LED Lighting - Find the Latest News as Well LED Usage Tips

Are LED Outdoor Lights Bright Enough?

Jun 262013

bigstock Modern stone house in Istria 9183125 1 300x144 Are LED Outdoor Lights Bright Enough?
In a word – yes.

Here’s why:

We’ve all had one of those free, or next to free LED flashlights that doesn’t give off enough light to help us see anything. So naturally, you might have some doubts about trusting LED lights to illuminate you exterior, especially at night. Unlike those cheap flashlights, LED outdoor lights – like floodlights, step lights, and landscape lights – are created for important outdoor use. So, they’ll generate enough light to brighten your stairs, driveways, porches, paths, and yards, just like any other outdoor lights.

To be sure that you’ll get lights you can trust to work and to stand out in the dark, just check how many lumens your current outdoor lights emit (halogen, fluorescent, etc) and make sure your new lights have a similar number. Continue reading »

LED Maintenance: Give Your Lights A Long And Happy Life

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Jun 212013

LED Track Lighting 270x300 LED Maintenance: Give Your Lights A Long And Happy Life
When you’ve just upgraded your lights to LEDs, your first thought probably isn’t, “What am I going to do when these things burn out?” LEDs can last for as long as half a century, and when you pay for an entire LED lighting upgrade, you should expect them to. However, after you get over the dazzle and gleam of your favorite new lights, it’s important to know how their lives will play out, so you can best care for them.

This blog post will answer two questions: How do you know when to replace your LEDs? and, How should you care for them so that won’t happen for a long, long time?

1. How to replace your LEDs

The trickiest part of LED maintenance is knowing when you need to exchange your old lights for new ones. Unlike other light sources, LEDs will never burn out. Instead, they get dimmer and dimmer until they’re no longer useful, which is usually when they emit about 70% of their original light output. So the question is, how will you know when it’s time to replace your LED?

When it reaches its rated life at 35,000, 50,000, 60,000 hours, there won’t be any definite indication that it’s time to change your light bulb. Plus, depending on how and where you use your LEDs, they could last shorter or longer than the projected rated life. When they do dwindle to 70%, you might not even notice.

Here are some suggestions so you’ll never find yourself sitting in the dark with the lights on: Continue reading »

The Difference Between LEDs and CFLs: The Future

Fluorescent Lighting, LED Lighting No Responses »

May 062013

This is the concluding post in a series exploring the differences between LEDs and CFLs. To read the entire series, click here.

We’ve spent the last several weeks figuring out all the ways LEDs and CFLs are different. We’ve learned practical facts about each light source, like LEDs have longer rated lives, CFLs contain mercury, LEDs are more durable, and CFLs emit omnidirectional light (to name a few). All this makes for an excellent understanding of the current state of lighting technology.

Today, LEDs and CFLs are still rivals on the market. But will it always be like this?

The development and improvement of LED technology is still taking place, while the CFL’s technological development has reached an endpoint. It’s really thanks to LEDs that we’re in the midst of a very dynamic lighting revolution.

Since CFLs are already completely developed as a viable lighting technology, many lighting specialists think of them as the bridge between old incandescent lights and innovative LED lights. They’re an effective, efficient bridge, but a bridge nonetheless. We don’t expect CFLs to be popular forever. Continue reading »

The Difference Between LEDs and CFLs: Durability

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May 032013

Do you know what makes an LED different from a CFL? In this blog series, we’re explaining just that!

We all know incandescent light bulbs are delicate. You break that filament, and it’s lights out (literally). It’s easy to understand why our basic incandescent lights are so fragile – we can see and understand the simple internal structure at a glance. But, when it comes to understanding the capabilities of LEDs and CFLs, the answers aren’t as straightforward. Both light sources use more complex systems to generate light, but does this make them any less breakable?

It’s time to dive a little deeper.

LEDs:

Since LEDs don’t use a filament, they can easily withstand almost any kind of jarring vibration. When you’re rough on LEDs, transporting them from place to place while in use, or keeping them in jolt-prone spots (like in and around elevators), you don’t have to worry about easily breaking or damaging them. Continue reading »

The Difference Between LEDs and CFLs: Glass Envelope

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Apr 302013

If you’re deciding which light source to use for your next project, look no further! In this blog series, we’re going in-depth to explore the differences between LEDs and CFLs, so you can make the best decision. In this post, we’re talking about structure…

LEDs and CFLs are built very differently.

LED light bulbs use glass or plastic envelopes of almost any thickness. They’re built to last, even in the most demanding circumstances. CFLs, on the other hand, have a daintier construction. If you drop one, the thinner glass envelope could easily break. This can be a problem, especially because CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury that will be released when the light bulb shatters.

To prevent CFLs from cracking so easily, some manufacturers have begun encasing CFLs in silicone coatings, so even if the glass breaks the shards and mercury will stay within the silicone, not allowed to get into your environment. The CFL’s traditional spiral is covered by a more conventionally shaped envelope like this: Continue reading »

Outfitting Recessed Can Lights: LED Light Bulbs, LED Retrofits, or LED Housings?

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Apr 262013

iStock 000006954225Small 300x199 Outfitting Recessed Can Lights: LED Light Bulbs, LED Retrofits, or LED Housings?
When using LEDs in your recessed can lights, should you install completely new LED housings and trims, use LED retrofit modules, or simply switch out your light bulbs for LEDs?

A customer recently contacted Pegasus Lighting with that very question. She wanted to use LEDs in her recessed cans, and asked us about the advantages and disadvantages of LED housings/trims, retrofits, and light bulbs in order to make her decision.

So, our lighting experts went to work crafting an answer. Here’s what they had to say:

When Using An LED Lamp With A Conventional Incandescent Housing And Trim…

L Prize Light Bulb Outfitting Recessed Can Lights: LED Light Bulbs, LED Retrofits, or LED Housings?

This option is by far the simplest. Just unscrew that old incandescent or halogen light bulb and replace it with an LED lamp. Depending on the size of your recessed can, you can use LED reflector lamps or A lamps.

Advantages:

Easy To Alter. It only takes one person to screw in a light bulb (usually). So, if you don’t like how your new LED light bulb looks or performs, you can switch it out for a different one with minimal hassle. Since LED innovations are still evolving and LED efficacy is increasing dramatically each year, using LED light bulbs gives you more freedom to try out new technology. With a more extensive LED system, it would be annoying and expensive to try to keep up with new technology.

Generally Cheaper Upfront. LED light bulbs for recessed cans can cost anywhere from about $15 to over $100, while the prices for LED retrofits and LED housings and trims range from around $30 to over $200.

Disadvantages:

Could Trip Your Circuit Breaker. LED light bulbs and conventional recessed can lights aren’t always compatible. Some of the LED light bulbs used in halogen and incandescent recessed lights might cause a heat sensor inside the housing to trip your circuit breaker. This is because LED lamps generally direct heat up towards the ceiling and the fixture’s heat sensor, while incandescent sources project heat down and out of the recessed light. Continue reading »

The Difference Between LEDs and CFLs: Infrared and UV Radiation

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Apr 192013

We won’t rest until we’ve explored every way LEDs and CFLs differ! This post is part of a series doing just that. So far we’ve covered everything from the basics, like rated-life and energy-efficiency to more complex topics, like how each source performs in cold temperatures. Click here to explore the entire series.

Radiation. We’re talking about lights here, so the topic was bound to come up sooner or later.

Infrared Radiation (IR)

First of all, it’s a myth that LEDs don’t generate heat. All light sources generate some heat, and LEDs are no exception. Excessive heat can damage an LED or lessen its rated life – so it’s essential that LEDs have well designed “heat sinks” to dissipate the heat generated in the rear of the LED.

This myth may have originated from the very true fact that LEDs don’t emit infrared radiation in the same direction as the emitted light, unlike other light sources.

A CFL, on the other hand, does emit IR and can get very hot to the touch. Continue reading »

The Difference Between LEDs and CFLs: Directionality

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Apr 162013

This post is part of a series exploring how LEDs and CFLs differ. Click here to browse the entire series.

LEDs and CFLs aren’t always suited for the same applications, because they emit light differently. LEDs are made to emit light in one general direction, while CFLs are omnidirectional, emitting light in all directions, just like incandescent light bulbs.

The LED’s directional light beam is very convenient for many applications because there’s little to no wasted light emitted away from the area you want to illuminate. However, this can get problematic when you replace an omnidirectional light source with a directional LED.

Directional LEDs are perfect for task lighting, display lighting, focused accent lighting, and even for use in recessed cans. Omnidirectional CFLs will work better for decorative lights, like table lamps, chandeliers, and ceiling fans, when you need even light coming from all sides of the light bulb. Continue reading »

Energy Savings Of Solid-State Lighting (An Infographic)

LED Lighting No Responses »

Apr 152013

How much energy can LEDs save?

If you often ponder the future of solid-state lighting, or you’re just a conscientious home or business owner, you’ll want to take a look at this report from the US Department of Energy on the energy-saving potential of the LED.

LEDs are one of the most efficient light sources around, producing the same amount of light as their incandescent counterparts using only a fraction of the power. The DOE expects great things for the future.

This infographic offers a rundown of just how much LEDs will affect our energy use in the years to come:

Energy Savings Of Solid State Lighting (An Infographic)

The Difference Between LEDs and CFLs: Dimmability

Fluorescent Lighting, LED Lighting No Responses »

Apr 122013

LEDs and CFLs. To the untrained eye, they might just seem like comparable alternatives to the incandescent light bulb. But when you dive a little deeper, you’ll find that they’re very different. That’s just what we’re doing in this blog series – you can view the whole series here.

Dimming. In a world where customization is king and energy-saving is of ever-increasing importance, dimming lets you have both. Putting your lights on dimmers saves electricity, using 10% less power when you dim the lights just 10%. (And more if you dim them lower.) Dimmers also let you tailor the lighting scheme to whatever you’re doing.

But, are LEDs and CFLs any good at dimming? Turns out there’s a bit of a discrepancy… Continue reading »

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