Last week, Tesla Motors took a step into being more than just a car company by announcing their residential Powerwall Battery. And it's been met by both fans and skeptics. Our goal here isn't to decide whether this is a game changer or a dud, but to look briefly at how the battery works as a backup power source and how this relates to the transition from incandescent to LED lighting. The Tesla Powerwall and Solar PanelsWe'll point out first that a primary market for this battery seems to be those with solar panels, or solar systems, installed on their homes. In this case, the battery isn't so much an emergency backup battery for the house (though potentially also a backup). Instead, it's a way to store solar energy during the day so it can continue being used at night, extending the value of solar power. We'll leave the details of this, however, to solar experts. The Tesla Powerwall as a Rate ReducerAnother suggested use for the Powerwall is for those with different energy costs at different times of the day. Residential users of DTE Energy at the time of this writing, for instance, can stick with a standard rate system or -- if they feel they can push most of their energy use to the hours of 7 p.m. to 11 a.m. -- they can choose to pay on-peak and off-peak rates. In broad brush strokes, if someone chose to do that and somehow pushed all of their energy use to those hours, they could save approximately 2.3 cents per kWh when compared to the traditional rates, saving approximately $20/month in the average home (using just over 900 kWh per month). Most people could never push all their energy use to between the hours of 7 p.m. and 11 a.m., but with the Powerwall, you could store up 10 kWh during off-peak hours and use them on peak at the lower rate. So if you could limit your daytime use of energy (when many people are at work anyway) to 1/3 of your overall use (assuming 30 kWh per day), then you could fully live on "off-peak" energy rates. (We should mention that these numbers are really for painting a general picture, and don't take into account things like lost efficiencies of storing and then using the off-peak power.) Of course this $20 monthly savings comes at the cost of a battery that's roughly $7000 installed. So the Powerwall would have to offer more value than these savings alone. And that's where it comes in as a backup power source. The Tesla Powerwall as a Backup BatteryThe final selling point of the Powerwall is as a backup battery for the entire home. If the power grid goes down, you have up to 10 kWh of energy stored up that you can keep using. Let's get one thing out of the way quickly: central air would eat that up in about 3 hours of use. And an electric heater? Forget about it. But if you've got a gas furnace or shut off your AC when the grid goes down, you could potentially run your house as normal for 6-8 hours. And if you adapted to the need, reducing energy consumption as much as possible, you could extend that substantially. And this is where efficiency in the home -- including lighting -- becomes especially important. We've already said that air conditioning would have to be turned off. After AC, refrigerators and lighting are the two biggest energy users in the typical home. Based on our research, we've found numbers ranging from 2 to 6 kWh of energy used each day by refrigerators, suspecting that 2-4 is accurate in most cases. Meanwhile, according to this excellent resource, the typical American household runs about 60 lamps [bulbs] at 1.6 hours a day and at an average wattage of 47.7. (This depends on the time of year, location in the country, and more.) At these numbers, a household's lighting use draws 4.6 kWh per day. Considering a 10 kWh Tesla Powerwall as backup … ouch. But many of our homes have not yet converted to LED. If we expect that 47.7 average watts in a home includes mostly 60 watt incandescent bulbs along with some at 25 and 40 watts, then a transition to LED lighting could reduce the average wattage from 47.7 to about 8. This then reduces a home's lighting energy use to about .8 kWh per day. (Likewise, this speaks to the value of more efficient refrigerators and other appliances in the home.) If you were to limit household energy use during a power outage to refrigeration, some lighting, a couple computers, and a little cooking, you might last a single day on a 10 kWh Powerwall with incandescent lighting; you might last two days if you had switched to LED lighting. Even without a Powerwall, switching to LED lighting in the example above would save many homes $15 or more per month. Given the Powerwall investment of $7000 to save $20/month, this is a much easier investment -- at Lighting Supply prices, you could replace the 60 bulbs in an average home for $400 to $600 while getting name brand bulbs. (We recommend trusted brands for consistent colors and better quality when it comes to LED.) Those bulbs would pay for themselves in just a couple years … something Powerwall can't really say for itself. The Skeptic's Look at Powerwall as a Backup BatteryA final thought on the Tesla Powerwall as a backup battery. First, this function is complicated by the other two functions described above. If you're using the Powerwall to carry daytime (solar) energy into the night, or off-peak energy rates into on-peak hours, then you may already be using some or even much of the stored power. So if the grid power goes out at the wrong time, you could have little left to keep your home running. Because of this, if you're using the Powerwall mainly as a backup power source, it may not make sense to also use it for its other purposes.
Some skeptics of the Powerwall have also pointed out that, for $7000, you could get a pretty nice generator powered by natural gas to keep your entire home running regardless of how long the power was out. We don't know what drawbacks that may have, or the costs of maintenance, but this is another point to consider. So these are our thoughts on the new Tesla Powerwall and one more reason why it's such a good idea to switch to LED lighting. Do you have more information on the Powerwall that should be considered here? Are you for it, against it, or just don't care? We'd love to hear your thoughts on any of what was discussed here.
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Philips has introduced a line of LED bulbs called "Real Bulbs" that offer "warm glow" technology. A few years ago, LEDs couldn't really mimic the feel of an incandescent bulb, but today they offer similar "warm" lighting. So what's different about this new technology? Why call it "warm"? It's because of the warmth these bulbs provide when dimming. Most LEDs dim on compatible dimmers, but they tend to retain their initial color temperature. For instance, if the LED started at around 2700K (similar to an incandescent bulb), it would stay at about 2700K as it dimmed. But incandescent bulbs become even warmer as they dim, approaching 2200K in color. If you have dimmers in your home, you're probably familiar with the warm, orange glow this creates. Philips new "Real Bulbs" mimic that increasing warmth when dimming. So if you're looking for the most accurate incandescent replacement in LED bulbs today, you can't beat this affordable option! Check out our Available Philips Warm Glow Bulbs
There are plenty of ways to boost a home's value before you put it on the market. Roof repairs, a new coat of paint, a kitchen or bathroom face lift, or even a new load of mulch spread through the gardens can drive up interest and offers.
But what if you could also entice a prospective buyer with 10% off his or her electricity bills? The average monthly electricity bill in the USA in 2013 was over $100, and lighting represents 10 to 14% of that bill. If a house were full of incandescent bulbs and you replaced them all with LED bulbs, you could slash the lighting bill by around 80%, saving 8-11% on the overall electricity bill. That's a value of $120+ each year in the average American home, and obviously it goes up with larger homes. One source says that the average home has 47 light bulbs, and with Lighting Supply, replacing those bulbs with quality LEDs could be done for under $400. Let's talk about the best approach. Keeping It Simple
We go into details you may find helpful below, but if you're just looking for great deals on the bulbs commonly used in a home (A19, BR30, and chandelier style bulbs), you can visit our page on LEDs for the home. We've already done the work of choosing the most popular color temperature, quality brands, and our best-priced bulbs.
A Note on Name Brands
Let's start with brands and costs. As with almost anything, it is possible to buy low-end LEDs to save some money up front. But also as with almost anything, that lowball purchase may burn you in the end. These bulbs may use cheap drivers that die in a few years (so the bulb no longer works), undermining the claim of 20+ years for an LED. And even bulbs that are supposed to be the same may look different when running. The last thing you need when showing a home is for bulbs to call attention to themselves with different colors.
This is why we've chosen to carry known brands like TCP, Philips, and GE, where quality and consistency matter to the reputation of the brand. And on our "LEDs for the Home" page, we've selected bulbs that compete on price with many of the unknown brands. Color Temperatures
Although people's preferences vary, most of us are used to having incandescent bulbs throughout the house, which glow at a warm "2700K" or 2700 Kelvin. Halogen bulbs glow a little whiter at between 2700K and 3000K. These temperatures are known as warm white or soft white on many boxes, but new light bulb packages will also give you the Kelvin temperature.
LED lights come in a variety of color temperatures, but most popularly in warm / soft white (around 2700K) and daylight (around 5000K). The latter are very white, even slightly blue; some people like this, but most will want the warmer colors, so we recommend sticking with 2700K in most instances. Optionally, you can look to slightly whiter colors (3000K to 3500K) for areas that require more utility, like kitchens, laundry rooms, or garages. A note from experience, though: even 2700K LEDs seem to run a little whiter than incandescent bulbs. And while incandescents increasingly turn orange when dimming, LEDs may retain their initial color when dimmed. Dimming LEDs
On that note, you may want to know about LEDs and dimming. The fact is, most LEDs can dim, but make sure they say so on the packaging. It is possible to save some money by purchasing non-dimmable LEDs if you know they'll be used in non-dimming applications. But if they do dim, you'll need a compatible dimmer. Many modern dimmers will work, and even some old ones do. But you'll need to test them after installing your LEDs, then replace the dimmer as necessary. This isn't expensive, and it's worth it for the value of LEDs.
Name brand LEDs will generally provide you with a list of tested dimmers so you know what you can rely on. CRI and Why It Matters
CRI refers to the Color Rendering Index, a scale of 0-100 that shows how well a bulb renders the colors of an object. Most LEDs score in the lower 80s, which is considered very good for color rendering. Anything in the 90s is excellent. This is why we're excited to showcase the TCP BR30 light shown here with a 95 CRI and a fantastic price under $10.
CRI, however, is not the full story around how someone experiences the light from a bulb. The overall spectral distribution shows where a bulb excels in displaying certain colors, and the CFL bulbs that many people were unhappy with tended to have a much more "spiky" distribution than LEDs, which tend to have a smoother curve, or a smoother rendering of all colors. You'll note in this example that an incandescent may better display reds while an LED may better display blues and greens. Of course the spectrum below will vary from bulb to bulb, and a high CRI LED bulb may boast an even more impressive curve than the one shown below for LED. LED Downlight Kits
When replacing bulbs in recessed cans, you can choose LED bulbs like the TCP BR30 shown above, or you can choose LED downlight kits for a sleek, modern look. (Make sure to choose the right size kit for your recessed cans.)
These kits are almost as easy to install as light bulbs with a corded base that twists into a standard socket. After removing the original trim, screw in the new fixture's base and then slide the fixture into the can. This provides you with a lighted lens and trim all in one without the gap into the ceiling that you can normally see around a bulb. LED downlight kits are certainly more expensive than replacement bulbs, but in premium homes or special areas of a home, they may be worth the additional cost to create a beautiful new look. We hope this overview helps you to see how easy to increase the value in your home with simple changes to lighting. Even if you're not selling a home right now, the switch to LEDs can pay for itself within a couple years and then become money in your pocket going forward, with LEDs (at 3 hours of use per day) expected to last 20+ years. Although LED light bulbs have become increasingly popular, you may still be choosing CFL bulbs due to their lower initial cost and energy efficiency compared to incandescent or halogen bulbs. If so, you may be deciding between spiral or spring-shaped CFLs and covered CFLs, which look more like the bulbs you're replacing. If so, which should you choose? The reason for choosing a covered CFL is strictly for esthetics. If you want the energy savings of a CFL but you're not a fan of the spiral look, you can choose a covered bulb. The look of a bulb may not matter in shaded lamps, for instance, but it might become more important (for instance) in an open fixture above your kitchen table where the bulb is in view.
There are some drawbacks to covered CFLs, however, and you should know that before choosing them over spiral bulbs. Because the cover traps heat, these bulbs use a mercury amalgam requiring a higher temperature for the bulb to reach full brightness. So they take longer to produce all the light they're capable of. While a spiral might reach full brightness in 60 seconds or less, a covered bulb might take closer to 3 minutes. As a result of the higher temperatures, a covered bulb also has a shorter rated life span. A spiral bulb could last up to 10,000 or 12,000 hours (check the packaging for the rated life) while a covered bulb might only be rated for 8000 hours. This is still a much longer life than an incandescent bulb. When choosing either type, it's important to remember some things about CFLs in general:
We hope this helps you to better understand CFLs in general and, more specifically, your choice between spiral-shaped and covered CFL bulbs. We try to "spread the light" every day not only by selling lighting supplies, but also by taking customer service to heart and doing what we can to assist each and every person who calls or orders with us.
But sometimes we like to spread the light in other ways, and here's the latest effort that warmed our hearts. The Animal Welfare Society of Southeastern Michigan is a no-kill animal shelter and rescue that gets pets into the hands of those who can truly care for them. One of our employees wanted to support them and the rest came on board to assist. We're proud to help in their work! Lighting a warehouse isn't as simple as lighting the typical room in a house. With high ceilings, high shelves of inventory for casting shadows, natural daylight to consider, different types of lighting fixtures, lighting controls (including timers and sensors), and technologies from HID to fluorescent to LED to consider, it can take time to lay out an ideal lighting plan. While in-depth guidance on this may require an onsite lighting designer, we put together an article you may find useful on the topic. Meanwhile, though, replacing your warehouse lighting can be straightforward. Maybe not easy (due to the heights involved), but straightforward. Because whether you're using HID, fluorescent, or LED lighting, you can generally just read the part number on the lamp you're replacing. Then visit Lighting Supply and put that part number into the search bar and find your replacement. Of course sometimes bulbs are no longer made or stocked, and you might need to find an alternative. In that case, you can always call our friendly lighting experts for your options when ordering. (877.231.2852) Do you have specific questions about warehouse lighting that we can answer through a future blog? Something that might help others too? Let us know in the comments below and we'll do our best to provide those answers!
Over the last few years, the traditional incandescent light bulb was phased out of production and importation in the United States. You can still buy them from anyone who still has stock and still use them in your home or office. Or you can opt for special application incandescent bulbs like rough service bulbs if you want to stick with the incandescent experience. (Learn more about rough service bulbs in our article here.)
But in general, the switch has begun toward halogen bulbs (a more efficient type of incandescent), CFLs (the spiral shaped fluorescents), and LEDs. If you're confused about your options, how to understand new light bulb packages, how the bulbs compare to incandescents, and how much money each type will save you ... never fear! We've created a brief video and an light bulb infographic that walk you through everything you need to know. We've had a lot of positive response to both of these, and hope you'll find them helpful. If so, please share this page with others who may be struggling with the same question about replacing their light bulbs! On a final note, LED bulbs now mimic the color of incandescent bulbs very well, they have no mercury, and although they're a bit more expensive, they can pay for themselves in around one year where a bulb is used about 3 hours a day. After that, they will put money in your pocket every year! Check out some of our best deals on LED replacement bulbs for the home and office! Anyone who purchases fluorescent or HID lighting for commercial applications probably knows that these lights require ballasts. While some like compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) come with ballasts built in, most use external ballasts. (You can learn more about ballasts here.) LED lighting, though, is a new field that many are unfamiliar with. So it's important to know that, while LEDs don't require ballasts, they do require something called "drivers." Like CFLs, household LEDs typically have drivers built in, but many commercial LEDs do not. And as with fluorescent lights that need to be correctly matched to their ballasts, you need to choose the right driver for an LED. So we've put together a brief video explaining the two primary types of LED drivers: Constant Current and Constant Voltage. LED lighting has continued taking the world by storm, especially as its costs plummet and its efficacy (its efficiency in turning watts into visible light, or lumens) improves. But even as more households and businesses convert to LED bulbs, inventors continue pushing the boundaries on how we might produce lighting in the future, and how it might be used. The future give us a very different experience of light. One of the more obvious future lighting options is an evolution of LED, known as OLED, or "Organic Light Emitting Diodes (or Devices)." These are currently flat panel LEDs and are used in many TVs and computer screens. They don't currently boast the same efficiency of light output as other LED lights, but they're coming along and are now starting to be used as (high end) general lighting in some settings. If they continue developing as they are, we may well see more homes and offices moving away from fixtures and bulbs toward flat panels of light. (This would make a lot of sense for businesses with lighting troffers already in place.) But other ideas are developing as well. For instance, Philips has talked about "Light Transmissive Carpeting," totally transforming the decorative and practical roles that carpeting could have in home or office. Take a look at this teaser video: Beyond that, others are looking for entirely new lighting sources, and are taking inspiration from biology as in the case of this bioluminescent lamp. You can read about it through that link or take a look at this video: So what do you think the future of lighting will look like? Will technology continue pushing costs toward zero now that lights are going digital or even alive? What other technologies are on the way, and how we will we use our lighting in the future? If lighting is just a background topic in your mind, you might be surprised to learn what an interesting and even fun topic it can be. For instance, these days it's being explored for medical use and for its affect on our overall health. And with modern LED technology, we have increasing control over how we work with the lights around us. So we thought we'd close out the year 2014 with a review on its lighting highlights. 60 and 40 Watt Incandescent Bulbs were Phased Out As step 3 in a phase-out of incandescent bulbs to press the use of more efficient light bulbs, we began the year on January 1 by saying goodbye to 60 watt and 40 watt incandescent bulbs. They can no longer be manufactured in or imported into the United States. Of course they can still be purchased in stores that carry them and used in your home. Lighting in Sports Philips wrote up an article discussing the use of lights in sports. Not only can you use lights to create unique balls and other elements of a game, but you can light up entire courts and even use them to coach players. It makes us wonder what kind of entirely new sports could be created with the use of lighted and even responsive courts. And could that eliminate the need for certain referee calls and/or instant replays? |
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So those are some of our favorites from the world of lighting in 2014. What about you? Have any favorites that we should have mentioned here?