FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

There is no right or wrong when it comes to choosing a colour temperature of light for your home - it is all based on your own specific preference. Colour temperature is measured on the Kelvin scale, with 1,000K being similar to candlelight while 10,000K is the colour of a blue sky. 

In the home, generally you would choose lights with a warmer colour temperature to create a cosy and relaxing environment. Ideally, it's worthwhile choosing just one colour tempterature through the home to create a consistent ambiance.

If you can't decide on a colour temperature, lamps with switchable colour temperatures are availalble such as the LED A60 Colour Temperature Changing globe. It's also important to pair your LED lights with a quality dimmer to ensure the light temperature remains consistent as you dim the light. 

The Colour Rendering Index (CRI) is a score which measures the ability of a light to illuminate its surroundings faithly in comparison to natural light. 

The higher the CRI, the better - with an ideal score of 100. A light with a lower CRI will cause a room to feel dull and lifeless, while a higher CRI will be vibrant and stimulating.

An IP Rating - or Ingress Protection Rating - is a two-digit number used to show the degree of protection provided by the enclosures of electrical equipment, such as light fittings. 

• The first digit of the IP rating indicates a devices level of protection from solid objects such as a finger, screwdriver or contaminants like bugs and dust.
• The second digit of the IP rating indicates a devices level of protection against water, ranging from small drops to complete immersion in water for long periods of time.

The IP Rating is important to consider when buying lighting especially as this score will determine where in the home a light can be used. Generally, a light with an IP Rating of greater than IP44 is required for the bathroom to protect against splashes and steam, or covered areas outdoors such as patios and under eaves. For exposed outdoor lighting such as garden lights and wall lighting, an IP Rating of greater than IP67 is required to ensure it can stand up to the elements.

Light Emitting Diodes (or LEDs) are more efficient and have a longer lifespan than traditional globes, making them a more economical choice for the home.

LEDs don't radiant heat like a traditional globe, making them safer to use around the home as well. 

There are a few common symptoms that can cause LED lights to flicker.

If you live in NSW or South East Queensland, LED flickering that occurs at regular intervals (either early morning or late at night) is typically a result of your energy supplier broadcasting 'ripple signals' across the power grid. These signals are used to switch over off-peak systems such as water heaters and are received by all households connected to the grid, regardless of whether they have an off-peak meter. This has always been the case, however old halogen or tungsten lights could not change brightness quickly enough for the flickering to be visible.

There is no simple fix for LED flickering caused by ripple signals, however, installing a Load Bypass Device can help reduce the severity of the flickering.

Another cause of LED flickering is using incompatible dimmers with your new LED lights. If you have used a poor quality dimmer or kept your old dimmers that were never designed to work with modern LED lighting, then this can also cause flickering. This can be fixed by having an electrician install quality dimmers designed for LED lighting and the Australian market. Crompton recommends the Diginet LEDsmart+ range of dimmers.

The final cause of LED flickering is improper wiring or overloaded dimmers. Have an electrician check your home for loose or incorrect wiring, bad terminations or overloaded circuits. The Diginet LEDsmart+ range of dimmers can handle up to 400W of LED lighting on a single circuit or roughly 30 LED downlights. However, installing too many LED downlights or too many dimmers on the same wall plate can effect the performance and cause flickering. 

The lumen output of a light (measured in lm) is a measure for the amount of light a specific lamp can produce, and therefore how bright it is. The higher the lumen output, the brighter the light.