At the end of trading on September 21, 2015, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ("the Dow") was down 7.37% for the year. This is a major index of 30 huge companies chosen to represent overall movement in the stock market. In other words, it's been a rough year for investments. So what does that have to do with lighting? And specifically LED lighting? Something we talk about often at Lighting Supply: while many investments today come with a lot of risk, converting incandescent and halogen lighting to LED lighting does not. From energy savings alone, an LED bulb will often pay for itself in under two years, and then go on to put money in your pocket for years to come without the fluctuations of the stock market. This is true on a larger scale when replacing high wattage HID bulbs like metal halides and high pressure sodium lamps. A corn cob LED replacement (named for their look when not lit) for a 400W metal halide, for instance, could save $150 to $200 per year in energy costs alone per the example on that page of our website. Never mind the maintenance savings of replacing the lamps less frequently and instant on lighting in parking lots and warehouse settings. But even in home and office settings, LED lights make a ton of sense ... as long as you choose a quality brand. We throw in this caveat because a lot of companies are building LEDs with cheap components to drive prices down for the consumer market. But the result is that more bulbs will have shorter life spans, may not provide consistent color temperature (the look of the bulb when lit), and may have other issues. This is why we've linked to our selection of bulbs from quality brands at a 2700K color temperature designed to mimic the warmth of an incandescent bulb. Let's look at the home/office option from an investment standpoint. While electricity rates vary across the United States, they average about 13 cents per kWh, and this doesn't include delivery costs. Using a 60 watt incandescent bulb just 2.5 hours a day uses about 55 kWh of energy per year, costing an average of $7 per year. (Probably more with delivery costs.) A replacement LED would use just over $1 in energy. At today's LED prices, it would certainly take you less than 2 years to recover the cost of an LED bulb, and possibly under a year. (At the time of this writing, Lighting Supply sells this 6-pack of non-dimming LEDs at under $4 per bulb, and these are rated for a 25,000 hour life.) In the world of investing, a nice long-term return of 7% will double your investment roughly every 10 years. An extraordinary long-term return of 14% would double it roughly every 5 years. But swapping your incandescent bulbs for LEDs can double your investment (i.e., pay you back the initial investment and then give you that investment back a second time) in 2-4 years in places where you regularly use your light bulbs. The only problem with investing in LEDs? Once you've replaced all the lights in your home or office, you can't keep making the investment. Otherwise, it might be one of the wisest ongoing investments you could make. Of course one final thought: this return on investment comes in the form of saving money from energy costs rather than sending you new cash as a business investment might. But as one smart fellow once said: a penny saved is a penny earned.
0 Comments
It's not every day a light bulb is recalled, and certainly not by a quality brand like Philips. But Philips did recently recall about 370,000 halogen light bulbs due to concerns that heat from the lamp could cause the lens to shatter, or to fall out and shatter. Fortunately this recall only affects three products, all of which are 60 watt PAR16 120V halogen bulbs. Information on the bulb would include "PHILIPS Halogena PAR16" along with "China," and the specifications "60W/120V." It would also include a code for the date of manufacture, representing bulbs made from November 2013 to March 2015, as Philips has since rectified the problem. The date codes include: 3L, 3M 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G, 4H, 4J, 4K, 4L, 4M 5A, 5B, 5C The part numbers involved in this recall: 60PAR16/HAL/FL27 120V BC60PAR16/HAL/FL/LL 120V BC60PAR16/EV/FL 120V 6/1 Lighting Supply has only sold ONE of these bulbs. If you have purchased the following part number from Lighting Supply, please contact us with questions and for replacement light bulbs: 60PAR16/HAL/FL27 120V (UPC 046677330064) As always, we are here to support our customers and want to make this as seamless a replacement process as possible. Please call us at 877.231.2852 for help. Do note that we can only assist those who have purchased this product directly from us. Thank you! Many kids return to school today. We thought we'd recognize the day with a poem about lighting in the style of Dr. Suess, a favorite author from many people's elementary school years. You may recall Dr. Suess's book: "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." We took inspiration from this and wrote the following for lighting professionals everywhere, perhaps to share with their favorite young students heading back to school. And yes ... it's whimsical. Just a little lighting fun. One light, two lights,
Red lights, blue lights. Black lights, gold lights, All lights for you lights. Some lights are big And some lights are small. Some go in the ceiling And some go on the wall. Some are bright and yellow, Some shine very white, Some are high in CRI, But all will give you light. Some require ballasts To keep that light aglow. LEDs need drivers for Their low-watt lights to show. Incandescent lights bulbs Are simpler than that: A filament and energy Are where their light is at. Looking for some light bulbs? Then come and stop on by. We price them right and ship them fast Here at Lighting Supply. Everyone has his or her own buying preferences, and it’s no different in lighting. So while we like to think that Lighting Supply offers the best combination of price, service, and selection in commercial lighting, here are 8 reasons why you might NOT want to buy from us: 8) You prefer ordering by exact part number and then, for a surprise, having someone send you a different brand’s bulb. Sorry, we only send what you order. 7) You prefer buying from someone named Maurice, regardless of price or selection. And we don’t have anyone named Maurice here. 6) You like it when shipping costs are baked into the price of your lighting supplies so a company can offer you “free shipping.” We prefer to be transparent with flat rate shipping that costs you less “per item” when you buy more. 5) You really need new light bulbs, but you’re addicted to the latest version of Angry Birds and just don’t want to order from anyone until you get the high score for this level. Well, maybe this and one more level. 4) Someone else is offering a better price on an LED light. Yes, it’s a no-name brand, the color temperature might be off, the light might not last as long (so maintenance might cost you more), and it might not have much of a warranty. But it's $2 less than a quality brand. 3) You’re a fan of Big Box stores and are happy to adjust what you wanted to what they have in stock. 2) You want the latest lighted reindeer for your front lawn. Sorry, we sell commercial lighting. And the number one reason you might not want to buy from Lighting Supply: 1) You love it when someone promises fast shipping and then doesn’t ship your part for 3 days. Sorry, if it’s in stock at Lighting Supply and you order by 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, we’re shipping it that day. Ok, sure ... we’re just having some fun here. But we hope you’ll keep us top of mind for your commercial lighting needs, because we really do pride ourselves on being fast, knowledgeable, and well stocked with competitive prices on all our products, from lamps to fixtures to ballasts and more. In fact, we check our prices every day to make sure our overall value to you is the best in the business! |