The long-awaited, award-winning Sengled Snap LED is now in stock! It is an innovative LED light bulb that also functions as a wireless HD camera for outdoor monitoring.  

Sengled Snap won Best of Innovation at CES 2015 in the Smart Home product category. Home or business owners can place Snap over entryways and garages to keep an eye on surroundings any time of day or night. The ultra-wide angle HD camera captures high-quality video that can be viewed instantly via your iOS or Android device.  There is also an option to store data in the cloud for an additional fee.  Users can customize motion zones and receive alerts when activity is detected.

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LIGHTFAIR International 2015 was held last week at New York City’s Javits Center. If you know anything about the lighting industry, you know that this is the event to attend. This year LIGHTFAIR saw more than 26,000 attendees walk through the doors to view the latest LED light bulbs and solid state lighting (SSL) products. It’s an opportunity to explore state-of-the-art technology, network with like-minded professionals, and attend educational sessions. Many manufacturers use the conference to announce new products that will be available at some point later this year.

The exhibition hall was jam-packed with attendees and manufacturers, and featured a number of exciting new product announcements. Gaining control of lighting and improved light quality and design were by far the popular themes this year.  If you missed LIGHTFAIR this year or have never even heard of it, this is LIGHTFAIR in Review.

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On December 16th, Congress passed a bill with a provision to enforce new energy-efficiency standards for certain types of light bulbs, mostly affecting Light Emitting Diodes, or LED lighting. This "LED bulb phase-out" stems from the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007). A section of this Act has come under the label of "LED bulb ban" with most major media outlets since the announcement, despite not technically being a ban. It simply states that certain classes of LED lamps will be phased-out in order to meet new efficiency standards mandated by law. 

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While the bottom half of the country is getting warmer, those of us in the northern states are starting to defrost.  As the spring season approaches, we start to think about projects in and around our homes.  You might refer to yourself as a Weekend Warrior or an avid DIYer.

Whatever you call yourself, the outdoor season is coming and it’s the perfect time to start thinking about your yard! And with all the work you put into your landscaping, why not show it off into the evening hours. Plus, you can add a little more security to your home with entry way spot lights and dusk-to-dawn sensors.

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For decades, choosing a light bulb was a fairly simple task. We didn’t have all these choices we now have today. Wattage meant brightness and we didn’t have to worry about dimmer compatibility.  

Yes, there is a lot of new products and information out there now, but that’s okay. Change is good.

These new products can help us save energy, money and the planet through innovative, lower-wattage, long-life products that don’t produce nearly as much pollution during the manufacturing process as older types of lighting. 

Products such as CFLs and LEDs will help to reduce your energy bills, labor costs and even HVAC related costs. And as a Property Manager -of one location or many- that can make all the difference.

Phased-out bulbs, new efficiency standards, updated packaging labels and LED improvements over the last few years have presented some challenges, but they have also opened up a number of opportunities.

Whether you’re upgrading for the first time from incandescent to CFLs or you’re making the move to LEDs, here are some things you should keep in mind. 

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As a distributor of lighting products it can be challenging and often time consuming to find the right products for your customers’ needs.  Also, constant changes in technology and recent government legislation can make it difficult to keep up. Most recently, LED lighting and the PAR Halogen/T12 Fluorescent lamp Phase-out have been keeping us busy.  Here are a few things you should know:

LED lighting

LED lamps are becoming more popular by the minute!  The good news is that this technology is rapidly improving and in turn, the cost is decreasing. Yes, LEDs may still come at a higher cost, but consider these worthwhile benefits:

• Reduced energy costs-LEDs use 75-90% less energy than halogen and incandescent lamps.
• Reduced labor costs-Long life means you don’t have to change your bulbs as often.
• Reduced HVAC costs-Halogens put off high amounts of heat, make the switch and turn down you’re AC!
• Utility Rebates for being an Energy Saver-check with your local utility provider for offers.

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The beginning of 2012 marked a change in the way we thing about lighting.  Earlier this year, The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 outlined new regulations to phase-out inefficient incandescent general service bulbs over a four-year period-in California this started a year earlier in 2011.

The phase-out process began with the 100 watt incandescent in January of this year and will be followed by the 75 watt in 2013 and the 60 watt and 40 watt incandescents in 2014.  Fortunately, there are many replacement options available that provide the same quality of light but meet the new standards and you can learn more about them in the Bulbs.com Learning Center under Incandescent Phase-out.

Following the incandescent bulb phase-out, PAR Halogen and Reflector lamps will begin their own phase-out starting on July 14, 2012.  To be compliant with EISA's energy efficient standards and a ruling by the Department of Energy in 2009, any parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) or reflector bulb that is 40 watts of higher can no longer be manufactured for use in the United States.  This includes PAR38, PAR30 (short and long-necked), BR30, BR40 and R20 halogen lamps.  These bulbs are extremely popular with businesses and homeowners, so we have increased our inventory to meet the needs of customers during the transition period.  However, as inventory supplies are depleted in the marketplace, the time will come to look at replacement options.

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Much like our recent blog post about the different types of lighting for the hospitality industry, the retail industry requires just as much attention when it comes to the products you sell and the environment you are creating for your customer.

It’s safe to say that just about every manager or business owner is looking for ways to save.  Energy costs from HVAC and lighting are no exception. The most common options are energy saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and LEDs.  Both can produce quality light with the CRI needed for retail locations.

In the past, CFLs did not perform as well as they do today.  Light quality, color temperature and average rated life of the bulb have all made significant improvements over the years.  Still, it is a wise choice to purchase a reputable brand as there are some very inexpensive CFLs that often fail to meet their claim. Here is a great post if you would like to delve deeper into CFLs as an option. There are even dimmable options for spiral CFLs and CFL reflectors.  Tip: Speak with one of our Lighting Specialists as some lighting controls (dimmers, occupancy sensors) are not always compatible with dimmable CFL lamps. Additionally, if you are currently using a large quantity of halogen lamps to light your space, CFLs are a great solution as they produce very little heat.

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Parking garages were once thought to be dirty and poorly lit. Nowadays, with new construction, design improvements and renovations, those negative views have mostly been left behind.  Designers and owners have come to realize the importance of a better looking facility with quality lighting.  They have learned that proper lighting can create a safe and secure environment and attract new customers.

Because no two facilities are the same, it is difficult to give a general assessment. Instead, we will take a look at the most common types of lighting for garage lighting applications as explore how they compare to each other.

Of course, before we begin exploring what type of lighting is best for your garage, you must first decide upon how much light you need.  While there are standard levels recommended for garages, most opt to light beyond those levels to reach better uniformity ratios that create a safer environment. Footcandles are the preferred unit of measurement for parking garages and a good rule of thumb is to reach five foot candles per square foot both horizontally and vertically.  Also note that vertical lighting is actually more important than the horizontal.

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Back in 2008, the Department of Energy (DOE) launched the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition, as instructed by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The L Prize challenged the lighting industry to develop an efficient LED to replace the common 60 watt incandescent bulb. Any entries received were put through rigorous short-term and long-term performance testing. The winning bulb was required to produce more than 900 lumens and also have a 25,000 hour life. In addition, it must also have a Color Rendering Index (CRI) higher than 90 and a Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) between 2700K and 3000K-all while using less than 10 watts of electricity!

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