Need advice about which LEDs to use in home office please

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littleheaven

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#195913 11-May-2016 17:25

Hi, sorry if this has been discussed before but I've not managed to find an answer in the other threads I've scanned through.

I've recently started working from home and my office is in a large upstairs family/rumpus room which has one east-facing and one south-facing window. It was fine during the summer but I've noticed over the last couple of weeks, with the gloomy cloud we've had here in Auckland, that the lighting is insufficient. The room has 2 pendant lights - standard bayonet fittings, and long rectangular white frosted glass shades. Currently each of these has a warm white (2700k) CFL bulb in it - I think they are 20w or 23w each. This is for a total room size of 25 square metres. By comparison, the downstairs living room has 6 of the same bulbs.

For brightness reasons, and also for cost efficiency, I'd like to swap the bulbs for LEDs, but I'm not sure what I should get. I just got one for the toilet (which I leave on at night for my young son) and it's a Panasonic 10.5w 3000k 1055lm bulb. The colour is lovely - bright and warm - but I don't suppose two of those would be bright enough for the office.

Looking online (Bunnings) I see they have a Luce Bella LED that's 16W (1521lm) in the 3000k colour - but would these be bright enough? Or are they cheap and nasty? Or should I bite the bullet and go for an 18w cool daylight Philips, which may make the place look like an operating theatre?

I assume LED would be low heat so okay in any light fitting?

I'd really appreciate opinions or recommendations from anyone who uses these at home, especially in a home office situation. They're not cheap so I'd hate to buy the wrong thing!

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

mattwnz

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#1551044 11-May-2016 17:47

LEDs tend not to like confined fittings and can die early, eg small downlighters where there isn't much airflow around them The backs of them do get hot. I would get a philips warm white one, although the larger the lumins, the larger the bulb will be as they have more LEDs in them. They are cooler and less yellow than the CFL warm white equivs. I wouldn't buy cool white, as they are a very cold blue light.

timmmay

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#1551063 11-May-2016 18:16

Related thread - which dimmable LED downlight for home office. The home workshop forum is a better place for this, but no matter.

I just put 2340 lumens of downlights in my office 4.5 x 2.5m office and I'm going to have to put a dimmer in. It's REALLY bright. But your office is twice the area. If you want it REALLY bright shoot for 4000 lumens, a bit more muted and 2500 - 3000 would work.

What do you use the office for? Seeing customers? Computer work?

richms

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#1551079 11-May-2016 18:48

mattwnz:

LEDs tend not to like confined fittings and can die early, eg small downlighters where there isn't much airflow around them The backs of them do get hot. I would get a philips warm white one, although the larger the lumins, the larger the bulb will be as they have more LEDs in them. They are cooler and less yellow than the CFL warm white equivs. I wouldn't buy cool white, as they are a very cold blue light.

Cool white is an actual white, the blue ones are the daylight option. Problem is stupid marketing types started to mess up the names and call things cool daylight etc.

Office etc stick to around 4000-5000k white.

I have 60 watts of led downlights in my 2.5 x 4m computer room, its fine brightness wise but because it is only from 3 downlights down the middle there are far too many shadows.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#1551107 11-May-2016 19:46

For that size room four lights nearer the corners would be better. I have four in my smaller office, really big LED downlights with pretty big area, they work well.

littleheaven

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#1551148 11-May-2016 20:32

Thanks for the responses. The office is where I do my proofreading and editing, which is all computer work. Unfortunately it's a vaulted roof, so I can't add extra lights in the corners. The two I have are in the apex of the ceiling. Here is a picture of one of them:

If I pop a 1500lm warm white in each, will they be any brighter than the CFLs currently in there? Or am I better off investing in a strategically-placed lamp instead?

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.

timmmay

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#1551189 11-May-2016 21:25

If you're replacing CFL with LED rated the same brightness it won't make it any brighter. Suggest you get a lamp. I prefer uplights, LED ones ideally, because the light ends up coming from the whole ceiling effectively. You need more light if you bounce from the ceiling, unless the room is all white.

littleheaven

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#1551199 11-May-2016 21:52

timmmay:
If you're replacing CFL with LED rated the same brightness it won't make it any brighter. Suggest you get a lamp. I prefer uplights, LED ones ideally, because the light ends up coming from the whole ceiling effectively. You need more light if you bounce from the ceiling, unless the room is all white.

Thanks - I've found a floor lamp I like at Lighting Plus that will take a 100w equivalent bulb. My ceiling is white and walls are cream, so I should get good reflection, and a third more light :) I will probably replace the CFLs in the pendants at some stage, just because I like the LED warm light better.

Geek girl. Freelance copywriter and editor at Unmistakable.co.nz.