How to choose a light fitting ?

• Incandescent lamps. Energy  inefficient and they have lost market quaisment in the industry.
• Compact fluorescent lamps, also called low consumption (CFLs or AML), and fluorescent tubes. These products, mainly classified into A energy label, are still common to the elongated lights (tubes and linear) and emergency lighting.
• Halogen lamps, halogen metal halide and high pressure sodium vapor classified as C or D. These mainly used for high power projectors lamps are being replaced by LEDs because of their consumption and a high maintenance cost
  
• The light-emitting diodes or LEDs. Mostly rated A +, the new generation lighting is democratized in the industry because they allow better control power consumption and improving the energy efficiency of facilities.
  

You thought Watts, go to Lumens!

 To choose an incandescent lamp, you use power consumption in watts (W). The comparison is complicated with more efficient lamps whose luminous efficiency changes with power. Increasing the amount of light produced is no longer directly proportional to the power increase.

It is better to be guided by the light generated from a lamp in lumens (see table) or the luminous efficacy in lumens per watt (more luminous efficiency, the greater the lamp emits light for the same power consumption).

Luminous efficiency of different types of lamps:

Light output equivalent to the power of an incandescent lamp

To optimize the use of light on your facilities and benefit from the best possible light efficiency, good practices of use are respected:

• All existing fixtures, including “halogen” may be fitted with a replacement lamp for compact fluorescent lamp models or LED lamps;
• Avoid Indirect light fixtures (the light reflects off the walls or ceiling) and beams. For luminaires with LED lamps, it must focus those we can not see directly the light source (LED) the choice of luminaires with diffusing materials (globe, basin …) glass (see “how choose LED lighting? “)