America’s schools spend more than $8 billion each year on energy – more than the amount spent on textbooks and computers combined! According to Home Room, the official blog of the U.S. Department of Education, about twenty-six percent of electricity consumed by a typical school is for lighting alone. Lighting is a simple way to improve your school in many aspects. By upgrading your lighting to LED technologies, your school could save on energy, maintenance and material costs. While saving on energy costs, you could be improving student performance and well-being at the same time. Most people believe that the older technology with “warm” yellow light will simulate the sun the best. However, LED bulbs on the other end of the spectrum with a bluer light have proven to help children stay more alert and productive throughout the day. As reported by Make Great Light, research has shown that students who are not exposed to full spectrum lighting early in the morning test poorer than students who have been exposed. Check out this flyer full of popular items used in schools and other commercial spaces! For more information on which LED technology is right for you, give us a call at 877.231.2852 or leave a comment below.
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It’s that time of year again – time to restore your outdoor space to its summertime beauty! You work hard to revive your yard and want your guests to enjoy themselves but once it starts to get dark, everyone makes their way inside. Don’t let the setting sun determine when your backyard bash must end by overlooking the importance of lighting! Keep the party outside by adding some creative lighting to your patio and yard with landscape, stringer and rope lighting. Deck & Patio
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In the market for for a landscape lighting system that’s simple and economical? Check out our Lite the Nite collection here! As always, Lighting Supply is here to help with any questions you may have. Give us a call at 877.231.2852 or leave a comment below. Circline bulbs can be especially challenging for consumers looking to replace one that has burnt out. When it’s time to switch out that old, circular bulb with a new one, there are three important details to keep in mind:
Let us explain a bit further… WATTAGE First, determine the wattage of the bulb you are trying to replace. This information should be marked on your existing bulb. If by chance it is rubbed off or not shown, always check your fixture for the maximum wattage it can handle. This information is usually located within the fixture, often near the socket. If you’re looking to convert from older fluorescent technology to newer LED technology, we can help you determine the new lower wattage which will generate similar light output. BULB SIZE Next, figure out the bulb size. In the case of circlines, you will need the diameter of the bulb. Diameter is a unit of measurement found by measuring from side to side through the center of the object. The most common sizes include T5, T9, and T6 – where the T stands for “tubular” and the number is a measurement in eighths of an inch. For example, a T5 is a tubular bulb that is 5/8” in diameter. A T6 will typically be a double circline bulb which will make this step much easier. PIN CONFIGURATION Lastly, it is especially important to take note of the pin configuration. The pins must be the same as the replacement bulb in order to fit back into the existing fixture. Not only will you need to know how many pins the bulb has, but where exactly on the lamp they are positioned. Let’s take a look at a few different examples: GOING IN FULL CIRCLE Next time you’re in the market to replace your circline bulb, remember these three, easy pieces of information. And while you’re at it, consider replacing your entire fixture with a new, energy efficient LED fixture. Whatever your lighting needs, reach out to the pros at Lighting Supply. As one of the most widely known and respected lighting distributors, we have all the products and answers you need – and we’re always happy to help! Contact us here or leave a comment below. So, you’re ready to tackle the lighting installation in your home? The good news; you know you’re going to use recessed canisters as your fixture of choice. The bad news; you’re not exactly sure how to choose the right one. Don’t worry, here’s everything you need to know to get the best recessed cans for your project! First, What Are Recessed Canisters? Perhaps you’re still learning about lighting fixtures for your project. If the term “recessed canister” is a bit fuzzy, here’s a quick overview: Recessed canisters, or cans, are light fixtures that are installed flush with the ceiling – where the housing goes unseen. These lights are made of three parts: the housing, trim and bulb. The trim is the external part of the fixture that we see, and the housing is installed inside the hollow opening in the ceiling. Finally, there are a wide variety of bulb types that can be inserted into recessed lighting fixtures. So, how do you choose the right recessed canister? Is Your Project New Construction? New Construction cans are used in a space where you’ll have access and plenty of room to accommodate the bulkier fixture, such as an attic, crawl space, or drop ceiling. Ideally, these fixtures are used in a new build project or a major remodeling where there is no drywall blocking access to the ceiling beams – as the housing is installed between the joists using T-bar mounting brackets. Or, Is Your Project a Remodel? Remodel cans are less bulky and are meant to be used in a space where there is limited overhead room or little access to the area. Remodel canisters are commonly used in apartments or houses with no attic or crawlspace. Although remodel housing is more compact, it still may not fit in the space desired and would require removal of the drywall above the fixture. BONUS! Lighting Supply carries an LED downlight from Lotus LED Lights that requires no housing at all! At just a half of an inch thick, it’s ultra-thin and can be used in almost any space. When even the remodel housing is too bulky, these fixtures can do the trick; they are quick and easy to install and will save you on energy costs. We also offer a wide selection of LED downlight retrofit fixtures if you are looking to update your current recessed can lighting with energy efficient technology without removing the existing housing. What About the Insulation in Your Space? Another important factor to consider is whether you need an IC or Non-IC rated fixture. IC, or insulation contact, rated means the fixture can come into direct contact with insulation. On the flipside, Non-IC rated fixtures cannot come into contact with insulation. It is recommended these fixtures remain a minimum of 3” away from all insulation in the space to prevent a fire. Need assistance? No problem. Reach out to us here with your questions or leave a comment below – we’re happy to help. We celebrate Earth Day as a reminder that we only have one planet and need to care for it. Many people believe they cannot make a difference in the fight against global warming or climate change alone; but we all can make an impact! One simple thing everyone can do this upcoming Earth Day is change out your incandescent and halogen bulbs to LED to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s blog, if every American were to replace just one light bulb with an Energy Star rated bulb, we would save enough money to light three million homes for a year. In turn, we would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road! Lighting Supply carries many Energy Star rated bulbs in different styles. A couple good options include the TCP 9 watt LED A19 bulb or the FEIT Electric 10 watt LED BR30 bulb. There are many additional benefits to switching to LED bulbs that would positively affect the environment: LONGER LIFE LED bulbs typically have an average life of 50,000 hours. If you used an LED bulb every day for eight hours, that bulb would last for about 17 years! One long life LED bulb can save on the material and production of 25 incandescent bulbs. LESS ENERGY USED LED bulbs use about 1/6 of the energy of incandescent and halogen bulbs and 2-3 times less energy than that of CFLs. LESS CO2 PRODUCED The bulb itself is not creating CO2 exactly. However, the emissions created in the generation of electricity the bulb uses is creating the CO2. In a nutshell, if a light bulb requires less energy to be used, the less CO2 will be produced. NO ULTRA-VIOLET OR INFRARED LIGHT PRODUCED LED bulbs are very useful in retail stores, art galleries and museums as the lights do not produce UV or IF radiation which can damage or fade goods and works of art. NO MERCURY USED By using LED bulbs, you are reducing the chances of mercury and harmful emissions from escaping into the water stream and ground, which is a huge plus for the environment! Check out our wide selection of LED bulbs and products available here at Lighting Supply! When we only had incandescent bulbs available for most of our household lighting, we were familiar with a warm look to our lighting. When CFLs came along, we started seeing lights that appear more white and sometimes almost blue when compared to the warmth (think "yellow") of incandescent bulbs. These whiter or bluer colors are considered "cooler" in appearance.
The warmth or coolness of light is known as its color temperature. This has nothing to do with actual heat from a light bulb, but only with the appearance of the light. Besides using terms like "warm white," "cool white," and "daylight" to describe these color temperatures, we also rate these in kelvin, which is a temperature scale. It's important to note that there is no absolute consensus on what kelvin ratings equate to what color temperature descriptions. Visit different websites and you'll get different answers. But the following is a good general guideline to what these descriptions mean. (Also see the image at the end of this post.) WARM WHITE A "warm white" bulb is usually considered to be below 3000K (3000 kelvin). This is the light color provided by an incandescent bulb (2700K) or halogen bulb (2850K). As an incandescent or halogen bulb is dimmed, it becomes even warmer -- slightly orange -- in appearance. It may dip to about 2200K or below. The lower the kelvin, the warmer a bulb appears. CFLs and LEDs can also provide a "warm white" appearance, and you'll need to choose CFLs or LEDs if you want the other color temperatures listed below. SOFT WHITE Bulbs that provide light at around 3000K to 3500K may be considered "white" or "soft white." COOL WHITE Bulbs that provide light at around 4100K to 5000K are considered "cool white" and these start to have a slightly blue feel to them. DAYLIGHT Bulbs that provide light at around 6500K are considered "daylight bulbs" and these have a definite blue and cool sensation to them. Take a look at the image below and you'll get an idea of how different lighting can affect an office setting. Choosing between these types of light bulbs is a personal decision. In a household setting, you may like one color temperature and stick with that throughout the home; or you may choose different color temperatures to set a different feel for each room. For instance, you may want warm bulbs in dining rooms and bedrooms, white bulbs in kitchens, and cool bulbs in utility areas like laundry rooms and workshops. Again, it's a matter of personal taste. When you shop for light bulbs at Lighting Supply, you'll find a refinement option on our site to sort bulbs according to their color temperature to help you more easily find the bulbs you need. And this is why lighting professionals exist.
Unless you work in road lighting, would you think about the fact that these lights accumulate dirt over time, decreasing the amount of light that reaches the roadway? And if you would have thought of that, would you have remembered that LED street lights might collect more dirt? Why would these accumulate more dirt? Because LED lamps last longer than the HID lamps that were used for years to light our roads. So a study looked into this topic and concluded that ... this is a hard thing to study. LED road lights come in many forms, and it's hard to test all brands and all forms. But due to the long lives of LEDs, "luminaire dirt depreciation" (LDD) needs to be factored into lighting plans. At the very least, planners should think through how the roads will look by end of lamp life with LLD taken into consideration. In a better scenario, operators will plan on cleaning the lights and recapturing the available light, minimizing the impact of LDD. Read more about it on the IES website. In late 2017, we saw a study from the University of Michigan that talked about the best approach to saving energy with light bulbs. In short, it suggested replacing all incandescent and halogen bulbs with CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) or LEDs, but not necessarily replacing CFLs with LEDs yet.
The reason? CFLs are already highly efficient compared to incandescent and halogen bulbs, while you don't step up efficiency nearly as much when replacing CFLs with LEDs. The study points out that LEDs may continue coming down in price and are likely to get even more efficient, so waiting another couple years (or until a CFL goes out) is a good idea for CFL replacement. The study also points to ideas like replacing more frequently used bulbs first and considering the most efficient bulbs (LEDs) sooner in places like California, Hawaii, and Washington, DC, where electricity costs are high. We think all of this is accurate when your only concern is electricity use and saving money. But there are other reasons to consider replacing CFLs with LED bulbs right now:
That said, we should point out that not all LED bulbs are created equal. Some brands provide a high-quality lighting experience while others -- usually inexpensive bulbs with unfamiliar brands -- could fizzle, dim, render colors poorly, etc. We encourage sticking from known brands who have reputations to maintain. Also consider looking for 25,000 hour ratings on LED bulbs -- shorter ratings usually come from low-quality components. In any case, if you do replace CFLs, don't forget to take the CFLs to an appropriate recycling center. Because they contain a small amount of mercury, they should never be thrown in the trash. We ran across a great article with 11 tips on lighting for retailers. You can find the article here on LuxReview. Among the tips: 3. Nail your color temperature. The article explains when to pick warm or cool temperatures. We'd like to humbly add that you can easily refine product selection on Lighting Supply by its color tone or kelvin rating. 4. Light what you want customers to see. We often comment on the difference between BR and PAR bulbs because they look so similar and people want to know what to use in household settings. BR bulbs are good for general lighting while PAR bulbs are excellent at highlighting something more specific. MR bulbs do a good job of this as well, which is why smart retailers often use PAR and MR lamps to feature products. 5. Don't take color rendering at face value. We agree. We've spoken before about the fact that incandescent bulbs generally have about a 100 CRI (top measurement on the Color Rendering Index) while most LEDs today only rate around 80 (with some over 90). But we've shown how LEDs might still render colors in a way we feel often looks better. The article continues with plenty more tips, so check it out and consider Lighting Supply as your source for the lighting you need! Need to replace the light bulbs in your recessed lighting cans? Here are some tips for getting the lights that will meet your needs: Tip #1: Choosing Light Bulb ShapeGenerally you’ll want to use PAR or BR shaped reflector bulbs for recessed lighting. Which one is right for you? Use PAR bulbs only if you goal is to highlight a specific area, since these bulbs produce more distinct boundaries to their light. BR bulbs produce more diffuse lighting, and are the best choice for general lighting. |