How to Choose an LED Par Light

Hello everyone. I am the head of lighting at Sound House.
This time, I would like to tell all of you about choosing an LED light, which is a question I often receive from our customers!

■ What is an LED Par Light?

Have you ever heard of “par light”, the most popular lighting equipment used for stage and concert lighting?

STAGE EVOLUTION / PAR64LBG/4

These are the lights shown above. You have probably seen them at least once when you went to a live performance or concert.
They are widely used to illuminate the entire stage (ground lighting), ccolor gels (*1), and as simple spotlights. It is the very basis of stage lighting.

(*1) STAGE EVOLUTION / CG9 Color Gel

Incidentally, the “PAR” in Par light stands for Parabolic Aluminized Reflector. It refers to light bulbs with parabolic aluminum reflectors and shielded beam bulbs, which makes what is now known as the “par light”.

These lights are still used in various sites today. With the evolution of technology, LED-equipped parlights have appeared. That is the LED par light!

LED par lights have the following advantages

• Very long life (bulbs: 100-2000 hours, LED: 10,000 hours or more)
• Power saving
• Less heat buildup

You can see why the number of LED par lights is increasing rapidly these days.

■ Role of LED Perlite

As with par lights, LED par lights play the following roles.

• Illumination of the entire stage (ground light)
• Color tinting
• Simple spotlight

LED par lights equipped with red, green, blue, and other colored LEDs have the advantage that they can be used for color dyeing without using color gel.

■ How to choose LED par lights (tips)

Now, it’s time to introduce what points to look for when selecting LED par lights!

[1] LED type

LED par lights currently in circulation are often equipped with the following types of LEDs.
Once you know this, you can choose the type of LED that best suits your application and budget based on the characteristics of each type of LED.

□ Bullet-type LED

• Inexpensive and excellent value
• Lower brightness than other LEDs
• When emitting mixed colors, the appearance of the light remains the same for each color

STAGE EVOLUTION / ePAR64 RGB LED Par Light

STAGE EVOLUTION / ePAR64 RGBA LED Par Light

□ Lens-mounted LEDs

• Higher luminance (brighter) than the bullet type
• Allows the lights to look the same color even when creating mixed colors.

STAGE EVOLUTION / LEDPAR7IR Splash-proof LED par light

AMERICAN DJ / 5P Hex

□ COB LED

• COB stands for Chip on Board
• High brightness
• Wide beam angle (60-80 degree beam angle, which was difficult to achieve with LEDs)
• The appearance of the light can be the same color even when mixing colors to create a color

STAGE EVOLUTION / COB PAR LED Par Light

AMERICAN DJ / Dotz Par

[2] Color

The next key point is the LED color installed.
Generally, the most commonly used colors are as follows.

R: Abbreviation for Red. One of the three primary colors.
G: Abbreviation for Green. One of the three primary colors.
B: Abbreviation for Blue. One of the three primary colors.
A: Abbreviation for Amber. When mixed with the three primary colors, it produces a soft, natural color.
UV: Abbreviation for Ultra-Violet. By mixing black light with the three primary colors, the color looks natural as if seen under the sun. (This is called “high color rendering property” in lighting terminology.)
W: Abbreviation for White. By mixing with the three primary colors, pop pastel colors can be expressed.
WW: Abbreviation for Warm White. A warm white is like the color of a light bulb.
CW: Abbreviation for Cool White. A refreshing white with a high color temperature.

If you understand this, it would be easier to make the following selections.
☆If you use it as a ground light or spotlight, LED par lights equipped with WW, CW, A, and the like are the best choice.
★If used mainly for color dyeing, LED par lights with RGB or RGB+W/A/UV are most suitable.

[3] Brightness

The brightness can be estimated to some extent by using the W number as a guide.

• LED25W: About the brightness of a 50~100W halogen bulb. Suitable for small-scale venues.
• LED50W: About 100~250W brightness of halogen bulb. For small-scale venues.
• LED100W: Brightness of about 350~500W halogen bulb. For medium-sized venues.
• LED200W: Brightness of about 575~700W halogen bulb. For medium to large scale venues.

The above is only a guide. The brightness may vary depending on the individual product, the brightness of the surrounding environment, and other factors.
For example, in the case of the LED par light below, 12 LEDs of 12W are mounted, so we can think of this as 12x12=LED 144W.

AMERICAN DJ / 12P HEX

□ Equipped LEDs (type, color, quantity, output): HEX (6-in-1) RGBAW + UV LED, 12, 12W

[4] Illumination angle

The last important factor is the irradiation angle. Although this is also a guideline, the following standards are often used.

• Beam angle of 20 degrees or less: Used as a simple spotlight / Used to show streaks of light
• Beam angle of 20 degrees or more: Used as a spotlight over a wide area or for color tinting

■ Summary

How was it? We hope this will be helpful for those who are wondering, “I want to buy LED par lights for lighting, but there are so many types that I don't know anything about them...”

（2018-09-27 published 2021-02-17 updated）