LED, CFL and incandescent, when compared in terms of luminance, LED beats both of them. The range of difference between LED and incandescent are very big, whereas CFL comes in between them.
It's a good decision to replace the incandescent with LED down lights because though LEDs are expensive than incandescent in the first term it will save you a lot of energy as well as money in the long run, as they consumes less energy than the incandescent lights. there might be some case where incandescent will appear to be little brighter than the LED lights but the benefits of using LED outwits the incandescent lights.
In traditional incandescent bulbs, tungsten is used as filament which draws heavy energy to illuminate, while in modern energy saving lamps we use CFL or LED which draw little amount of energy for the same luminance, CLFs are associated with a compact electronic ballast in the base of the lamp.
Radiance is the amount of light energy emitted or reflected from a surface per unit solid angle, regardless of where it is being viewed from. Luminance, on the other hand, is the amount of light energy emitted or reflected from a surface per unit area as seen from a given viewing angle. In simpler terms, radiance is the total light output, while luminance is how bright it appears to an observer.
Incandescent light bulbs are not energy efficient, as much of the energy they use is converted into heat rather than light. Only about 10% of the energy they consume is actually turned into light.
Most of the energy of an incandescent bulb is given off as heat rather than light. Incandescent bulbs are not very energy efficient compared to other types of lighting, as they convert a large portion of electrical energy into heat instead of light.
Heat.
Around 90% of the energy consumed by an incandescent light bulb is converted to thermal energy, with only around 10% converted to visible light. This inefficiency is one of the main reasons why incandescent bulbs have been largely replaced by more energy-efficient alternatives.
incandescent bulbs
heat energy
heat energyheat energy
Incandescent lights also produce heat energy as a byproduct of their operation. This heat energy is often an inefficient use of the electricity powering the light bulb.
Incandescent lights produce heat energy in addition to light energy. This heat energy is a byproduct of the light-producing process and is why incandescent lights can become hot to the touch when operating.