED bulb is much eco-friendly, green, and environment-saving choice.

2. Energy Efficient
LED lamps use just 6 to 8 watts of electricity, versus CFLs' 13 to 15 watts, and incandescent bulbs, which emit 60 watts of electricity! This should be the main reason why we need LED lights, it can save a lot of money and energy for your business! According to the U.S.

3. Longevity
LED lamp can last a surprising 80,000 hours, in contrast to CFL bulbs (50,000 hours), and incandescent bulbs (10,000 hours).That's why people love and in favor of LED bulb.

4. Safety
It's a priority and factoring point in our daily life.  LED lamps offer low voltage, are safe to install, can be exposed to rain/snow and contain zero filaments. However, CFL bulbs contain mercury and argon content; emits radio frequency radiation; emits UV radiation, and generates "dirty" electricity! Incandescent bulbs are deemed hazardous for use, containing a cocktail of toxic materials, in addition to its susceptibility to overheating and damage.


For these four reasons, we will make our brighter choice of course, and maximize home lighting with LED bulbs. Since LED lightbulbs last for decades, save electricity, offer extra features, and their prices are plummeting. It's time you switched to LED. (If you need any help choosing LED bulbs or lights, please visit sheerled.com (US) or sheerled.co.uk (UK) for all your LED lighting solutions.)

5 Steps to Buying a Energy Saving Light Bulb

Guide to energy saving led bulbs..

Five years ago I bought my first LED light bulbs. They were to replace halogens in my bathroom. I spent too much money on not enough lumens and way too many kelvin. You know what I mean?

No? Perfect. Let's make a deal?!

If you spend ten minutes reading this post I promise you that by the end of it you'll understand how to buy a low energy light bulb. In return I'll try not to bore you senseless.

Ready? Let's do this. With five simple questions.

1) What fitting do you need?

This is simple, but you really don't want to mess it up.

Although there are literally hundreds of light fittings in existence, your home probably only has a couple. I've got two in my ceiling fittings, a couple more in table lamps. In the image below there are some common ones for the UK and US.

'B' is for Bayonett, it's a bit of a British Empire thing. 'E' is for Edison Screw, dominant in the US thanks to Thomas.

You don't need to know what they mean. But if you scribble down the fittings before you start shopping for bulbs not only will they fit, they'll be the right voltage too.

2) What shape bulb do you want?

Bulb shape is not just a question of liking the look of a bulb, it is about how it throws light. The design of the bulb determines what direction the light goes, so you need to consider what you want the bulb to do.

There is literally an alphabet describing different bulb shapes, but since I promised not to bore you I'm just not going to go there. All you need to do for shape is use your common sense.

For a ceiling pendent you might want an 'omnidirectional' bulb like the arbitrary, stick or spiral shape. For a lamp you might need a candle shape with a broad spread. And if you are putting a spot into a recessed downlight you'll need a reflector with an appropriate beam width for the context.

A bulb that throws the wrong angle light can be really annoying, so do take the time to contemplate the shape before you buy.

3) How bright does it need to be?

It is no longer enough to think about bulb brightness in terms of watts. That was fine when we only had incandescents, but now we need to start thinking in lumens.

This is particularly the case when buying LEDs, because the use of the term 'replacement' is can be abused by bulb re-sellers, and occasionally by lesser manufacturers too. The following tables are a rough explanation of how many lumens you get from your watts for different bulb technologies for a standard fitting.

Now I'm very sorry to do this, but I had to make two charts to explain this properly. One for our readers in the low voltage (120V) countries like the US, Canada, Brazil and Japan. And a second one for readers in high voltage (240V) countries, that's the rest of the world.

The American Lumen:

If you live in the US, or anywhere else with a lower voltage grid, please look at this first chart. If you live elsewhere skip straight to the second.

At the top of this chart you have the brightness of the bulb in lumens. This is the number you need to start thinking in.

Let's say you're in the US and want to replace an old 60W bulb and get a similar amount of light. Then you know you'll need to get at least 800 lumens in order to match the brightness of the old 60W .

Got it? If you know your lumens, you won't be mis-sold a 'replacement bulb' that isn't bright enough.

The British Lumen

In the rest of the world grids we have higher voltage, meaning that lumen equivalent for standard incandescents is different. That's the case here in the UK.

At the top of this chart you have the brightness of the bulb in lumens. This is the number you need to start thinking in.

Let's say you're in the UK and want to replace an old 60W bulb and get a similar amount of light. Then you know you'll need to get at least 700 lumens to get a similar brightness to the old bulb.

Knowing your lumens means you will get the brightness you want, and avoid being mis-sold 'replacement bulbs'.

A quick word on spotlights:

Just spot me a second here. Both the two charts above are designed to help you replace a normal lightbulb. When it comes to spotlights you can often experiment with going for fewer lumens. In our bathrooms I have replaced 700lm halogens with 320lm LEDs and actually prefer the light. The result is a 90% energy use reduction per bulb.

4) Do you want warm or cold light?

This question might sound complicated, but it is dead easy and one of the great things about LEDs.

The temperature of light can be measured in terms of 'kelvin'. Very orange light has a low number of kelvin, for example a candle is about 1,500K. Daylight is much colder, often above 5,000K. Here is the scale.

When it comes to household light bulbs the temperature choices are very simple. Most people simply want what is called 'warm white' (2,700k) to replicate the warm, slightly yellow glow of an old incandescent or halogen.

In a kitchen, bathroom or other situations you may prefer a slightly less yellow light, sometimes called a natural white (3,000K). You may want to try cool white (4,000K). Or for a very specific style (5,000K). Anything above that starts to get a little blue.

This type of temperature choice is mostly associated with LEDs. If your home has a quite modern style you should definitely consider trying some cooler temperatures, as they can look great in the right context.

5) Are LEDs good value yet?

Compact fluorescent (CFLs) bulbs are now so cheap that a CFL can pay itself off with energy savings in just months for a well used bulb. I personally quite like CFLs in the right context, but if you want instant light, dimming or cooler light they aren't great.

LEDs on the other hand are gradually overcoming many of these problems. The main issue with LEDs at this point is their upfront cost. This is particularly true for 75W and 100W replacements (I'm waiting for prices to drop).

With this in mind let's crunch some numbers and see how the payback is for LEDs. In the following chart I estimate how quickly energy savings will recoup the cost of replacing a 60W incandescent with a 10W LED that costs £6 ($10), assuming the bulb is used for 2 hours each day.

Because of the huge difference in the prices of electricity the £6 outlay for the LED pays itself off in anything from 9 months in expensive Denmark to three and a half years in India or China, where electricity is cheap.

Now a 60W LED for £6 is still quite cheap. If you are paying closer to £9 you'd need to add 50% to these payoff times. On the other hand if you are using the bulb 4 hours a day, then you should halve them. What does this mean for you in practical terms?

• Cheaper LEDs payback faster
• Payback is faster where electricity is expensive (the UK)
• The more you use a bulb the faster the payback
• Replacing CFLs with LEDs is not yet cost effective

In most cases the one year running cost of an incandescent bulb you use regularly (>2 hours a day) is greater than any drop in LED prices we are likely to see. So it makes sense to switch when you see a decent value bulb. However, if you don't use a bulb much (< 1 hour a day) you may want to wait for prices to fall a little more. Especially for 100W replacements which are still extortionate.

I have one incandescent left in my loft that I'd be lucky to use for 10 hours a year. I'll probably only switch it if it blows.

5 Steps to Buying a Energy Saving Light Bulb

If you've made it this far you now know a lot about light bulbs. Because I promised not to bore you I've decided not to discuss dimming (read the labels), color rendering (above 80 please) and bulb lifespan (buy a known brand).

Let's just recap the five steps:

1. Fitting: Write down the code
2. Shape: Decide on the best shape
3. Brightness: Get enough lumens!
4. Temperature: Warm or cool?
5. Cost: Look for good value bulbs

Like I said in the introduction, I bought my first LED five years ago and only really got the first of these five steps correct. But things have changed an awful lot in five years, and LEDs are now becoming a really sensible option. CFLs remain excellent value due to their low prices and running costs, but you can't always get the light you want.

If you have never bought LEDs before I highly recommend trialling a single bulb, or spotlight, first before buying too many. LEDs are not cheap and last a long time, so you want to be sure about fitting, shape, lumens and kelvins before going all in on them. I also recommend looking for specials on known brands or having a money back guarantee up your sleeve.

I wish you much success with your LED hunt and hope you get the right fit, shape, brightness and temperature at a decent price. Most importantly I hope you prefer the light of your new bulb, that's the main test of success.

- See more at: http://sheerled.co.uk/

How Many Lumens Do You Need?

Five years ago I bought my first LED light bulbs. They were to replace halogens in my bathroom. I spent too much money on not enough lumens and way too many kelvin. You know what I mean?

No? Perfect. Let's make a deal?!

If you spend ten minutes reading this post I promise you that by the end of it you'll understand how to buy a low energy light bulb. In return I'll try not to bore you senseless.

Ready? Let's do this. With five simple questions.

1) What fitting do you need?

This is simple, but you really don't want to mess it up.

Although there are literally hundreds of light fittings in existence, your home probably only has a couple. I've got two in my ceiling fittings, a couple more in table lamps. In the image below there are some common ones for the UK and US.

'B' is for Bayonett, it's a bit of a British Empire thing. 'E' is for Edison Screw, dominant in the US thanks to Thomas.

You don't need to know what they mean. But if you scribble down the fittings before you start shopping for bulbs not only will they fit, they'll be the right voltage too.

2) What shape bulb do you want?

Bulb shape is not just a question of liking the look of a bulb, it is about how it throws light. The design of the bulb determines what direction the light goes, so you need to consider what you want the bulb to do.

There is literally an alphabet describing different bulb shapes, but since I promised not to bore you I'm just not going to go there. All you need to do for shape is use your common sense.

For a ceiling pendent you might want an 'omnidirectional' bulb like the arbitrary, stick or spiral shape. For a lamp you might need a candle shape with a broad spread. And if you are putting a spot into a recessed downlight you'll need a reflector with an appropriate beam width for the context.

A bulb that throws the wrong angle light can be really annoying, so do take the time to contemplate the shape before you buy.

3) How bright does it need to be?

It is no longer enough to think about bulb brightness in terms of watts. That was fine when we only had incandescents, but now we need to start thinking in lumens.

This is particularly the case when buying LEDs, because the use of the term 'replacement' is can be abused by bulb re-sellers, and occasionally by lesser manufacturers too. The following tables are a rough explanation of how many lumens you get from your watts for different bulb technologies for a standard fitting.

Now I'm very sorry to do this, but I had to make two charts to explain this properly. One for our readers in the low voltage (120V) countries like the US, Canada, Brazil and Japan. And a second one for readers in high voltage (240V) countries, that's the rest of the world.

The American Lumen:

If you live in the US, or anywhere else with a lower voltage grid, please look at this first chart. If you live elsewhere skip straight to the second.

At the top of this chart you have the brightness of the bulb in lumens. This is the number you need to start thinking in.

Let's say you're in the US and want to replace an old 60W bulb and get a similar amount of light. Then you know you'll need to get at least 800 lumens in order to match the brightness of the old 60W .

Got it? If you know your lumens, you won't be mis-sold a 'replacement bulb' that isn't bright enough.

The British Lumen

In the rest of the world grids we have higher voltage, meaning that lumen equivalent for standard incandescents is different. That's the case here in the UK.

At the top of this chart you have the brightness of the bulb in lumens. This is the number you need to start thinking in.

Let's say you're in the UK and want to replace an old 60W bulb and get a similar amount of light. Then you know you'll need to get at least 700 lumens to get a similar brightness to the old bulb.

Knowing your lumens means you will get the brightness you want, and avoid being mis-sold 'replacement bulbs'.

A quick word on spotlights:

Just spot me a second here. Both the two charts above are designed to help you replace a normal lightbulb. When it comes to spotlights you can often experiment with going for fewer lumens. In our bathrooms I have replaced 700lm halogens with 320lm LEDs and actually prefer the light. The result is a 90% energy use reduction per bulb.

4) Do you want warm or cold light?

This question might sound complicated, but it is dead easy and one of the great things about LEDs.

The temperature of light can be measured in terms of 'kelvin'. Very orange light has a low number of kelvin, for example a candle is about 1,500K. Daylight is much colder, often above 5,000K. Here is the scale.

When it comes to household light bulbs the temperature choices are very simple. Most people simply want what is called 'warm white' (2,700k) to replicate the warm, slightly yellow glow of an old incandescent or halogen.

In a kitchen, bathroom or other situations you may prefer a slightly less yellow light, sometimes called a natural white (3,000K). You may want to try cool white (4,000K). Or for a very specific style (5,000K). Anything above that starts to get a little blue.

This type of temperature choice is mostly associated with LEDs. If your home has a quite modern style you should definitely consider trying some cooler temperatures, as they can look great in the right context.

5) Are LEDs good value yet?

Compact fluorescent (CFLs) bulbs are now so cheap that a CFL can pay itself off with energy savings in just months for a well used bulb. I personally quite like CFLs in the right context, but if you want instant light, dimming or cooler light they aren't great.

LEDs on the other hand are gradually overcoming many of these problems. The main issue with LEDs at this point is their upfront cost. This is particularly true for 75W and 100W replacements (I'm waiting for prices to drop).

With this in mind let's crunch some numbers and see how the payback is for LEDs. In the following chart I estimate how quickly energy savings will recoup the cost of replacing a 60W incandescent with a 10W LED that costs £6 ($10), assuming the bulb is used for 2 hours each day.

Because of the huge difference in the prices of electricity the £6 outlay for the LED pays itself off in anything from 9 months in expensive Denmark to three and a half years in India or China, where electricity is cheap.

Now a 60W LED for £6 is still quite cheap. If you are paying closer to £9 you'd need to add 50% to these payoff times. On the other hand if you are using the bulb 4 hours a day, then you should halve them. What does this mean for you in practical terms?

• Cheaper LEDs payback faster
• Payback is faster where electricity is expensive (the UK)
• The more you use a bulb the faster the payback
• Replacing CFLs with LEDs is not yet cost effective

In most cases the one year running cost of an incandescent bulb you use regularly (>2 hours a day) is greater than any drop in LED prices we are likely to see. So it makes sense to switch when you see a decent value bulb. However, if you don't use a bulb much (< 1 hour a day) you may want to wait for prices to fall a little more. Especially for 100W replacements which are still extortionate.

I have one incandescent left in my loft that I'd be lucky to use for 10 hours a year. I'll probably only switch it if it blows.

5 Steps to Buying a Energy Saving Light Bulb

If you've made it this far you now know a lot about light bulbs. Because I promised not to bore you I've decided not to discuss dimming (read the labels), color rendering (above 80 please) and bulb lifespan (buy a known brand).

Let's just recap the five steps:

1. Fitting: Write down the code
2. Shape: Decide on the best shape
3. Brightness: Get enough lumens!
4. Temperature: Warm or cool?
5. Cost: Look for good value bulbs

Like I said in the introduction, I bought my first LED five years ago and only really got the first of these five steps correct. But things have changed an awful lot in five years, and LEDs are now becoming a really sensible option. CFLs remain excellent value due to their low prices and running costs, but you can't always get the light you want.

If you have never bought LEDs before I highly recommend trialling a single bulb, or spotlight, first before buying too many. LEDs are not cheap and last a long time, so you want to be sure about fitting, shape, lumens and kelvins before going all in on them. I also recommend looking for specials on known brands or having a money back guarantee up your sleeve.

I wish you much success with your LED hunt and hope you get the right fit, shape, brightness and temperature at a decent price. Most importantly I hope you prefer the light of your new bulb, that's the main test of success.

- See more at: http://sheerled.co.uk/

Know what you're getting into before investing in LED light bulbs.

As your incandescents burn out, it's a good time to consider switching to LED bulbs. By now, you probably know that LEDs have an impressive lifespan (20-something years!) and are very cost-effective. You probably also know that while they've come down in price quite a bit, some options are up to five times more expensive than traditional bulbs.
Despite the cost, now's the right time to switch to LEDs. These bulbs have made significant advances over the last few years, finally delivering the warm light incandescents have comforted us with for decades.

More than ever, there is also an overwhelming number of LED varieties, and choosing an LED is entirely different from picking up an incandescent. Before you head to the store, find out what you need to know about choosing the right LED bulbs.

Learn the lingo
Forget what you know about incandescents -- your watts are no good here.

When shopping for bulbs, you're probably accustomed to looking for watts, an indication of how bright the bulb will be. The brightness of LEDs, however, is determined a little differently.

Contrary to common belief, wattage isn't an indication of brightness, but a measurement of how much energy the bulb draws. For incandescents, there is an accepted correlation between the watts drawn and the brightness, but for LEDs, watts aren't a great predictor of how bright the bulb will be. (The point, after all, is that they draw less energy.)

For example, an LED bulb with comparable brightness to a 60W incandescent is only 8 to 12 watts.

But don't bother doing the math -- there isn't a uniform way to covert incandescent watts to LED watts. Instead, a different form of measurement should be used: lumens.

The lumen (lm) is the real measurement of brightness provided by a light bulb, and is the number you should look for when shopping for LEDs. For reference, here's a chart that shows the watt-lumen conversion for incandescent

Mind the color
You can always count on incandescent providing a warm, yellowish hue. But LEDs come in a wide range of colors.


The popular colors available for LEDs are "warm white" or "soft white," and "bright white."As shown off by the Philips Hue, LED bulbs are capable of displaying an impressive color range, from purple to red, to a spectrum of whites and yellows. For the home, however, you're likely looking for something similar to the light that incandescents produce.

Warm white and soft white will produce a yellow hue, close to incandescents, while bulbs labeled as bright white will produce a whiter light, closer to daylight and similar to what you see in retail stores.

If you want to get technical, light color (color temperature) is measured in kelvins. The lower the number, the warmer (yellower) the light. So, your typical incandescent is somewhere between 2,700 and 3,500K. If that's the color you're going for, look for this range while shopping for LED bulbs.

Set your savings expectations
As Martin LaMonica points out, LED bulbs are like hybrid cars: cheaper to operate but pricey upfront.

When switching to LED bulbs, don't expect to save buckets of cash. Instead, think of it as an investment. Luckily, competition has increased and LED bulbs have come down in price (like this $5 LED from Philips), but you should still expect to pay much more than an incandescent.

Eventually, the LED bulbs will pay off, and in the meantime, you'll enjoy less heat production, longer bulb life, and even the option of controlling them with your smartphone.

Bottom line: unless you're replacing many incandescent bulbs in a large house, you won't see significant savings in your electricity bill.

For a detailed breakdown of the cost-effectiveness of LED bulbs, check out this useful post.

The 'dimmable LED' conundrum
Because of their circuitry, LEDs are not always compatible with traditional dimming switches. In some cases, the switch must be replaced. Other times, you'll pay a little more for a compatible LED.

Most dimmers, which were likely designed to work with incandescents, work by cutting off the amount of electricity sent to the bulb. The less electricity drawn, the dimmer the light. But with your newly acquired knowledge of LED lingo, you know that there is no direct correlation between LED brightness and energy drawn.

If you'd like your LED to be dimmable, you need to do one of two things: find LED bulbs compatible with traditional dimmers, or replace your current dimming switch with a leading-edge (LED-compatible) dimmer.

When shopping for LEDs, it helps to know what kind of dimming switch you have, but if you don't know (or would rather not go through the trouble), simply search for LED bulbs compatible with standard incandescent dimmers. To make things easier for you, we tested a slew of them to find out which LED bulbs work best with dimmers.

Plan for placement
Knowing where it's OK to place an LED will ensure that the bulb won't fizzle ahead of its time.


You probably know that LED bulbs run dramatically cooler than their incandescent cousins, but that doesn't mean they don't produce heat. LED bulbs do get hot, but the heat is pulled away by a heat sink in the base of the bulb. From there, the heat dissipates into the air and the LED bulb stays cool, helping to keep its promise of a very long life.

And therein lies the problem: the bulb needs a way to dissipate the heat. If an LED bulb is placed in an enclosed housing, the heat won't have anywhere to go, sending it right back to the bulb, and sentencing it to a slow and painful death.

Consider where you'd like to place your LED bulbs. If you have fully or semi-enclosed fixtures you need to light up, look for LEDs that are approved for recessed or enclosed spaces.

Buy best LED Bulbs

LED Light Bulbs & Lamps

LED light bulbs are the most energy efficient technology available today, and the pace at which this product range is developing is truly amazing, our range of lamps & tubes is guaranteed to save you money on your electricity bills and they are also environmentally friendly.

The driver in dimmable LED lamps may work with many types of dimmer but not all, for instance LED lamps tend to work better with trailing-edge dimmers rather than leading-edge dimmers, but an existing dimmer may have a minimum load that is too high for an LED lamp, e.g. A 60W filament lamp may use a dimmer that has a minimum load of 25W the replacement LED has a power rating of 6.5W - below the level required by the dimmer.

Halogens typically sell for £1 or more each - equivalent LED spotlights are now available from as little as £2 each, BUT whereas a halogen will last for around 1,000 hours on average and consume 35 or 50 Watts typically, an LED spotlight producing the equivalent amount of light will last for up to 50,000 hours with a total power consumption of only 3 Watts - 50 times the lifetime and one tenth the power consumption!

Their super-efficiency means that, based on average electricity prices in the UK, savings across the long life span of these bulbs can hit more than £232.00. Many in this day and age are concerned about the environment, and this bulb can satisfy their environmental concerns as well as their budgets; the savings in electricity equate to an 80% reduction in overall energy output, reducing emissions and wasteful heat energy.

These LEDs do not emit any light in the UV or blue range which could be helpful to us. The spectral distribution charts do show a sharp high peak of intensity before 600nm (in the amber spectrum) and it is possible for some sufferers that a great intensity of light in any spectrum could cause problems, but this would need to be tested and it is certainly better than peaks in the blue spectrum found in most energy saving lighting.

Best TopTen LED ceiling lights

LED ceiling lights - our top 10

LED ceiling lights offer many benefits over fluorescent or incandescent alternatives. Aside from their incredible energy-efficiency and lifespan, the compact size of LEDs allows more flexibility in design. LED downlights and ceiling panels often fit into relatively shallow ceiling voids and are a cleaner, more hygienic lighting solution for hospitals, schools and offices. Surface-mounted fittings are also transformed in scope and performance by LED lamps.

At Sheerled we keep a watchful eye on lighting innovation and trends and select only the best products for our customers. Here are our top 10 LED ceiling lights:

Fireguard LED6 Dimmable Spotlight

This downlight offers an extraordinary 75,000 hour lifespan and a 10-year manufacturer’s guarantee. Fire-rated, this LED6 is tested for 30, 60 and 90-minute ceilings, allowing crucial evacuation time for upper floors during a fire. Its impressive energy-efficiency easily surpasses the requirements of Part L Building Regulations.

Cavan 8W LED Downlight

To perfectly mimic the high quality light of a 50W low-voltage halogen equivalent, this superb downlight uses a special Robus LEDchroic LED module with an 8W Sharp Cob LED chip. Its smooth, crisp light is delivered in a well-controlled beam with extremely low glare.

Sysion RE 1130 Warm White LED Downlight

The Sysion is a premium / high-performance alternative to the Cavan. There are two main differences between these two fittings. The first is longevity - the Sysion has a 50,000 hour lifespan against the 35,000 hours of the Cavan, so it’s ideal for long hours of use. The second is that it can be customised via interchangeable bezels and diffusers.

LED Light Panel

An improvement over old fluorescent modular ceiling fittings, this panel fits directly into existing ceiling grids. Its 50,000 hour lifespan and energy-efficient performance will significantly reduce maintenance and running costs. This is an ideal fitting for offices, schools, hospitals, and many other environments.

Nexus 10 Pendant

Contemporary fittings like this Nordlux pendant are often suspended low over dining tables or desks. This concentrates their light and creates a feeling of intimacy, even in a busy setting. An LED spotlight is good for this purpose, as it’s naturally directional and wastes very little light outside of its specified beam. The Nexus is ideal for restaurants, cafes, bars, or the home.

Vulcan LED batten

LED lights offer a variety of extra benefits over even the best modern fluorescent tubes. This LED batten not only slices a third off the running costs of a T8 fluorescent tube, but it’s also longer-lasting, tougher, immune to multi-switching, contains no mercury and is suitable for exterior use. Need we say more?

Prodisc LED Flush Fitting with Microwave Motion Sensor

This excellent LED flush fitting automatically switches on when it detects movement. To add to its capabilities it can be wired to a series of slave fittings, so that multiple lights are switched on by the same sensor. With its cool white 5000K output, the Prodisc is ideal as a money-saving LED fitting in environments such as hospitals or schools.

Carina LED Flush with Microwave Sensor

The Carina is a great alternative to the Prodisc. With its IP65 rating, this dust-tight and water-resistant luminaire can be installed almost anywhere, including outdoors or in bathrooms and washrooms. The subtle warm white light of the Carina is ideal for hospitality settings and residential use.

Davida 3-Light Spotlight

Modern spotlight fittings such as the Davida often come ready-supplied with LED GU10 bulbs, so you’ll get years of service before any replacement is required. The Davida is a ceiling bar with fully adjustable light heads. Because the beam of an LED GU10 carries no IR heat and little or no UV, it is better suited for lighting sensitive objects such as artworks or textiles.

Acorn LED 3-Light and Track Kit

A track lighting system offers a little more versatility than a ceiling bar, as each light can be freely moved along a length of track as well as being angle-adjustable. The Acorn is ideal for lighting rooms and displays that are often altered. This light kit, which consists of 1-metre length of track and three spotlights, can be extended to a maximum 30 metres using separately available track lengths.

Investing in LED ceiling lights

Whether you’re an architect, interior designer, specifier, or end-user, LED ceiling lights deliver a new level of lighting performance whilst drastically reducing energy bills and the carbon footprint.

GU10 LED Bulbs Buying Guide

Changing light bulbs is one of those commonplace actions that have become part of our culture. Endless variations of light bulb jokes and quips exist, mostly referring to the classic incandescent bulb. However, with newer types of bulbs such as the GU10 LED bulb, changing light bulbs is a much rarer occurrence. With these long-lasting bulbs, owners can save on their electricity bill and save themselves time in the process.

Efficiency and Energy Savings for GU10 LED Bulbs

GU10 LED bulbs save their owners money and cut down significantly on energy consumption. For instance, replacing a 50-watt halogen bulb with a 5-watt LED bulb means 90 per cent energy savings. If you plan to swap out some incandescent or halogen bulbs for these efficient LEDs, make sure that you get the GU10 LEDs with a standard MR16 shape. You should be able to fit them into any socket designed for a typical MR16 halogen bulb.

Longevity Comparisons between LED Bulbs and Other Bulbs

A standard argon-filled incandescent bulb usually lasts anywhere between 750 and 1,250 hours. Unfortunately, incandescent bulbs begin to dim significantly near the end, sometimes yielding as little as 82 per cent of their original light output. A 50-watt halogen bulb lasts approximately 2,500 hours and still outputs about 94 per cent of its light capacity even at the end of its life. Far outstripping either of these options is the LED bulb, which gives the same amount of light using only 7 watts and lasts for up to 25,000 hours. Another way to put it is that a 6-watt GU10 LED bulb, emitting 300 lumens and burning for three hours each day, would last for 22 years.

Eco-Friendliness and Safety Considerations for GU10 LED Bulbs

Many consumers like to know that their product choices do not adversely affect the environment. GU10 LED bulbs are an eco-friendly option. They contain no mercury or lead, and they do not put out any harmful UV radiation or IR radiation. In addition, manufacturers typically ensure that their GU10 LED bulbs are RoHS directive compliant.

Dimmable vs. Non-Dimmable GU10 LED Bulbs

The GU10 LED light bulbs are large and round, perfectly suited as overhead lighting in a dining room, living room, or kitchen. You can install them as accent lights as well, especially if you select GU10 LED bulbs that are dimmable and insert them in a light fixture that can tilt or rotate to achieve the specific angle you want. Dimmable GU10 LED bulbs make it easier to achieve comfortable mood lighting or to save even more energy. Other GU10 LED bulbs simply shine at one strength. Consider whether or not the fixture in which you plan to place the bulb supports dimming, since you need a knob, control, or dimmer switch to achieve the effect.