Specialty and Architectural Lighting

Half a decade ago, when LEDs were either cost prohibitive if available or simply unavailable as replacements, retrofitting was a pipe dream for commercial property managers. But with prices down as much as 90% for LEDs from a few years ago, switching to LED is no longer a huge up-front investment. But saving money on energy costs is not the only benefit of replacing incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent lamps with newer LED bulbs. Some of...

The UHP lamp (ultra high pressure lamp, usually mercury arc) refers to projector lamps with an internal pressure of over 3000 lbs per square inch. The acronym also stands for ultra high performance. Originally developed by Philips in 1995, it is a common light source for digital data / video front projectors and rear projection televisions because it has very high light output available for the small environments of micro display projectors. The main characteristics...

Most people view their electric bill as a fixed cost, but having such a complacent view could cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars per year. You can significantly reduce your expenses and help the environment by making just a couple changes, no matter if you rent or own your current residence. With the following eight quick, easy tips you will be on the fast track to actively reducing your home energy costs. Do...

Cities and states can enjoy numerous benefits by switching from high pressure sodium to LED lights in street lighting fixtures and traffic signal lights. These benefits included better visibility for drivers, lower power consumption for street lights, and reduced maintenance when compared to the old lighting technology. On the negative side, switching from yellow light to the whiter LEDs has the effect of keeping people awake at night, depending on their proximity to the light...

We recently received an email from a reader pointing to the fact that many details are glossed over or left out in articles about how to buy LED bulbs to replace existing incandescent or halogen in homes. We'll give it another try in this article. With incandescent bulbs, when they burn out, you look at the watts printed on the bulb. That's basically all you need to know to buy a new incandescent bulb that...

If there are still doubts about the long-term impact of the LED lighting revolution, the upcoming Super Bowl should eliminate the skeptics. It's one thing to put an LED bulb in a table lamp. But use them to light a massive football stadium? It is true. Every second of the most watched sporting event in America will be under new LED sports light fixtures recently installed in the U. of Phoenix Stadium. By all accounts...

Commercial fluorescent lighting systems consist primarily of T8 lamps and electronic ballasts. While LED linear tubes now compete as replacements for traditional fluorescent, the vast majority of existing and replacement ceiling lighting in offices, schools, hospitals, and other institutions is fluorescent. At it's best, fluorescent lamp/ballast systems can offer efficiencies, lamp life and cost effectiveness that rival LED. A key feature of fluorescent lighting is the type of lamp starting technology used. There are three...

LED light bulbs, it seems, are like old cowboys, they never die, they only ride off into the sunset. Exaggeration? Maybe. But it brings up an important point. LED light bulbs do eventually go dark, but the process takes so long it seems like forever. A Fistful of Rated Hours So when buying an LED and you see a rated life, what does it mean? The expected life of most traditional light bulbs is based...

Most germicidal bulbs look like linear fluorescent light bulbs. They have the same shape. They share similar base types. Both use low pressure mercury arc technology. They both have hot cathode and cold cathode lamp types. They both use external ballasts to regulate voltage between the building and the lamp. And both produce the same ultraviolet radiation inside the bulb. However, germicidal light bulbs can't usually be purchased in general home improvement stores, where fluorescent...

Someone once wisecracked that the most energy efficient lighting was when the lights were turned OFF. A variation of this clever turn of phrase has become one of the most useful tools to increase building lighting energy efficiency. By automatically controlling the ON/OFF status of lights based on the presence of humans in a space, a tremendous amount of energy and money can be saved in commercial buildings. In addition, for medical settings utilizing germicidal...