LED packaging often quotes a beam angle why is this important?

The beam angle of any lamp or luminaire refers to the measure of the spread of the light source and is simply stated in degrees. A more technical definition specifies it as the angle between those points on either side of the beam axis where intensity decreases to approximately 50% of its maximum.

But beware, not all manufacturers specify beam angles in degrees but use terminology such as 'Spot', 'Medium' & 'Flood'. The use of this terminology is not consistent across all manufacturers and can lead to the wrong choices being made for an application.

To make the most of your LED lamps, it is best to purchase a lamp with a specific beam angle depending on its use - or, in the case of retrofit for halogen, to ensure that the same or similar beam angle of LED lamp is chosen to the lamp being replaced.