When purchasing new LED light bulbs, you often come across the term "retrofit". Retrofit LEDs can be found in many stores and online shops. But what is meant by a retrofit LED lamp? Here you can find out the exact meaning and what you should pay attention to when buying these bulbs.
What does LED retrofit mean?
Retrofit generally stands for the modernization of an existing device or equipment. In the case of lighting equipment, retrofit means adapting modern lighting technology into an existing lamp or luminaire.
Which type of lamp can be retrofitted
Basically, all types of lamps can be retrofitted, as long as the dimensions and sockets are compatible. Common socket type includes T8, E27, E14, Gu10, etc...
Retrofit advantages
The use of retrofit bulbs brings numerous advantages to LED technology. The most common advantages are the huge energy savings and the long lifespan of up to 100,00 hours. In addition to these general advantages, retrofits also offer other benefits:
Use in existing luminaires
Minimum to no installation work is necessary
Replacement possible by consumer
With retrofits, the old incandescent and halogen lamps in the existing luminaires can be replaced quite simply in many cases.
Most of the retrofitting only involved changing out a light bulb, little to no skill is required to do the replacement.
Retrofits disadvantages
There are always two sides to a coin, where there are many advantages, there are often disadvantages as well. When retrofits are used, new and modern lamp designs are dispensed with, as it would be possible with luminaires with integrated LEDs. You should also pay attention to the following when retrofitting, so you are not disappointed later.
What to take note of when retrofitting
Retrofit LEDs are developed as a direct replacement for their predecessors with conventional lighting technology. In many cases, retrofits can easily exchange with the old light source. In some situations, may be difficult.
What are the dimensions of the retrofit?
Can the waste heat dissipate?
Is the retrofit operated on a transformer?
Is it dimmable?
Installation and rewiring
Retrofit dimensions and waste heat
Ideally, a retrofit lamp should have the same dimensions as the lamp to be replaced. However, the housings of many LED bulbs have larger dimensions due to integrated electronics and Heat-sink for dissipating heat.
LED retrofits contain integrated electronics, including an LED driver for controlling the LEDs. Line-voltage lamps also contain a small power supply unit for generating the supply voltage and all these components need space.
Despite the high efficiency, a certain power loss occurs in the LED illuminant. This waste heat must be dissipated to the environment via a heat sink. In the case of lamps with a higher lumen output, a larger heat sink is required, which also occupies space.
Low-voltage retrofits
Low-voltage lamps are operated behind a transformer. Low-voltage retrofits are also available for 12V halogen lamps. Replacing the lamps is therefore not an issue. However, the old transformer can cause problems in many cases. Electronic transformers in particular often require a high minimum load, which is not achieved by LED retrofits. Some halogen lamp replacements can operate using direct 230Vac so retrofitting them would involve removing the old transformer and connecting them directly to the mains. Having said that, after the initial modifications, should a defect occur, the retrofit bulb can be easily replaced.
Are retrofits dimmable?
The dimmability of LED bulbs is always been an issue for a long time. Most of these issues are solved today, However, the used dimmer must be suitable for LEDs and the retrofits must also be labeled as dimmable.
Installation and rewiring
Some replacement lamp needs a bit of rewiring, for example, magnetic LED replacement modules for ceiling lamp, these modules can be installed on to any fixture with a metalic base. To use back the existing fixture, the ballast has to be removed and the replacement will need to be connected directly to the mains. Another example, T8 LED tube can be a direct replacement for the T8 fluorescent tube, some of them can be directly installed into the fixture and some of them will need a little rewiring to bypass the ballast. So consumers will need to take note of that when purchasing the T8 LED tubes for retrofitting.
Conclusion
With LED retrofit illuminants, the existing lamps can be very easily replaced with modern LED technology. When retrofitting, pay particular attention to the dimensions of the retrofit, as some of these are considerably larger than the old lamps. If you want to adjust the brightness, the retrofit lamp must also be marked as dimmable.
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