Wet Location LED Lighting

I’m sure you have all seen the green bullet landscape fixture. You may even have a few in your yard right now. Whether it’s in your neighbor’s yard or the golf course around the corner, these fixtures are the most common landscape fixtures used on the market today. They are inexpensive and available at your local home improvement centers.

For the longest time, it has been a hassle to retrofit an LED lamp into these fixtures because there were no wet location PAR38 lamps available. The other problem was that if you used an LED lamp in wet location application and it wasn’t rated for wet location, the warranty was voided.

Finally Philips Lighting has a new true wet location PAR38 lamp. It is part of the EnduraLED 1200 Series and uses only 18-Watts, is dimmable and can replace a 90-Watt halogen PAR38 bulb. Rated for 50,000 hours, which when compared to a halogen only lasting 2,500 hours on average, it comes with a five-year warranty from Philips Lighting and is the perfect LED lamp for outdoor or wet location applications.

With LED lamps, your fixtures will last longer since the LEDs produce virtually no heat. With a halogen bulb inside the fixture, it gets extremely hot and expands the fixture. Overtime, the heat and expansion breaks down the rubber seals on the fixture, causing them to leak. When water gets in the bottom of the fixture, it corrodes the metal parts of the socket and most likely will seize the lamp to the socket. In most cases when this happens, you need to buy a new fixture. With LEDs producing no heat and not expanding the metal, the fixture seals will last longer.

This is just another great development in the world of LED lighting and I’m sure it won’t be the last.

For more information on LED lighting, contact the LED lighting experts at LED Source® at 866.900.4533 or sales@ledsource.com

Parking Garages and LEDs – A Match Made in Heaven

If you own, run or work for a parking garage, you know the challenges inherent in lighting it.  The lights you have now are expensive to run.  They’re energy hogs.  You’re swapping lamps out because they burn out all the time. During the lamp replacement, you have to hire a maintenance person to replace the bulbs and not to mention that drivers are trying to kill you as they fly through the parking garage to get in and out.  When these bulbs burn out, they cause dangerous black holes in your space.  These lamps must be on 24/7 with no downtime.

All of these challenges lead to one solution, LED lighting.  Generally, you’re talking about a 200-Watt fixture being used to light the various areas of your garage.  What if I told you that we could replace that fixture with a 60-Watt LED fixture?  Not only does it use 65% less energy than what you’re currently using, but it will last nearly 7 years if you ran it for 24/7 and it requires no maintenance.  There is really no downside to replacing what you have now with new LED fixtures except is one thing… the price.

People perceive LED lighting as being expensive and if you look at it purely from the perspective of the initial cost, you’re absolutely correct.  They’re more expensive than what a typical legacy lighting solution would cost.  When you look at the Return On Investment (ROI) and factor in lamp replacement costs, energy savings and the time wasted replacing lamps, you’re looking at the MOST inexpensive solution available.  How can you beat that?  LEDs will save you the most money, time and headaches. Make the switch today.

For more information on LED lighting, contact the LED lighting experts at LED Source – 866.900.4533.

Know The Features Of LED Lamps

Knowing the Key Features of different LED lamps is crucial in making the right choice when making a purchasing decision.

Most LED lamps feature low-wattage, which translates into energy savings. When compared to a traditional bulb, many LED lamps are an average of 20-40 times more efficient and uses up to 75% – 85% less energy.

The energy savings are clear when using LED lamps but how long will they last? One of the key features of LED lighting is that many will last 10 to 20 years before needing replacement. When compared to traditional incandescent bulbs only lasting around 1,000 hours and compact fluorescent (CFL) lasting an average of 5,000 hours, LED lamps last an average of 50,000 hours and even then, the LEDs don’t burn out. They only lose intensity and will operate around 70% of the original light output and could last many more hours.

OK the saving and life-span seem very good but do LED lamps carry any warranty? If you are buying LED lamps from high quality manufacturers like Cree, Philips Lighting, Lighting Science Group or Toshiba Lighting, on average these companies will warranty their lamps for 5 years.

I hear that CRI is important. What does it mean and what should I look for? Color Rendering Index or CRI is a quantitative measure of the ability of a light source to reproduce the colors of various objects in comparison to a natural light source. Getting the correct CRI is very important for some applications like Photography, TV Studios or Cinematography. The CRI on many high quality lamps is between 85-90. This translates into the human eye actually seeing the TRUE color of the object being lit. The CRI on most traditional light sources can be as low as 25-50, with High Pressure Sodium lamps being the worst culprit at a CRI of around 25.

When doing an LED lighting retrofit, why is Color Temperature important? Knowing which Color Temperature to match for an existing project is critical. When LED lamps are installed, there does not need to be any surprises with a totally different Color Temperature than what was there previously. Color Temperature is often shown with a “K” (kelvin) beside a number which is the temperature that radiates light of a comparable hue to that of the light source. Lower white temperatures (2,700-3,000K) are considered Warm colors and Cool colors (5,000K or over) often produce a blueish white color. Use warm color temperatures in public areas or in a home and cooler temperatures in offices or warehouses.

While knowing the features of LED lamps can be a bit confusing at first, it is a much better way of getting the exact lamp you need for your project.

For more information, contact the LED lighting Experts at LED Source – 866.900.4533

High-Rise Condos and LEDs

LED lighting technology is advancing rapidly, which can make it hard for the general consumer to keep up. It is the responsibility of the property management firm to keep your property maintained and operating within a budget.  It is also their responsibility to keep the property up-to-date with the latest and greatest in energy-saving technology.

There are many choices when choosing LED technology. Usually the first step a Property Manager will take is to work in phases and retrofit their existing light fixtures with an LED lamp.

There is an LED lamp for virtually every traditional lamp out there. Two of the most popular and cost-effective lamps that are typically the first to be replaced, which are the A19 incandescent lamp and the MR16 halogen lamp.

The A19 lamp is the most widely used lamp overall and they are usually between 60 and 100 Watts and can last up to 1300 hours.  These lamps are used in everything from tabletop lamps and chandeliers, to bathroom vanities.  As you can imagine, the energy consumption can add up when using a 100 Watt light source with most applications using 3-6 bulbs at a time.

The LED alternative to the A19 lamp consumes between 8-12 watts and last for 50,000 hours.  The math is simple. Reducing the wattage used by 75-80%, the Property Manager is saving energy and therefore saving money. Because the lamp can last for 50,000 hours rather than 1300 hours, there comes a point during the life of the lamp that it will end up paying for itself.  This is referred to as Return on Investment or ROI.

The MR16 LED retrofit has rapidly become popular due to advancements in heat dissipation and the brightness of the white LED.

MR16 halogen lamps typically consume 20-50 watts per lamp and only last 3000 – 4500 hours. They also usually run on a 12-volt transformer system for each lamp.

These lamps are used to accent artwork, recessed in the ceiling or are sometimes used in landscape lighting.

The LED alternative to the MR16 halogen only consumes 4-10 watts and is rated to last up to 50,000 hours.  Once again, the math is simple. Saving energy equals saving money.  The ROI on these lamps typically happens quicker than on most, due to the fact that they usually operate 24/7 in most applications.

As stated before, there are numerous other lamp styles on the market that can be retrofitted with money-saving LED technology.

In a high-rise condo the property management firm is responsible for operating the building on a budget, and saving money is at the top of their list of priorities.  Money saved from the use of LEDs can go a long way to meeting the budget goals.

Stay tuned for future blogs where I will be discussing the replacement of fixtures and the rapid Return On Investment.

For more information please contact the LED lighting experts at LED Source. 866.900.4533.

LED Lighting Return On Investment

As many of you know, the big draw to LED lighting is the fact that they pay for themselves. By reducing energy consumption and lowering maintenance cost, an LED retrofit will save enough money that the job will be paid back in full. It’s always great when a customer can really see the benefits of making the change to LED lighting.

I got an email from a gentleman who was the chief engineer at a large hotel in South Florida. He was interested in landscape lighting for the front entrance and pool area. I called him up and scheduled a meeting, drove down to his hotel and started the survey. We walked around the hotel and discussed his options with landscape lights. I had a few samples I was able to show him. It was looking to be a big job.

As I walked through the lobby and hallways of the hotel, I noticed it was using only halogen MR16 Lamps. Up to this point, nothing had been mentioned about retrofitting the MR16s to LED. I told him about the saving he could achieve by switching to LED lighting and he had mentioned to me that he had never even thought LEDs were an option.  I was able to find out that he was using 350 35-watt halogen MR16s that were burning 24 hours a day. But at the end of the day, he made it very clear that the landscape lighting was the main focus. I finished the meeting and told him that I would get him the estimate.

With the MR16s still on my mind, I went back to the office and began working on the ROI for just the MR16s. This hotel’s ROI on only the MR16s was incredible. By switching to LEDs, they would pay for themselves in 4 only months. So I decided to do two separate estimates. The first one was with just the landscape lighting as requested by the engineer, and the second was the landscape and MR16s. By retrofitting both the landscape lighting and the MR16s, the ROI was about 9 months. I presented the estimates to him in this fashion. Needless to say the engineer was floored. It changed his whole outlook on the project. All of a sudden the job went from $9,000 to $20,000 and they get a far better Return On Investment.

Being able to show a customer the money-saving potential of LEDs along with the ROI is what makes the sale. With the massive energy reduction, virtually no heat output, and long life span, LEDs are the best return on investment.

For more information on LED lighting, contact the LED lighting experts at LED Source 866.900.4533.

What Is The LEDko Challenge Contest All About?

So how badly do you need to Update Your Profile? For many individuals from the staging, studio, installation and corporate theater industry in North America, changing to a better lighting system would be a dream come true.

Dream no more since Florida-based LED lighting supplier LED Source® along with Coemar®, a world leader in entertainment lighting, has just announced the launch of a new contest where one lucky winner will be awarded a Reflection LEDko LED lighting package worth over $20,000.

The contest is called “Take The LEDko Challenge” and participants are asked to submit a video of their current lighting system that is in need of some dire help. All entries must be submitted on the Reflection LEDko Facebook Contest Tab at www.facebook.com/ReflectionLEDko by December 2, 2011.  A panel of experts made up of both LED Source® and Coemar® senior management will then pick five finalists.  Fans of the Reflection LEDko Facebook page will then vote for a grand prizewinner that will be announced on Dec. 15. The winner receives a package of eight Reflection LEDko fixtures with either hard or soft edge optics included. Enter Now and submit a fun and creative video showing your lighting problem and why you need a lighting upgrade. Someone has to win so why not you.

The contest closes at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Dec. 2, at which time no further submissions will be accepted. The five top video submissions most in need of a lighting upgrade will be announced on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. EDT. The final five contestants’ videos will then be posted on the Facebook Reflection LEDko page for fans to vote on the winner in a one-week long poll. The winner will be announced on Dec. 15 at 9 a.m. EDT.

For more information on “Take the LEDko Challenge” contest as well as complete contest rules, become a fan of the Facebook Reflection LEDko page at www.facebook.com/ReflectionLEDko.

LED Source® is the exclusive North American distributor for the Reflection LEDko. Complete product information can be viewed at www.LEDsource.com.

View the Press Release for more information or contact LED Source® at 866.900.4533.

LED Lighting Is Getting Better By The Day

We get a lot of customers who hold off on LED lighting, citing that the price will go down and that they’ll get more bang for their buck in a year or two.  Is that really true?

 

The short answer is no, it’s not.  LED lighting fixtures are like computers in that way.   Both are a solid-state technology (computer chips and LED diodes).  You’ll notice that computers always cost about the same amount, but what you get for the money changes.  You’ll get a faster; better computer in two years for the same money, but you’ll be without a computer for two years.  Does that make it a better deal?

The shift is even more radical with LEDs.  How much money would you save in a year or two using LED lamps as opposed to the other, less efficient alternatives?  In a lot of cases, you’ll save more than the cost of the lamps in that timeframe.  How much more will you enjoy the beautiful, rich lighting that you can have in your home now instead of waiting two years for lights that may or may not be less expensive?  It’s hard to quantify everything with LEDs, but the monetary savings are certainly there.  I think the other parts of this equation, the beautiful light you’ll enjoy, the maintenance free lifetime of use you’ll get, etc. far outweigh waiting it out for something cheaper.  It might not even happen.

Not only that, but there are many local, state, federal and even energy provider rebates available for LED lights these days.  In many cases, you can get back most of the purchase price of the products.  If you’re looking into LED for your home or business, contact LED Source for some insight on how to get these lamps and fixtures working for you today instead of sitting on the sidelines, waiting for something to happen.  Don’t be the one who waits for great things to happen to them, make great things happen now, and start with LED!

For more information on LED lighting, visit the LED lighting Experts at www.LEDsource.com

Incandescents Aren’t The Only Bulb Being Phased Out

As many of you know incandescent light bulbs are going the way of the dinosaurs, extinct. It started with indoor floodlights and at the end of this year; 100-Watt incandescent light bulbs will no longer be available.

Many people are not aware of another important date – July 14th, 2012. This will mark the end of another commonly used light bulb, both the T12 and the T8 fluorescent tubes are being discontinued. The 4-foot T12 and the slightly skinnier 4-foot T8 are two of the most commonly used bulb in America. You probably have a few in your home right now. These are the same lamps that offices, schools, kitchens and garages all use. The government set these new guidelines for some of the fluorescent tubes that weren’t meeting the new requirements and therefore will be discontinued.

What does this mean for you as a consumer? Simply put, the cost of these tubes will be going up. When you walk it to the hardware store and ask for a four-foot tube you probably get a F34/T12/CW, the most commonly used fluorescent today. However, on July 14, 2012, you will be forced to buy the more expensive deluxe model, the F34/T12/CWX, and it will cost you an additional $3.50 more per lamp.

The reason for this change is the government’s new standard for requiring all four-foot and two-foot fluorescent tubes to have a Color Rendering Index (CRI) over 80.  What is CRI? It is the method for describing the effect a light source has on the color appearance of an object – the higher the CRI the better the light. Typically fluorescent tubes for common household and office spaces had a CRI of 70. The government sees it as using the same wattage and getting a better light, making the 80 CRI tube more energy-efficient. The 80 CRI tubes have always been available to buy, but unless you were a photographer or displaying jewelry, you would have had no reason to spend $5.95 on a 4-foot tube when the 70 CRI tubes are 99 cents at your local hardware store.

What does this mean for the LED industry? With the price of LEDs going down and the price of fluorescents going up, the Return On Investment (ROI) will be that much faster. LEDs have no lead or toxic mercury and there are no disposal costs. LEDs also last at least 5 times as long as the best quality fluorescent tubes. This means you won’t be changing bulbs and ballasts ever again once making the switch to LEDs. Another added benefit is that your maintenance costs drop dramatically.

Currently available as an alternative to the T8 fluorescent tube is the Philips EnduraLED T8 Tube. It is 40% more efficient than the traditional T8 tubes and does not emit any UV rays. Philips even backs it up with a 4-year warranty on the lamp.

With an LED lamp available for almost any retrofit project, the future for LED lighting keeps looking brighter and brighter everyday. Don’t you think it’s time to make the switch?

For more Expert information on LED lighting, visit the LED Source website at www.LEDsource.com.

Now Is The Time For Schools To Use LED Lighting

Ever wonder why our schools do a great job in recycling paper and other items, but do not take advantage of LED lighting?

Think of how many resources we would save by not having to replace lamps every year.

What about mercury? How is my child exposed to mercury at school you ask?

Mercury is in every fluorescent lamp, which is the predominant lamp choice in schools, which just happens to be the type of lamp directly over your child while in class. We all know the effects of mercury in children by now. In fact the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has forced a label to be placed on all fluorescent lamp packages, which clearly states its hazards in very fine writing. The EPA goes as far as telling us how the fluorescent lamp needs to be handled when one is broken in a public place, which clearly states:

1. That the area where the lamp is broken must be evacuated
2. All dust and fragments from the broken lamp must be picked up using duct tape to capture all mercury particles
3. All the broken pieces must be double bagged and disposed of as hazardous waste

When was the last time you heard your child say their school was evacuated due to a broken bulb? Or when is the last time you saw your child’s school janitor pull out his duct tape instead of his broom and dispose a lamp as hazardous waste?

LED Lighting Benefits:

1. Contains no mercury, not even lead in its soldier
2. Is completely environmentally safe
3. All parts are recyclable
4. Provides more of a comfortable light, which helps our students see better without glare and eye strain
5. Saves on average 70% in energy savings reducing our school operating budgets, which ultimately save us taxpayer’s money

What about maintenance costs you ask? We are all aware of how many budget cuts our schools have been faced with which has decreased maintenance staff. This makes it more difficult for the remaining maintenance personal to keep up with demand. Well just imagine telling them not to worry about changing a lamp for at least 10 years or more. LED lamps also take an amazing amount of abuse compared to incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, which makes it a better choice vandalism.

There are many LED retrofit lamps available on the market today that will easily replace existing lighting without costing our school districts additional expenditures. In fact, with the amount of savings in energy and maintenance costs, the LED retrofit usually pays itself back within 1 to 2 years.

Today there are many quality LED products for all areas in the school including gymnasiums, parking lot lighting, classrooms and common areas.

The key to a good LED retrofit is selecting the right products that will fit the application. This requires hiring a professional LED company that can keep you from wasting lots of time and money on poor products. Not all LED lamps and fixtures are alike so BEWARE!! Many fail to live up to their claims and many are made with cheap and poorly designed technology. Do not get misguided by all the competition.

Conventional and LED lighting are not the same and many conventional lighting competitors try to compete in the LED market to stay alive. It’s very important to pick a reputable and knowledgeable LED company that has a proven track record.

Do your homework and check out your supplier. Always aim for a company that only specializes in LED lighting. After all, would you go to a plastic surgeon for your heart problem? LED lighting professionals and experts spend an enormous amount of time scrutinizing everyone’s products and they take the headaches and confusion away.

So what are you waiting for? Change your school to LEDs and let our children and your budgets breathe fresh air again.

For more information, contact the LED lighting Experts are LED Source – 866.900.4533 (4LED) or visit www.LEDsource.com.

The Facts About The U.S. Incandescent Bulb Phaseout

There has been a lot of talk about the incandescent lamp being phased out in the U.S. over the last few months. Many people think that the incandescent light bulb that we have all grown up with, is going away completely on January 1, 2012 and will no longer be available. Some people have even begun to hoard the bulbs before their local retailers no longer have it available on their shelves.

With all this talk, what exactly is the truth? Is the bulb that Thomas Edison helped to create finally going ‘lights out’ for good? Does the ban include all incandescent bulbs or just a few? When is all this suppose to happen? What are the alternatives when the bulb is no longer available? Yes, lots of questions but what is the truth? Time to set the record straight.

On December 18, 2007, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to ban the incandescent light bulb by 2014. Then President George Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act that also included raising full efficiency standards on automobiles by 40%.

The phaseout officially begins with the 100-Watt incandescent light bulb on January 2012 and ends with the 40-Watt bulb in 2014. Any light bulbs outside of these requirements are exempt from the ban.

Part of the Bill mandates that all light bulbs must use 30% less energy by 2014. It also states that by 2020, all light bulbs must be 70% more efficient than bulbs used in 2007 and produce a minimum of 45 lumens per Watt.

Other countries around the world have beaten the United States to ban the bulb. Among the first countries to outright ban all incandescent bulbs were Australia, Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela. The UK is phasing out the incandescent by the end of 2011. Canada follows with a complete ban by 2012 as well as many other countries in Europe.

When the light incandescent bulb burns out for good, what alternatives will exist for consumers? The first choice consumers have gravitated to is the Compact Fluorescent Light or CFL. While CLFs are more energy-efficient than incandescent, there is a Global concern as to their safety. CFLs contain toxic mercury and must be properly disposed of according to guidelines as set forth by the Environment Protection Agency or EPA. Download the EPA CFL Disposal Guidelines here.

However with the entire planet moving away from incandescent and also concerned with using CFLs, what other choices exist that reduce energy, are highly efficient and safe for the environment? The answer comes in the form of LED lighting.

LED lighting solves all the problems associated with other light bulbs and has proven to not only provide better light, but LEDs are an average of 20 times more efficient than incandescent and 5 times more efficient than CFLs. They also last an average of 50,000 hours, which means the average person will replace an LED lamp once every 20 years. LEDs contain no toxic mercury, most are dimmable and can also be recycled.

With the worldwide phaseout of the incandescent bulb, many people feel that LED lighting is perfectly positioned for mass adoption. As the demand increases, prices for LED lamps will continue to go down while the technology continues to improve.

For more information on LED lighting, call the LED lighting Experts at LED Source® – 866.900.4LED or www.LEDsource.com