Reasons for Going With LED Signs

What’s the fuzz with LED lighting fixtures?

Many homeowners and entrepreneurs alike have been asking this question since the emergence of this innovative technology. Light Emitting Diodes popularly known as the LED have been proven to generate energy and monetary savings. Its many variations including scrolling LED signs, traffic lights and flood lights to name a few also carry the same advantages as the actual light bulb.

Here are some wonderful insights when placing different types of light bulb side by side:

• 25% of monthly electrical home bills are attributed lighting use.


• Incandescent bulbs consume 60 watts and can serve up to 2000 hours.


• Compact Fluorescent bulbs consume 15 watts. This lighting fixture can last up to 20,000 hours of use.


• LED bulbs consume 8 watts and are said to lasts up until one third of an average human life. That is about 50,000 hours.


• LED lighting fixtures are environment friendly since they don’t give off UV or Infrared emissions.


• CO2 footprint is significantly reduced with the use of LED lights.


• The LED technology contains no mercury making it very safe to use even for homes with children.


• Conserve heat with LED lights that stay cool.


• With its rise, LED fixtures can be used for domestic lighting, flood lighting, traffic lights as well as in offices and retail stores.

BONUS TIP: Get the right tools

Businesses need different tools to carry out their tasks properly. In this digital age, it is very rare to find an office with no computers, printers and other electrical devices. Using electronics in the workplace is unavoidable. But what you can get away from is the high electricity costs that it may incur. To do so, simply opt for tools that make use of less electricity or are certified energy efficient. Make use of laptops instead of desktop PCs if possible. Portable computers generally need less energy to function as well. Also, multi-functional tools such as printers that double as fax and copy machine can generate tons of savings as well. And of course, don’t forget to unplug appliances and other electrical equipment before leaving the office especially on weekends.

Is your business environment friendly? Start today by investing on attractive and customizable LED signs that can surely generate big savings.

LED Replacements for Decorative Bulbs

My colleague Martin Rowe is continuing his LED makeover at home, and this time he's coming to the All LED Lighting community for advice.

We met Martin last September in the context of a project to replace all his kitchen lighting with LEDs in Kitchen's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades. Now he has this dining-room chandelier to upgrade, and isn't having much luck finding LED replacements.

You can see one (incandescent) bulb out in this fixture. The legacy bulbs are decorative GE globe lamps, as shown at left: 40W input, probably around 450 lumens out, probably right around 2700K CCT.

The existing bulbs have an E12 candelabra base, smaller than the much more common E26. That's one of the problems in finding LED equivalents: the smaller market size for the E12 means that fewer manufacturers make them.

I did locate this Feit bulb at Loews: E12 base, but only 300 lumens, and the CCT is a little high at 3000K. This might have been the same potential replacement that Martin found, but he wrote:

I saw an LED version of the bulb in a hardware store last week but it had two issues. First, it was a 25-W equivalent, not 40-W. Second, it looked as though the light was somewhat directional and for the five up-facing sockets, which would throw less light downward than an incandescent, making the room darker.

An alternative that expands the choices would be to use an E12-to-E26 adapter, such as this one in the handy five-pack from Amazon. The only trouble is that it adds perhaps three inches to the bulb's height. Would that be enough to poke the top of the bulb into visibility above the lamp shade, from the perspective of someone standing in the room below? Perhaps.

But if we can use the adapter, the options widen. For example, here's a 450-lm, 2700K globe bulb from E2 Lighting that might work nicely. It has less of a "sno-cone" design than the Feit bulb and should project more light downwards.

Another E26-base option would be to go with a fluorescent solution like this even brighter GE 800-lumen CFL lamp. At 15 Watts it uses only twice as much energy as a 450-lumen LED bulb, still a big saving over even a 40-W incandescent; and it costs only $6.24. The CCT is not given. Amazon says it provides "comfortable, inviting light." Thanks for clearing that right up.

Do you have any other suggestions for Martin?

— Keith Dawson , Editor-in-Chief, All LED Lighting

Related post:

• Kitchen's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades

MaxLite appoints New Marketing Director

MaxLite®, a global manufacturing of energy-efficient lamps and lighting fixtures, has announced the appointment of Donille Perrone to Director of Marketing. Perrone reports directly to Thomas Rhee, Executive Vice President of MaxLite. Perrone brings over 15 years of marketing experience with a strong lighting background.

“Donille is an accomplished, high-energy marketing executive with a solid background in the lighting and energy industries,” said Rhee. “We have a substantial product lineup and we will rely on Donille’s expertise to drive our marketing plans and launch these innovative products into the marketplace with a very ambitious timetable.”

Maxlite's new Marketing Director Donille Perrone. (LEDinside/Maxlite)

In her new position, Perrone will continue to build the MaxLED® by MaxLite brand presence in a broad range of market segments while identifying new opportunities. She will lead a team of marketing professionals and oversee all marketing initiatives including advertising, interactive/digital marketing, research, trade shows, corporate communications and product library management.

“I am truly excited to join the highly talented and creative team at MaxLite,” stated Perrone. “The company is renowned for its strong leadership and innovation and I look forward to hitting the ground running.”

Prior to joining MaxLite, Perrone served as Senior Marketing Manager at Bel-Art Products, Director of Marketing and Talent Management at Bulbrite Industries, Director of Marketing at Niagara Conservation, and Director of Marketing at Aetrex Worldwide.

She has an MBA in Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Disclaimers of Warranties

1. The website does not warrant the following:

1.1 The services from the website meets your requirement;

1.2 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the service;

1.3 The accuracy, reliability of conclusions drawn from using the service;

1.4 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness, or security of any information that you download from the website

2. The services provided by the website is intended for your reference only. The website shall be not be responsible for investment decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from use of the website or the information contained therein<

Proprietary Rights

You may not reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, display, perform, publish, distribute, disseminate, broadcast or circulate to any third party, any materials contained on the services without the express prior written consent of the website or its legal owner.

LED Phonecase Harbors Electromagnetic Energy from iPhone

Conceptor, a product design team based in Kiev, Ukraine has come up with Lunecase, an elegant and smart LED iPhone 5/5s case that is super energy efficient.

LED lights on Lunecase shows the man is taking a call. (Photo Courtesy of Kickstarter)

The battery-free phonecase harnesses electromagnetic energy emitted from the smartphone, which makes it entirely wireless. The company claims no connection is required between the phone and the case.

Lunecase appears as a normal phonecase when not on the back of an iPhone 5/5S. (Photo Courtesy of Kickstarter)

LED lights on the phone case indicate incoming calls and messages, but currently only works on GSM networks.

Lunecase shows a woman an incoming message. (Photo Courtesy of Kickstarter)

This is the second time Conceptor has worked with LED designs, their last Kickstarter project was ibalzr, a smart LED flash light for smartphone.

Conceptor's previous smartphone flash LED light project, ibazlr. (LEDinside/Conceptor)

The LED phonecase that was first showcased at CES 2014 has received US$ 110,053 funding from 2,735 backers on Kickstarter.

Disclaimers of Warranties

1. The website does not warrant the following:

1.1 The services from the website meets your requirement;

1.2 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the service;

1.3 The accuracy, reliability of conclusions drawn from using the service;

1.4 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness, or security of any information that you download from the website

2. The services provided by the website is intended for your reference only. The website shall be not be responsible for investment decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from use of the website or the information contained therein<

Proprietary Rights

You may not reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, display, perform, publish, distribute, disseminate, broadcast or circulate to any third party, any materials contained on the services without the express prior written consent of the website or its legal owner.

LED Lights Brighten Up Niendorf Beach in Germany

Future Lighting Solutions is pleased to announce the completion of a successful project with Studio DL and Leipziger Leuchten, in developing unique new LED lighting that provides energy-efficient ambiance to the grassy beach area along the Baltic Sea in Niendorf, with customized modules enabling adjustable brightness.

The municipality at the Timmendorfer Strand was looking for beach lighting that would fit seamlessly into the landscape and create a special atmosphere in the dusk and evening hours. Studio DL of Hildesheim developed the light planning for Niendorf along with Leipziger Leuchten, implementing a conceptual design integrating light and energy-efficiency.

With a slight bend tapering upwards, the 24 new light columns are made of hot-dip galvanized steel and mimic the shape of the typical dune vegetation. The steel poles range in heights of 6m, 10m and 18m, and are arranged in different groups along the grassy beach depending on the lighting needs of each particular area.

The Timmendorfer Strand in Germany. (Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia)

The LED modules have been designed especially for the requirements in Niendorf. Depending on the mounting height 2, 7 or 11 LEDs are integrated in the poles. The two smaller columns are equipped with 3000 K warm white LED modules, while the highest has cold white LEDs at the top and warm white LEDs are used at the bottom. This gives the effect of moonlight near the sandy area, while the promenade space is shed in a cozy, warm light.

“This unique light project in Niendorf was successfully implemented within a very short time frame thanks to the help from Future Lighting Solutions. We gave special emphasis not only on the different colors of light, but also on the control mechanism to create the desired atmosphere,” explains Nadine Hofmann, Sales Director of Leipziger Leuchten.

Leipziger Leuchten, as manufacturer of the poles, brought Future Lighting Solutions into the project for implementing the required luminous intensity for the beach lighting. Precise calculations regarding lighting levels, installation space requirements, and a short time frame were the main challenges for the design of these LED modules.

Future Lighting Solutions delivered several prototypes within only three weeks after commissioning, and after seven weeks the complete LED system including power supply and control. In the selection of components, special attention was given to the environmental conditions of the salty sea air. The integrated Luxeon Rebel LEDs from Philips Lumileds meet the requirements of the required temperature with 3000 and 6000 K. All components have been integrated into a heat sink and delivered as potted modules, to withstand the salty sea air over the long term.

“In this project from Studio DL and Leipziger Leuchten, we could fully leverage our expertise as a solutions provider,” commented Christoph Papp, project manager at Future Lighting Solutions. “The special light-emitting surface and the thermal conditions were very special requirements. Our experience and expertise contributed to the entire solution and its implementation as a module ranging from the electronic control, via the optics to the potting. We also helped even in the selection of standard components such as the LED driver.”

Future Lighting Solutions relied on its well-established network of industry leading partners for this exceptionally high level integration of electronic, thermal, and chemical requirements. Today, beach use can be extended into dawn, thanks to the new LED lighting. There is a main switching time of about two hours, continuing from dusk to the natural darkness. Then the brightness is reduced by 70%, so only a shade of moonlight glimmer is visible on the beach.

The energy-efficient lights not only provide the village of Niendorf with a unique ambience in the evening, but also ensure a reduction in electricity costs. In contrast to conventional light sources, the new LED modules consume only 30, 105, or 165 Watts depending on the number of built-in LEDs. The power consumption is reduced further due to the infinitely dimmable lighting control. The new LED lighting system is not only setting new standards in terms of design, but also in regard to environmental awareness.

Disclaimers of Warranties

1. The website does not warrant the following:

1.1 The services from the website meets your requirement;

1.2 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the service;

1.3 The accuracy, reliability of conclusions drawn from using the service;

1.4 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness, or security of any information that you download from the website

2. The services provided by the website is intended for your reference only. The website shall be not be responsible for investment decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from use of the website or the information contained therein<

Proprietary Rights

You may not reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, display, perform, publish, distribute, disseminate, broadcast or circulate to any third party, any materials contained on the services without the express prior written consent of the website or its legal owner.

Nail salon UV lamps: Are they safe?

A typical salon manicure involves drying freshly painted nails under a lamp that emits ultraviolet-A (UV-A) rays -- a spectrum of light long linked to skin cancers. But a new study suggests that the average visit to a nail salon carries little carcinogenic potential. "Considering the low UV-A energy exposure in an average manicure visit, multiple visits would be required to reach the threshold for potential DNA damage" that might spur cancer, wrote a team reporting their findings April 30 in JAMA Dermatology. In the study, researchers led by Dr. Lyndsay Shipp of the department of dermatology at Georgia Regents University, in Augusta, say that prior studies into the use of UV-emitting nail polish drying lamps have not had sufficient rigor to come to any reliable conclusions.

Flat LED gets Energy Star certification, now qualifies for rebates in most states

So far, most other LEDs have stayed pretty close to the rounded shape of a traditional incandescent lightbulb. This creates a challenge because, while LEDs produce a lot less heat than incandescents, they are also a lot less heat-resistant, so a way to efficiently dissipate heat was needed. This usually meant metal heatsinks that added a lot of weight and cost to LED lightbulbs, but Philips thought out-of-the-box and came up with a flat-shaped LED bulb that basically increases the surface area for heat to dissipate while keeping individual LEDs (see below) away from each other. This genius move means that you don't need a metal heatsink, which brings costs down...