I made a short video featuring some photos of installed under cabinet lighting from our wonderful customers! Hopefully it’ll provide a little remodeling inspiration for your afternoon.
Have any great photos of under cabinet lights to show off? Post them on our Facebook page!
Display lighting makes your exhibit more alluring. That doesn't mean it needs to make your exhibit more complicated.
Trade show displays are temporary by definition, and it’s frustrating to plan for an entire complicated setup that you know will soon be disassembled. So, why not make it easier on yourself and avoid display lights that are as much of a pain to install as they are to take down? This guide will help you choose a portable display light that you can use again and again.
First, consider the exhibit you are lighting. We offer both clamp-on and clip-on styled light fixtures, but you’ll need to have a general idea of where they will be attached. For example, this LED display light can mount on a wall with a diameter ranging from 0.5 inches to 2 inches; whereas this one can be installed on a wall/pipe up to 2.75 inches thick. The adjustable brackets always enable you to fit the lighting to your exhibit, but it’s still important to confirm the space enables you to mount the portable lights you choose. Continue reading »
Not all lighting is easy on the eyes. Flickering fluorescent lamps give you a headache, powerful rays from the sun make you search for sunglasses, the harsh computer screen at night leaves you seeing spots.
It probably didn’t come as a surprise last month when we published results of a recent study revealing certain artificial indoor lighting has a negative impact on sleep cycles.
The study found that light with a cool color temperature affects a certain blue-sensitive photoreceptor that targets our biological clock. So, to avoid losing sleep because of your lights, we recommended sticking to lighting with a warm color temperature (2800-3200K) after dusk – and dimming the lights before bed!
However, that recommendation didn’t address the bulk of the problem: the glare from computer screens, smartphones, and tablets. If you’re like most people, you check your e-mail and catch up on news articles in the hour or two before you go to bed. The color temperature from those devices will kill your efforts to stay away from sleep-inhibiting lighting. Continue reading »
Ten years ago, the Department of Energy released a report on the state of the U.S. lighting market. This week, they published the follow-up report. The numbers reveal how far the lighting industry has come in ten years, and they indicate a few interesting trends:
We’re becoming more efficient. This one’s no surprise. Technological advancements improve energy-efficient lighting in terms of performance and efficacy month by month, so ten years certainly showed strides toward sustainability. Most notably, fluorescent light fixtures made a big impact. In the residential sector, the shift was from incandescent to compact fluorescent lamps; in the commercial sector, it was from T12 to T8 and T5 fluorescent lamps. As you can see in the chart below, linear fluorescent light fixtures now make up the largest portion of the commercial sector as well as the largest portion of the total.
Overall, the efficacy of lighting improved by 29 percent – an increase from 45 lumens per watt in 2001 to 58 lumens per watt in 2010.
Lighting isn’t really a stand-alone topic. It overlaps with remodeling, home design, energy efficiency, commercial building design, architecture, and new construction – just to name a few. There are some excellent writers in the blogosphere covering all of those topics. Bookmark the blogs below for interior design inspiration – they are among our absolute favorites!
Kelly’s Kitchen Sync (@kitchen_sync on Twitter): Read Kelly Morisseau’s posts, and you’ll have a wealth of information on kitchen design, bathroom design, and top trends. You’ll discover new, revolutionary products. You’ll learn what makes excellent design, and what makes designers cringe. We are constantly sharing Kelly’s helpful posts with our Facebook and Twitter followers – she’s fantastic!
Color Recipes (@Color4Charlotte on Twitter): We first “met” Donna Frasca of Color Recipes on Twitter during a chat with kitchen and bath professionals – #kbtribechat is on Wednesdays at 2pm for those who want to join in. She’s a Color Specialist in Charlotte, NC, and she helps homeowners choose color palettes that complement their homes. Her blog documents the paint colors she pairs. The interesting spin is that she uses food as inspiration for each color palette. If you’re considering painting any room, Color Recipes will give you a unique perspective.
Freshome (@freshome on Twitter): Yes, Freshome publishes posts multiple times a day. Yes, it can really build up in your RSS feed, if you have one. And yes, they are totally worth following if you’re looking for interior design inspiration. Freshome uncovers and shares “the latest and greatest products in architecture and design.” Here is where you will find drool-worthy photos of apartments and homes you would trade for your own in a heartbeat. Each post is compelling – there’s no question that Freshome will spark new ideas for you.
Imagine your lighting wall switch becoming obsolete.
Imagine controlling every single feature of your lighting from your Smartphone: dimming an individual light or a set of lights, turning them on/off, setting up a timer, and even tracking energy usage in real-time.
In Japan, that’s becoming a reality. Tokyo-based lighting tech startup Net LED Technology Corp has developed the first cloud-based LED lighting system.
It will go on sale in Japan February 20. The lights are 40W LED tubes with a 40,000 hour lifespan, and they come with built-in Wi-Fi. It’s possible to control the lights from a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
For more information, see the feature in TechCrunch or view Net LED Technology Corp’s English site.
Julia Silverman and Jessica Matthews first began thinking about the power of a soccer ball for a college project. Challenged to come up with a solution to a problem facing the world, they focused on the lack of access to electricity in developing countries. Their imaginary solution was a soccer ball that harnessed kinetic energy from play and transformed it to electrical energy to power an LED lamp.
Little did Silverman and Matthews know that 3,000 of those electricity-generating soccer balls would eventually be delivered to Mexico, Haiti, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and South Africa. This is a pretty incredible story:
If you’re in the market to sell, you probably feel like you could use all the help you can get. You’ve heard realtors talk about remodeling projects to make your home stand out, but which are worth it?
If you’re asking yourself that question, your most helpful tool will be Remodeling Magazine’s Cost versus Value report. Published once a year, it’s an analysis of remodeling projects with the highest (and lowest) value. You can select your region (New England, Middle Atlantic, etc.) and view the average cost of particular projects as well as the estimated resale value.
Obviously, those numbers are incredibly difficult to pin down, but Remodeling Magazine does their research, using figures from the National Association of Realtors, several market research companies, and thousands of web-based surveys.
If you decide to remodel a particular room after using the report, use these additional tips to amp up the lighting – and make your home more attractive to buyers: Continue reading »
These photos come from a serious DIY-er, so perhaps they’ll be an inspiration for anyone considering tackling a major renovation project on your own. Chad decided to build a kitchen in his basement, so he picked out cabinets and hardware and then installed all of the electrical, plumbing, and flooring with the help of his wife. He hired someone to help with the countertops and drywall work. “Some things should just be left to the pros,” Chad said. We agree!
It's our mission to make choosing a transformer as easy as choosing from a box of chocolates.
A couple months ago, I promised to write more “how-to” posts here since they seem to be most popular among all of you wonderful readers. Since then, I’ve posted How To Light a Foyer, How To Wash a Wall With Light, How To Choose a Recessed Shower Light, and How To Prevent a Power Outage Blackout.
Today, I’m tackling an arguably drier topic. However, for those of you that are diving into remodeling projects for the New Year, it’s a crucial one.
First, an introduction for those not familiar with transformers in the lighting industry (Hint: they are not shape-shifting creatures). There are two types of lighting systems: Line voltage and low voltage. Line voltage simply means that your lighting fixtures may be plugged in directly to an electrical outlet or hardwired directly to a power source. The voltage that the light fixture needs is the same as the voltage supplied from your wall. Low voltage lighting systems require lower voltage to operate than the typical power source supplies. So, if the power source in your wall outputs 120 volts, low voltage lighting fixtures require an input of just 12 or 24 volts. That’s why you need a low voltage transformer – to convert the voltage from your power source to the amount your lighting fixture needs!
Occasionally, the transformer is built right in to the lighting fixture – in which case there’s no need for this guide. The decision has been made for you! However, if the transformer is separate, you’ll need to make sure it is compatible with your lighting fixtures. Follow this guide to make your selection in four steps … Continue reading »
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