Australian LED Efficacy Index 2026

What LED luminaires sold in Australia claim, and what they realistically deliver once driver losses, optical losses and real operating temperature are accounted for. Derived from published datasheets using a method you can check and reproduce.

Compiled by Mark Riley, Cutter Electronics · Published 2026-08-07 · 2026 edition · Methodology

How lumen figures are quoted

A lumen figure can be quoted on three different bases. They are not interchangeable, and a figure is only comparable with another figure on the same basis:

system luminaire lumens divided by mains input watts. The complete figure.
module includes optics, excludes driver losses.
chip bare LED emitter lumens, before optics and driver.
not stated the datasheet publishes a Power and a Lumens value without saying which of the above the lumens represent.

In this edition, 21 of 47 datasheets state the basis and 26 do not. Where it is not stated, this index does not pick one. It publishes a range: the upper figure assumes the value is already system-level, the lower assumes it is chip-level. The width of that range is simply how much the published data leaves open, and a reader who needs a single number can ask the manufacturer directly.

Derived efficacy by claim basis

Uncertainty is how far the delivered figure could swing either side of centre because the basis is not stated. A dash means the basis was stated, so there is no ambiguity.

Where a stated efficacy differs from the published lumens and watts

6 of the 47 datasheets state an efficacy figure that differs by more than 1% from their own published lumens divided by their own published watts. Those rows are marked ‡ below, with both numbers shown on hover.

There are several ordinary reasons for this. The stated efficacy may be rounded to a convenient number, or carried over from a different colour temperature, beam angle or wattage variant in the same family, or left unchanged when one of the other figures was revised. The index records the discrepancy without inferring a cause. Where the two disagree, the lumens and watts are used, because those are the figures a lighting calculation is built from.

Categories in this edition

Each category uses its own service ambient, set out on the methodology page. Figures are not comparable across categories.

High bay luminaires

19 products · service ambient 45°C · 8 of 19 do not state the claim basis

Battens and linear

11 products · service ambient 35°C · 4 of 11 do not state the claim basis

Panels and troffers

10 products · service ambient 35°C · 10 of 10 do not state the claim basis

Street and road lighting

7 products · service ambient 25°C · 4 of 7 do not state the claim basis

47 products across 4 categories. Published 2026-08-07. ⓘ means one or more category defaults were used because the datasheet did not state a value. ‡ means the datasheet's own stated efficacy differs from its published lumens divided by its published watts.

Products are only comparable within a category. The delivered bar is scaled against the highest claimed figure in its own category, and each category uses its own service ambient, so a downlight figure and a high bay figure are not measuring the same conditions.

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Licensed CC BY 4.0. Use it, republish it, build on it. Attribution required.

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Corrections

If a figure here is out of date or misreads your datasheet, send the correct source and it will be updated and noted in the revision history. Manufacturers are welcome to submit system-level test data or to confirm a claim basis, and either will always take precedence over a derived figure. Datasheets are revised regularly and this index is a snapshot of what was published on the access date shown against each row. Contact