Dunn Electric

The LED Light

LED (light emitting diode) lights have the potential to last 100,000 hours!  The installation of LED lighting systems will save you time, money, energy & space.

 

LED Benefits & Your Home

• The benefits of LED low voltage fixtures are tremendous.
• This type of illumination is super-energy friendly and will save you money and space. Light-emitting diode devices produce very little heat, so the risk of fire is dramatically reduced.
• LEDs are beautiful to look at and adds soft brilliant accents to the inside and outside of your home.

 

LED Recessed Can Fixture Upgrade

• This light is a great retrofit for people with older styles of recessed can lighting.  The light is designed to fit into 6” cans to give you a high efficiency upgrade without needing to install new fixtures.
• Estimate 50,000 hours life, reduces maintenance
• Reduces waste, conserves energy, and is environmentally friendly
• Contains no mercury

 

LED Bulbs in Four Easy Steps

1. Select Shape
   • Spotlights for track lighting
   • Floods for outdoor and recessed lights
   • Candles for wall sconces & decorative fixtures
   • A-line for room area lighting and lamps
2. Choose Brightness/Energy Efficiency
   • Look for bulbs with high lumens and low wattage to gain the most energy cost saving
   • Divide the lumens by the wattage to determine the best brightness-to-energy usage ratio
3. Choose Color Temperature
   • Soft light for indoor applications and small area
   • Bright light for outdoor lighting and indoor task lighting
4. Match the Fixture Base
   • Screw-in bases include miniature candelabra, candelabra, intermediate and medium
   • Pin bases typically have two pins, such as those used for many halogen lights

How to Compare LED Landscape Lighting

• Figure out where the LED lighting will be placed in your landscaping.  The most common landscaping uses for LED bulbs include track lighting on the porch and outdoor spotlights.

• Check out the various shapes for the LED bulbs that are available.  Flood LED bulbs are generally used for recessed lighting, but they also work well for other types of landscape lighting, such as in motion sensors.

• Spotlight LED bulbs can also be used for recessed lighting or as a spotlight on a particular landscape element. Decorative fixtures, such as on the side of your porch, can look best with candle LED bulbs.

• Find out the light capacity for the LED bulbs you’re comparing.  Motion sensors and spotlights will need more powerful bulbs than other landscape lighting, such as within fixtures or as part of recessed lighting.  LED light capacity is measured in lumens – 300 to 900 lumens is equal to about 60 watts, 1,600 to 1,800 lumens equals to 100 watts, and 2,600 to 2,800 lumens equals 150 watts.

• Look at the various color options available.  A bright white LED bulb is usually used for landscaping lighting because it has a higher capacity.  However, areas where lots of light isn’t needed, such as along a walkway or within a decorative fixture, might work well with a soft white LED bulb, which emits a more subtle amount of light.   Bright white LED bulbs will have between 4,500 and 5,000 Kelvin, and soft white bulbs will have between 2,500 and 3,000 Kelvin.

 

The Four Basic Shapes of LED Bulbs

• Floods
  • Floods cast a wider directional light than spotlights. Flood lights are ideal for:
    • Recessed lighting
    • Outdoor floodlights
    • Landscape lighting
    • Motion sensors

• Spotlights
  • Spotlights concentrate light in a very small area to produce a bright spot of light. Spotlights are a good consideration for:
    • Track lighting
    • Overhead recessed lighting

• Candle
  • Candle bulbs emulate the shape of a candle flame and work in multiples to provide ambient and accent lighting.  They are for use in decorative lighting fixtures, including-
    • Wall scones
    • Decorative fixtures

• A-Line
  • A-Line bulbs disperse light at a wide angle and are ideal for fixtures used to spread light throughout the room.  LED A-Line bulbs are a good choice for:
    • Room area lighting
    • Reading lamps
    • Hallways

 

Tubular Fluorescence and Their Disadvantages

For many years now, many of your manufacturing and office buildings have used the tubular type of fluorescent lamps to light the way of the office worker, manufacturing floor space, etc.   They have enjoyed immense appeal over the years with their pleasing light and improved efficiency.

Unfortunately, they require huge weighted ballasts in order to run.  They are easily broken or damaged if accidentally struck even with the lightest of force, or exposed to excess vibrations.  In other words, they are delicate.

The LED does not suffer these problems.  It’s small, lightweight and robust.

The LED saves money on replacement costs along with the much lower cost of operation.

 

CFLs…A Close Second to the LED

Now, the CFL (Compact Fluorescent) type lamp is a close contender to the present LED lamp lighting source.  At this moment in time, they can be considered neck and neck due to the fact that the LED must be adapted to our present lighting needs.

This aspect is slowly being worked on by different manufacturers and should be seen at lighting shows very shortly.   As it was with the introduction of the fluorescent lighting system, this will take many years for their acceptance by the consumer.  We know that it is difficult for the consumer to accept any change, but this limitation may soon become a need rather than choice  in the not too distant future.

 

Compact Fluorescent – VS – Incandescent

If everyone in the US used CFL lamps instead of the incandescent, we could close down approximately 90 of our average size power plants.
Even greater payback would be the reduced CO2 emissions, sulfur oxide along with high-level nuclear waste.

 

Switching from Incandescent to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs is a great investment because the replacement time is less frequent.  If you install solar lights, you won’t have to pay for any energy at all!  There are advantages to consider when switching from Incandescent to Compact Fluorescent lamps. CFLs are four times more efficient and CFLs last up to 10 times longer!

 

The Incandescent Disadvantage

The quantify the value of the LED verses the incandescent lamp, we could easily make the statement that a savings of 80% of our power needs could be seen by totally replacing the present incandescent with appropriate LED lamps.

The heat given off by the incandescent lamp is due to its inefficiency of operation.  Cooling is required to offset the heat from the exterior of the home, along with the extra heat produced by the lighting.

 

Ceramic Metal Halide & LED Lighting

• Display lighting
• Landscape Lighting
• Street Lighting
• Flood Lighting
• Outside Street Lighting
• Under Cabinet Lighting

 

DID YOU KNOW?

1448 Madison Street
Clarksville, TN 37040-3844
phone - 931-551-3600
fax - 931-551-4545