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Monday, May 27th 2013

LED Cabinet Lights

Barbie dolls to rare first editions, model trains to Dresden figurines, 45 rpm vinyl records to ancient Egyptian artifacts: the treasures we keep are displayed in cabinets. LED cabinet lights make the most of showing our treasures off; and do not contribute to material fading, since LED cabinet lights do not emit ultra-violet light. LED Cabinet lights come in bars, halogen replacement fixtures, individual LED’s and flexible strips. Whether it’s lighting up an entire compartment, picking out one special object, drawing attention to individual features, illuminating book and album titles, or adding color changing lights just to be pretty, there are LED cabinet lights just right for the purpose.

Light bars are the most familiar looking, similar in appearance to the small fluorescent fixtures used in cabinet lighting for years. Some light bars mount directly to the cabinet; others use spring clips or even magnets. LED light bars are good at lighting an entire compartment. Spot lighting has long been done with halogen lights. LED Halogen replacement bulbs also look very similar to their older cousins; but they provide clear, focused light with none of the scorching heat of the halogen. Halogen replacement LED cabinet lights spotlight objects on a shelf while staying cool enough to remove with bare fingers.

The most innovative LED cabinet lights are flexible LED strips. This lighting system is flexible both literally (it can be folded to make a 90° turn) and figuratively; it has a multitude of uses. LED flexible strip has either 30 or 60 LED’s in each meter (3 feet 3 inches), and can be cut every 4” (30 LPM) or 2” (60 LPM). With a bit of planning, flex strip can be used to front light, backlight, indirect light, or floodlight a compartment. Flex strip also comes in RGB (red, green, blue) color changing lights. Combined with a color controller, RGB strip adds a dynamic, eye-catching light show to a cabinet.

For more pragmatic applications, LED bars and flexible strip provide excellent illumination of book, DVD, or CD titles and other written material. LED cabinet lights also light up the controls on stereos and other electronic equipment; photo, coin and stamp albums; and any other material. LED cabinet lights also work well for cove and alcove lighting, display cases, and jewelry cases.

LED’s have many advantages, besides shedding far less heat. LED’s last many times as long as incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescents (CFL). Where CFL’s contain small amounts of mercury, LED’s have no toxic materials. And, of course, LED cabinet lights use a fraction of the energy of other lights, half that of even efficient CFL’s.

The cabinets that display our treasures deserve the best lights, whether flood or spot, direct or indirect. Efficient, safe, and with endless creative possibilities, LED cabinet lights show off displays in the very best light.

Contributor: Joel Zenzic
Posted by: Mary Wecker


By Mary at 9:46:45 PM - Comments

Install LED Downlights and Save on Your Energy Expenses

LED lighting has changed the way we light our homes and work. Each year, more and more people are saving energy by switching to power efficient LED’s. The lower monthly electric bills soon pay for the greater initial cost of LED lighting, and add up to real savings.

LED downlights are a good choice for all the same residential and commercial applications incandescent downlights are used in. They provide warm and pleasant light at a fraction of the energy cost, about one-eighth that of incandescent, and one-half that of fluorescent. Adjustable LED downlights are particularly good for task lighting or highlighting an object.

LED replacement bulbs are available for standard light cans, as well as complete LED downlights for new builds or renovations. These LED downlights, whether replacement bulbs or new fixtures, come in both a cool white light very similar to that provided by the standard fluorescent, and a comfortable warm white like the familiar incandescent.

LED downlights are available which shed either narrow spot-like beams for illuminating a particular spot, or broad flood-like beams to light a whole area. Some LED downlights are fixed, others can be adjusted to aim at different locations. Whatever conventional downlights have been used for in the past, there is an LED downlight ready to do the same job and save a lot of energy in the process.

Be sure to research the alternatives and find the right LED downlight for your application. Choose carefully. Compare warm white and cool white lights and consider will be nicer to live with. Look at the room: is a narrow or broad light better, should the light be fixed or adjustable. Consult a local electrician and take advantage of their experience. Remember, LED lights can be expected to last many times as long as incandescent and fluorescent lights. Take the time to find the right LED downlights.

Posted By: Mary Wecker

By Mary at 9:35:48 PM - Comments

LED Floodlights Light Up the Night

In both landscaping and architecture, floodlights have been used to showcase homes and businesses for decades. Whether illuminating an entire building or one special tree, floodlights pick points of beauty out of the night. LED floodlights shed brilliant light on the landscape, yet use less power, generate less waste heat, and last far longer than traditional lights.

So much energy is saved by LED floodlights that more than twice as many floodlights can be installed while still cutting energy use in half. Most LED floodlights are 120-277 volts, just like conventional lights, except for drawing less power, and can easily be fit into existing landscape wiring. The best of these lights are UL Listed with 5 year warranties.

Another option exists in 12 volt or 24 volt floodlights. Low voltage lights offer some real advantages for outdoor use: low voltage cable doesn’t need to be buried as deeply, is less dangerous if accidentally cut, and power consumption is low enough to consider using a solar power system. The disadvantage is the need for a 12 (or 24) volt transformer which must be housed in a weatherproof location, and may wear out and need to be replaced before the LED’s.

The much lower energy costs and very long life of LED’s lead to a real savings over time, despite LED floodlights having a higher original purchase price. There is also the less obvious saving in labor. Instead of changing out bulbs every year or two (if you’re lucky), LED lights will not usually need to be changed for 7-10 years. The highest quality LED floodlights last 20 years running 12 hours a day.

LED floodlights are available in both replacement bulbs for existing features and new, dedicated LED fixtures. Replacement outdoor LED bulbs come in various sizes, light color and lumens (lighting power) to fit different floodlight fixtures and uses. New LED floodlight fixtures are available in many sizes, shapes, and colors to fit almost any décor; and they also come in a wide variety of lumen output from soft accent lights of 100 lumens to powerful 6,000 lumen building illuminators.

Most LED floodlights come in a choice light colors. The most common are “warm white” around 3000K (light color is often measured in degrees Kelvin, or K), similar to the color of an incandescent; and “daylight”, around 5000K with no golden hue. Daylight is more like what we have been used to seeing in a standard fluorescent tube. Other tones are available to suit a wide variety of applications.

As with all LED’s, LED floodlights do not contain toxic chemicals. Considering this absence of pollutants, their very long life, and low energy use, LED floodlights are by far the environmentally friendly of all floodlights.

Floodlights are a brilliant way (pun intended) to draw attention to the best and most important features of homes and businesses. Environmentally friendly, long lasting, cheap to run, the many advantages of LED floodlights make them the obvious and best choice for every landscaper, whether professional or DIY, to light up the night.

By: Mary Wecker

By Mary at 11:22:17 PM - Comments

LED Cabinet and Under Cabinet Lights

Interior decorators are choosing LED under cabinet lighting more and more often; and so are many do-it-yourself decorators. The reasons are not hard to understand. LED under cabinet lights come in a variety of styles, from simple one LED “pucks” to light bars in many lengths to flexible LED strips. All of these come on instantly and provide flicker-free light; and most are easy to install.

Flexible LED strip provides interior decorators with exciting new cabinet lighting options. It is so thin and flexible it can be installed in spaces where no conventional light could possibly fit. It is often installed on top of cabinets as indirect lighting, as under cabinet lighting stretching along the entire countertop, and, increasingly popular, behind the toe-kick panel as a floor accent light. In kitchens with a translucent counter top, LED strips can be used to make the countertop glow, accenting the countertop and bathing the kitchen in a beautiful glow.

Many LED under cabinet lights are dimmable. Some are built to work with wall dimmers; others utilize low voltage dimmers. Both are an excellent way to achieve a night light effect in the kitchen and other rooms.

LED under cabinet lights produce a pure light which contains no ultraviolet. Unlike fluorescent lights, LED lights will not contribute to the fading of paintings or fabrics.

Most LED under cabinet lights come in a choice of warm white or daylight. Warm white is similar to incandescent light, enhancing the warmth of wood and earth tones, and daylight, similar to fluorescent in color, gives a bright, efficient light for the working kitchen.

Like all LED lights, LED under cabinet lights consume much less energy than other lights, half that of fluorescent lights and one-eighth that of incandescent lights. In addition, LED under cabinet lights produce less waste heat than incandescent, an important feature when located next to sensitive articles.

LED under cabinet lights do cost more than incandescent or fluorescent lights. However, their lower energy consumption leads to significant savings in energy bills. Since quality LED lights can be expected to last far longer than other lights, they are actually less expensive over the life of the light.

For everyone concerned about the environment, LED lights have an additional benefit. Unlike fluorescent lights, LED’s contain no toxic materials. Fluorescents contain small amounts of mercury, while LED’s are just as safe as incandescent lights.

Interior decorators choose LED under cabinet lighting because LED’s just make sense; and they make just as good sense for anyone wanting to improve their home lighting.

By Mary at 5:04:13 AM - Comments

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