Wednesday 19 June 2013

Choosing The Right Lighting System for Homes, Offices and Commercial Establishments

Lighting is an intricate subject and it concerns everybody. Long before, there weren't enough varieties are types to bother us. However, with electricity getting expensive and environment issues cropping up, lighting is receiving its due share of attention. The lighting manufacturing industry for its part has developed many different types of lighting products to meet the growing expectations of users. As a result you see different types of lighting for home use, commercial use, street use, photography, sports stadiums and for use in cars. The list is a never ending one.

If you are into managing a retail store, you will also be aware of the importance of commercial lighting products. As an owner, you will expect it to be energy efficient, durable, provide enough brightness and be cost effective as well. As a home owner, you will expect your lighting to be brighter, cheap to buy, and be aesthetically appealing. As much as the lighting itself, you will also want a variety of fixtures, which too you must consider carefully.

When you shop for lighting, you will come across several terminologies. Understanding them is important to choosing the right lighting for your needs. Here are some common terminologies you must familiarize yourself with before you order lighting. It will also help you compare products from various manufacturing companies, and check if they meet your needs. It will also help you get value for money.

· Lumens – it is a measure of how much light the source throws out. Higher numbers means more light from the source.

· Lumens per watt – Watt is the energy required by lighting to operate, and when there are more lumens for every watt, it indicates your lighting is more efficient.

· Correlated Color Temperature – It is actually a measure of color emitted by the light source. Cool white is considered best for reading and other visual tasks whereas warm is considered best for living space.

· Color Rendering Index – It is used for measuring how well they reflect on an object’s color. Higher numbers indicate a truer appearance of the object’s color as against lower number.

There are many different types of lighting systems, and if durability is of prime concern to you, then, you should try induction lighting. The chief reason for their being durable is that they are electrode-less unlike other lamps. Typically induction lights will last 25,000 hours minimum and go up to 100,000 hours. They are ideal for industrial lighting where operating temperatures can be high and conditions harsher.

LED Commercial Lighting is ideal for use in stores because they are inexpensive and can be fitted in standard lamp holders. They are substantially longer lasting and easy to replace. When you shop for lighting, ensure that they are Energy Star Rated – It symbolic of efficiency and Eco-friendliness.

The Need For Energy Efficient Light Systems

Light plays a major role in almost everything we do as without it we will plunge into total darkness but with proper lighting anything can be achieved. Our eyes can see only if there is light since the light falls on different objects and is reflected which falls under our eyesight. Lights also have the unique power to change people’s mood and also the ambiance. This is the reason why lighting is used to enhance aesthetics in important places like hotels, shops, etc. Lighting can be classified into a number of different types according to its use.

Industrial lighting products are designed for maximum illumination and are also energy efficient. The primary function of an industry is to make things and hence light is primarily used for illumination and not for the aesthetic purpose. This type of lighting used for the primary purpose of illumination and hence can be called as general lighting. The industrial lighting also needs to handle a lot of workload when compared lights used for domestic purposes since heavy duty work is performed in industries and repairing the lights is time consuming and can cost much.

Sometimes only a particular area is focused and the light is beamed to highlight that area. It could be a statue or a painting which when focused with light shimmers and gives a great view. This light is not enough to illuminate the whole room but is a secondary light to highlight something which looks good or something which is important. This kind of lighting is commonly known as feature lighting. Lights used in a work place like an industry needs to be energy efficient lighting systems as the industry already uses a heavy load of electricity for its primary functions. Feature lights are also used in an industrial setup since there are places where light needs to be focused to perform important operations in the process.

Energy consumption is also a main criterion while looking out for commercial lighting. Energy crisis is one of the major problems faced today with the growing demand for power. Since most of the electrical power is being generated from non-renewable sources it is important to give energy saving great importance. We do not know how long the fossil fuels are going to last. Man is trying to find new and cleaner ways to produce energy to be utilized by the people for all their work. This is still a distant dream and till that day comes when a renewable source of fuel is used as a mainline option we need to keep a check on our energy consumption in general. Energy efficient lights are the solution so that energy is used wisely in industries.

Why Energy Efficient Lighting Needs To be Used

Electrical lights are integrated with our daily lives as it is almost impossible to avoid them. Wherever we go we are in the comfort of electrical lights which helps us do our work more efficiently. But too often we forget how power consuming the lights can be. There is a chain of reactions connected to the energy savings of electrical lights and can have adverse effects accordingly. Energy efficient lighting solution is now available which can bring down the consumption of power in a tremendous way. Compact fluorescent lamps which are commonly known as CFLs, save a lot of energy compared to ordinary light bulbs and lamps. The significant feature of CFLs is that it not only consumes less power but also emits much less heat than other bulbs. In a scenario like this, the air conditioning uses less power in places where CFLs are used since there is not much heat emitted from the light sources. It is intelligent saving of energy like this which saves one a lot of money and in a way help sustaining non-renewable sources of energy.


CFLs are not the only energy efficient lighting systems available in today’s market. Light emitting diodes has taken illumination by storm and is used for a variety of purposes. Also known as LEDs, the light emitting diode is by far the most efficient, energy saving and Eco friendly lights. This is the reason why LEDs are used for a number of different lighting purposes. The first advantage of this light is that it has long life when compared to its counterparts. The amazing longevity of LED lights has made it the most reliable light as statistics show that if an LED light is for around 8 hrs per day, it is said to last up to 20 years on an average!

Energy efficient lighting company looks for lights like this as it can help reduce the power consumption in a tremendous way. LED lights are totally Eco friendly unlike other fluorescent lamps as it does not contain any harmful chemicals in order to illuminate. The light produced is completely digital and the most safe and it does not emit any ultra violet rays. Lamps are generally delicate to handle and needs proper care if it has to last for a while even though its lifetime may be short when compared to the LEDs. LEDs are the most durable electrical lighting systems to be found and its parts are rigid unlike other bulbs and lamps. This is the reason these bulbs are able to withstand a lot of rough use and still gives the required output. It will be wise on our part to use energy efficient commercial lighting products which helps us save money and the environment.