Author: Chris Johnson

I am the President & CEO of Pegasus Lighting. Beyond my day job, my professional interests include small business, technology, web design and development, operations, marketing, and social media. My personal interests include spending time with my two children and wonderful wife, reading presidential history and business books, and striving for my work | life balance.
Weekend Warrior LED Recessed Lighting Project

Weekend Warrior Series: LED Retrofit Lighting, Part One

Chris Johnson 1 Comment

This is the fourth post in our Weekend Warrior blog post series, part of our quest to bring customers unique products and creative ideas for DIY lighting projects around the house. We previously covered how to install security lighting, a custom pantry lighting solution, and creating a kid’s book nook with a wall mounted reading light.

Weekend Warrior LED Recessed Lighting Project

Since moving into my home in 2009 I have completed a number of lighting projects. In fact, I started a New Home Project blog post series documenting them. I am happy to report that a couple of those posts helped others with their own under cabinet and over cabinet lighting projects.

It has been a couple of years, but recently I embarked on two new projects with one overriding theme — Saving money by adding and/or replacing existing lights with LED. The first project that I’d like to share is adding LED recessed lighting to our bonus room to add more general illumination to this room, and the second one switched out our halogen recessed lights to LED. In both projects I installed 6-inch LED retrofits.

Project One – The Weekend Project

My bonus room’s general illumination came only from the lighting on our ceiling fan. For the size of our bonus room this was woefully inadequate. So, jump forward 6 years and we are finally getting around to painting this room and making it more than a “holding area” for random stuff. We decided it was a good time to increase the light level in this room with four LED recessed lights in the 4 corners of the room.

Bonus room with overhead light
Before we installed recessed lighting in our bonus room, our ceiling fan was the only light in the room.

When our house was built in 2009 I used PAR30 halogen light bulbs in our recessed lighting. At the time LED recessed lighting was still a little pricey and there were not many options. Now times have changed. LED recessed lighting, specifically LED retrofits, have come down in price and there a number of options available. Read More

Weekend Warrior: Installing NETBRIGHT™ Wireless Motion Sensor Networked Spotlights

Chris Johnson 3 Comments

Today begins our newest series: Weekend Warrior. It’s part of our quest to bring our customers unique products and offer creative ideas for DIY projects around the house. This week we’re tackling one of our most innovative new products: The NETBRIGHT™ Wireless Motion Sensor Networked Spotlights. 

Weekend Warrior | Security Lighting Project

The Problem – lack of security lighting for rear of home.
The DIY solution I chose – Mr. Beams Netbright Wireless Spotlights.

I recently moved to a part of North Carolina where many of the homes in the area are vacation homes that are vacant throughout much of the year. Unfortunately, during the off-season months break-ins are common and I thought it would be wise to install security lighting around the perimeter of my home.

Currently, we have a fantastic motion sensor floodlight that gradually increases its light level installed at the front of my home. I have gotten into the habit of making excuses to walk near it just because I think it’s so cool.

Front floodlight image
My front entrance with existing floodlight

The back entrance of my home … not so much… Read More

The Biggest Impact of the EISA Is Here: Bye-Bye 60-Watt Incandescent

Chris Johnson

CFL light bulb saves money

It has taken 7 years but we are now here. On January 1, 2014 both the 60-watt and 40-watt incandescent light bulb will no longer be produced as a result of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) signed by President George W. Bush. In years past we have lost the 100-watt and 75-watt. However, this next phase will probably have the biggest impact. Why? Simple. The 60 and 40-watt light bulbs are the most popular. According to Residential Lighting, they represent over 50% of all light bulbs used today.

We have been covering the incandescent phase out on this blog for the last couple of years. However, as a reminder, a primary goal of this law is to raise appliance and lighting efficiency standards.

The 60 and 40-watt light bulbs will not just vanish into thin air on January 1, 2014. You will probably still see them in stores for a couple of months. The key is that as of 1/1/14 they can no longer be imported into or manufactured in the United States. Read More

Top 5 Christmas Light and Music Displays

Chris Johnson

Top 5 Xmas Light & Music Videos

What is the Christmas season without Christmas lights and music? But what happens when you combine the two? Well, a wonderfully awesome Christmas light display of course! Check out our picks for the top 5 homes that combined the elements of lights and music to create unforgettable Christmas light displays.

1) The Holdman Family

Beautifully done, and extremely well organized, the Holdman family has been setting their Christmas display to music for years!

2) A Colorado Springs Home

This home goes above and beyond to spread the holiday cheer!

3) Gangham Style

What is 2013 without the widely renowned “Gangman Style” theme song? This home combines the funky fun song with a perfectly timed Christmas display.

4) Let’s Dance!

Although this one seems a little more fitting for a nightclub then a home, it still shines a fun light on combining music with a Christmas light display. Kudos for the creativity!

5) Fit for a Princess

So, maybe this one isn’t exactly “set” to music, but it is still one of the best home Christmas light displays we’ve seen. Even if this particular “home” is actually a castle belonging to a fairytale princess.

Do you know of any cool Christmas lighting displays that are timed to music?

Brighten Your Business and Cut Down Your Energy Costs

Chris Johnson

Let’s face it; while working for yourself can be an amazing experience, owning your own business can come with a ton of unsightly costs you may not have been anticipating. One of those may be energy costs for lighting and illuminating your building. This day and age, lighting can account for up to 35% of a business’s energy costs which can be a huge impact on your profit. So what are some ways you can help cut down on this expensive expenditure?

Cut lighting costs

Understand Your Lighting Needs

It is important to first understand what type of lighting will best suit your business. Are you lighting a restaurant? A book store? Coffee shop? Retail outlet? Whatever the genre, you need to determine how your customers are using your space. Lighting should be adequate and efficient to fit their needs. You will also want to decide the color and hue you want your lighting to have. Being aware of your customer’s needs can help you determine whether or not your company should have more or less lighting. This will reduce unnecessary energy costs by ensuring you are not using extra lighting when it is not needed. Read More

New Home Project: Remodel Recessed Lights

Chris Johnson 1 Comment

Welcome to this fifth blog post of my New Home Project series. This series of posts reviews the lighting projects that I have undertaken in my new home since moving in to it in September 2009. To be honest, most of these projects have been completed some time ago. It was my goal to write a post after each project, but time just gets away from you sometimes. I cannot believe that it has been over 2 years since moving into my home.

This project involved adding seven 4-inch recessed cans throughout the first floor of my house.