The LED AR111 lamp

The LED GU10 and LED MR16 spot lamps which are used extensively indomestic applications do have a limitation when used in commercial buildings. The upper limit on the LED GU10 spot is about 9watts realistically because of the limited space that is available for the driver and to allow sufficient heat to be dissipated. For this reason the AR111 is normally the preferred choice. The halogen AR111 is normally 100w and the LED AR111 typically 12 w. It is quite normal to use quite an array of AR111’s in the ceiling of a retail store which means hat the electricity consumption will be massive if conventional halogen lamps are used.
With 100 lamps in the ceiling that would be a massive 10kW where if the 12w  LED AR111 is used then you will just be consuming 1.2KW of electricity.

The benefits of this massive saving are in many dimensions other than the obvious one or reducing electricity costs. In a store in the summer it will often be desirable to have air conditioning to get a pleasant ambient temperature for shoppers. If halogen AR111 lamps are used then the air conditioning will have to work much harder than is LED AR111 lamps are used. In fact with halogen bulbs the more light tat is output the more the air conditioning will need to work to compensate for the additional heat produced.

Another benefit is the extremely long life and with the  manufacturers expected lifespan of 30-50000 hours the time between lamp changes is far reduced. This is often an important aspect in retail stores as the lighting is fundamental to present the goods in the best way and additionally lamps which are not working give a bad image.

In certain commercial applications it is important to have e the capability to create very high ambient LUX levels to provide very clear vision but then on other occasions it is necessary to reduce the light levels to a lower level to create the right mood lighting conditions. In this case it is important that the lamps have a dimmable capability which of course is a standard capability of the halogen lamps. The early AR111 LED lamp was not dimmable but now technology has advanced considerably to provide dimmable units. However it is not that simple because the process of making LED’s dim well is quite complex and can be prone to problems. For example, some can flicker uncontrollably when dimmed, others do not dim smoothly when the dimmer control s operated and others will only dim down to an intermediate light level and not to 5% of the
maximum lumens out put level. For this reason it is important to match the driver to the lamp and ideally use a system which is in turn compatible with a wide range of dimmer controls. This way it can be assured that progressive and smooth light level changes can be achieved.

Then finally once you have banked the energy savings by using the LED AR111 you can then advertise your adherence to the green environment which will undoubtedly be well received by your customers.