Fluorescent lighting uses a combination of gasses and electricity to light up. Under normal circumstances, that combination of gasses and electricity would continue to grow brighter and brighter, but modern florescent lights use a device called a “ballast” to regulate the intensity of light coming off of the bulb. However, when electricity amounts fluctuate, that same ballast can flip your florescent light on and off very quickly, creating an almost imperceptible strobe effect. This, coupled with the fact that most florescent lighting is too bright for most workstations, adds up to be one major headache. Literally.

Even if you cannot perceive the flicker, your brain can still process it. Like subliminal messaging, the flash of light is there and gone before you can recognize it, but the message still gets through. This repeated strobbing of the light can cause headaches, eyes strain and other stress and fatigue inducing symptoms as your body tries to manage the sudden change in lighting. It can elicit changes in mood or contribute to that down-in-the-dumps feeling you get towards the end of the day.

One of the major factors that florescent strobe can play into is sore or strained eyes. Your eyes and brain have to focus and refocus or work extra hard to keep your pupil appropriately dilated for the changing light conditions.

LED Lighting does not use the same method of creating light, instead using the movement of electrons through a semi-conductor material, not a filament like traditional light bulbs (which can burn out) or through a gas like florescent lighting. This means that LED Lighting doesn’t need a ballast, and won’t flicker on and off like a florescent light, meaning no mini-strobe and no headaches.

If you are interested in LED Lighting alternatives for your home, office or school, contact us soon!

U.S. Federal and state governments offer many rebates for becoming energy efficient.  Both corporations and individuals can benefit from energy-efficiency incentives.  The U.S. Department of Energy has created DSIRE, which stands for Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.  It’s an easy to use widget designed for users to search for applicable federal and state incentives.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, corporations can benefit at the federal level in four ways:

Federal Corporate Tax deductions

The Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction is a corporate deduction worth up to $1.80 per square foot available to owners of new or existing buildings who install qualifying interior lighting.

Federal Corporate Depreciation

Solar hybrid lighting technologies installed through 2012 may qualify for MACRS and bonus depreciation.

Federal Corporate Tax exemptions

According to Section 136 of the U.S. Code, energy conservation subsidies provided directly or indirectly to customers by public utilities are non-taxable.

Federal Corporate Tax credits

Solar hybrid lighting may qualify for the Business Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC).

In addition to the tax incentives listed above, businesses should also investigate federal grant and loan programs like the following:

Federal Grant Program

• Tribal Energy Program Grant
• USDA – High Energy Cost Grant Program
• USDA – Repowering Assitance Biorefinery Program
• USDA – Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grants

Federal Loan Program

• Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs)
• Energy-Efficient Mortgages
• Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs)
• U.S. Department of Energy – Loan Guarantee Program
• USDA – Biorefinery Assistance Program
• USDA – Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Loan Guarantees

Contact us today for help in planning energy-efficient lighting solutions.  We’ll work with you to reduce your energy costs and we’ll even process your utility rebates for you.  For more information on federal and state specific tax incentives, visit DSIRE.

University lighting methods are a topic of discussion as colleges across the US are finding out that reducing their energy consumption by switching to LED and fluorescent lighting technologies will have a huge impact on their utility bills.

Baylor University in Texas is hiring an intern this fall to figure out exactly how to proceed on their journey to cost savings eco-conscious lighting for their campus. LED lights are already in use on the walkway leading from Pat Neff to the Baylor statue.

Baylor is currently spending in excess of $9.5 million a year to light up their campus. They dispose of more than 25,000 light bulbs a year. They estimate their savings will be at least 50 percent. LED’s are more expensive up front, but if you factor in the savings over the life span of the bulb, the overall cost savings is impressive.

Temple University in Pennsylvania just announced a conservation plan that will drastically cut their energy bills. They plan to reduce their energy use by 25 percent over the next two years. A change in the way they light up their campus is in the plan. The University and Temple University Hospital paid $36.8 million for utilities in 2012.

The University of Michigan-Flint is replacing more campus lighting with LED lights and is looking for a 50% cost saving benefit and a reduced need for maintenance in the process. The new lights are dark-sky compliant. The light shines down, reducing light pollution. The actual cost savings for lighting McKinnon Plaza is $6,000 per year and another $18,000 per year for the UPAV parking ramp. Replacing the lights in the library is part of the overall plan and that will ad another $22,000 in savings.

20% of the energy in the world is used for lighting. To find out how you can reduce your consumption and your utility bills, please contact us.

When customers are looking for a gym to join, they look for a place that is clean, well-lit, feels comfortable inside and has reasonable prices. It’s uncomfortable to work out in a warm, humid gym. A general manager of the Bristol Marriott Hotel in the United Kingdom had that exact problem. According to a case study by Greenled, the general manager complained his head was getting warm when he worked out and needed to find a solution to cool down the hotel’s fitness center.

Avnet, a business-to-business technology distributor, recently opened a 900 square-foot light lab in Chandler for Avnet customers to use throughout the engineering process to give them measurements needed for product development.

The largest annual lighting trade show was held in early May, and after hearing some of the newest product announcements and technology developments, you’d think the LED lighting industry was growing at the speed of light! More than 500 exhibitors and manufacturers gathered in Las Vegas from around the world to show off their latest products at Lightfair International’s 22^nd trade show. General Electric and Philips have both been working in their labs on an LED equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent lamp. GE’s equivalent is a 27-watt LED lamp they say has a 25,000 hour lifespan while Philips equivalent is only 25 watts. With a 75% power consumption decrease, both of these lamps can save you money by consuming less power and lasting longer than incandescent lamps!

Not all LED lamps are dimmable yet, but Osram Sylvania and Juno Lighting may have broken this barrier with the fixtures they showcased at Lightfair International. Both companies used different technology and took a different route when constructing these fixtures. Juno Lighting’s WarmDim, which won an award at Lightfair International, is able to be dimmed with the addition of a microprocessor while Osram Sylvania’s fixture was built with a combination of different colored LEDs that allow it to dim. This technology could drive the expansion LED lighting in home, office and even restaurant settings!

With one of the last barriers breached, the ability for LEDs to dim like incandescent, why not switch to LEDs today? Isn’t technology great?

Lightfair International, the largest annual lighting trade show in the world, attracted more than 500 manufacturers and exhibitors to Las Vegas this May. New products and technology advancements were showcased by all, but one company’s product could change the LED retrofit process forever.

Some LED retrofits require extra wiring, driving up the cost of installation. Lumenpulse, a company that focuses on LED lighting for commercial, institutional and urban applications, designed a product that uses existing power lines, called Lumentalk. Lumenpulse’s video of Lumentalk explains that LEDs, like many lamps already, can be dimmed and controlled to save money and electricity, but LEDs sometimes need two sets of wiring, one for the power and one to talk to light and tell it how much to dim. The Lumentalk uses the fixture’s current power line for power and data so that the LED lamps can be used with any dimmer!

For businesses who didn’t want to switch to LED lighting because you didn’t want to tear down your walls for new wiring, now is your chance to save money on installation costs and look into Lumentalk. There’s no excuse not to switch to LEDs now!