LED Lighting For Your Kitchen

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Scott Danielson

Kitchen

Old habits are hard to break.  After years of buying incandescent bulbs, customers now have exciting energy efficient lighting options, including LED lighting. However, despite their energy saving ways choosing the proper LED lighting can confuse and frustrate without some basic lighting knowledge.  Today we’ll tell you how to get the best LED lighting for your kitchen.

Consider Color Temperature

Every kitchen is designed very differently.  A smaller kitchen may only function as a kitchen with little to no dining area. On the other hand, your kitchen may be the focal point of every meal with a large table in the center. These differences in design mean that choosing the proper color temperature is very important.

Higher color temperatures (around 3500K), are great for detailed kitchen work.  This is especially great for those that are prone to accidents with cutting boards.  Warmer color temperatures (around 2700K), by contrast, are great for relaxing home settings, much like a kitchen table. To create the kitchen atmosphere you crave, always take color temperature into consideration.

Fulfill Your Unique Needs

As we stated previously, every kitchen has a distinctive layout, including lighting.  Consequently, one kitchen may only need one kind of LED light.  However, chances are you’ll need a variety of LEDs to light everything properly.

If you have recessed cans, LED flood lights like PARs are an ideal product.  Likewise, a nice fixture with small bulbs would be suited by decorative or deco LED lighting. When it isn’t very obvious which LED lamp can be used where, investigate the packaging.  The box should indicate what applications the lamp is meant for.

Also, remember if you have dimmer switches in your kitchen.  It may not be a pressing matter in the hardware store but it’ll likely make you furious when you can’t do it later.

Look At Lumens

A kitchen without enough light can be dreary and hard to cook in. Therefore, make sure the lamps you purchase produce enough light to cover every counter, chair, table and sink. Remember, wattage is not a true indicator of brightness.  The higher the lumen count, the brighter the bulb.

As LED lighting begins to move into homes, consumers may have to relearn all they know about lighting.  However, all of that research will pay off after years of energy savings roll in.

For the latest in LED lighting follow TCP Lighting on Facebook or Twitter!

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LED Lighting For Your Bedroom

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Scott Danielson

Bedroom

If you’ve taken an interest in LED lighting, a home retrofit should fill you with excitement about your upcoming energy saving and environmentally responsible purchase. Provided that you know what LED lights are best for your home. To prepare you for your home lighting update, this series of articles will focus on the best LED for each room of your house.  Today let’s talk bedrooms.

Each bedroom setup is unique and requires a different set of lighting options.  Because no single LED product will suit every bedroom lighting need, here are three solutions for three different applications.

Omni-Directional A Lamps For Lamps

Most bedrooms have at least one lamp.  Some are located on the nightstand while others are on a desk or dresser. Regardless you need a light that can provide enough light in all the right directions.  This is why an omni-directional A lamp is so important. Due to their design, most LED A lamps send most of their light up and out, not down. So, while a standard A lamp may fit in your bedrooms lamps, but a omni-directional A lamp may fit your needs.

A Lamps or Decos For Fixtures

Before you buy lighting for your bedroom fixtures you should ask yourself a series of questions.  First, how much room do I have for the lamps? Depending on the design of the fixture you may have room for a sizable A lamp. On the other hand, many fixtures cannot fit larger lamps and will require a smaller deco LED product.

Next, determine if the fixture has dimming capabilities. If you purchase lamps without looking it’s very easy to come home with a product incapable of dimming.

Finally, ask what kind of lighting products would match the design of your fixture. While your A lamp of choice might provide a great deal of light it may look out of place in a chandelier styled fixture.

Flood Lights For Recessed Cans

Recessed cans are usually best suited by LED flood lights. However, knowing the features of said flood lights will determine which one is best suited for your bedroom.

The beam angle is a good place to start. Simply put, a larger beam angle covers a wider area of the room.  Therefore, if you’re looking for a spot light affect, aim for a smaller beam angle. This becomes a bigger consideration when the bedroom features mirrors or televisions.

Also don’t forget to consider dimming options. Fans of mood lighting or dull reading light may want this feature, but if your only lighting settings are on or off you don’t need to bother.

Regardless of your bedroom lighting needs, there is an LED lighting solution for you.  Just be sure to pick your products carefully to save time and money without irritation.

For the latest in LED lighting follow TCP Lighting on Facebook or Twitter!

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The Hidden Powers of LED Lighting

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Scott Danielson

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In the age of smart phones, tablets, and Google Glasses, it can be hard to see what makes LED lighting so special. “Sure it’s energy efficient and long lasting, but what else can it do?” you might say. As it turns out LED lighting has a number of unheralded powers besides decreasing your utility bill.

Change Your Mood or Productivity With Different Color Temperatures

Have you ever wondered why hotel lobbies feel so inviting or why being in the office makes you feel productive? This could be attributed to the color temperature of each location’s lights. Though most LED lights produce white light the differences in each light can determine the mood or atmosphere of a room.

Warm white light for instance, is a lower color temperature and appears yellow to the eye. This color temperature is warm inviting and relaxing, hence its use in hotels. Higher color temperatures, on the other hand, tend to be great for detailed work and can encourage productivity. Savvy business owners can harness the respective powers of each color temperature to their advantage.

Grow Plants In Space

Though the Space Shuttle may be shut down, NASA scientists are still looking at traveling to Mars.  However, this journey presents a unique problem: how do you grow food? Considering the extensive time the trip would take, food would have to be grown onboard the ship without eating up resources or energy.

Enter LED lighting. Over years of research NASA has not only used LED lighting to grow plants, but they’ve also discovered that the lights could change the properties of the plants themselves. Based on the color produced by the light (green, red etc.), researchers have been able to increase the antioxidants in a number of crops.  This development could be crucial to maintaining astronaut health in the future.

Create Boundary Lines In Your Gym

It seems the uses of LED lighting know no bounds.  In Germany they’ve been able to develop gym floors that can light up the boundary lines needed for each game. This means no more overlapping lines or confusion for young players and less day to day maintenance for the school staff.

LED lighting has been dubbed the lighting technology of the future and with good reason.  Its benefits extend far beyond energy efficiency and its adaptability means almost any lighting project is possible.

For the latest in LED lighting follow TCP Lighting on Facebook or Twitter!

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3 Reasons To Research Your LED Lighting Purchase

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Scott Danielson

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In the past, purchasing light bulbs didn’t require much thought or effort. You would visit the lighting aisle, find the cheapest bulbs you could, and head to the check out. Nowadays, this same strategy isn’t necessarily a wise one. LED lamps have begun to make their way into homes and now customers have to decide which lamp is right for them. It may take extra effort, but with a little bit of research you can ensure your first LED lighting purchase is a good one.

#1 Price Does Not Guarantee Quality

Because LEDs are more expensive than traditional incandescent bulbs, many customers simply want the cheapest LED light money can buy. Though you might save money initially, this shopping method can lead to frustration. Now you’re stuck with a subpar LED lamp and poor lighting. This same logic also applies to the most expensive LEDs. Just because they’re expensive doesn’t mean they’re the best purchase. To avoid this problem, research the products ahead of time. This way you can identify a quality product that matches your budget.

#2 Not Every LED Light Is Highly Efficient

If you’ve heard about LED lamps you’ve likely heard about their efficiency.  Unlike their incandescent rivals, LED lamps require much less energy to produce the same amount of light. Though once again, just because a lamp is powered by LEDs doesn’t mean it is the pinnacle of efficiency.

To make sure you’re getting a true energy saver, check the Lumens per watts (LPW) measurement and look for the ENERGY STAR logo. Lumens per watt measures how much light the lamp produces (lumen) per unit of power (watt). For the sake of comparison, incandescent bulbs produce about 14 LPW while a good LED lamp produces 60 LPW or more. Anything substantially below this benchmark isn’t incredibly efficient.

For those that require outside verification, the ENERGY STAR label is a great benchmark. Sponsored by the EPA, the ENERGY STAR label is only given to products with tested energy efficiency and consumer quality. In fact, each product’s efficiency claims can be challenged by outside companies and can lead to the removal of the logo.

Check out ENERGY STAR’s website for a full listing of TCP’s ENERGY STAR qualified LEDs

#3 LED Lamps Are Not One Size Fits All

Incandescent lights bulbs were used everywhere: in lamps, in chandeliers, and even ceiling lights. Subsequently, some consumers believe that the same “one size fits all” mentality applies to LED lamps.  While you might get lucky, this is typically not the case.  Due to their design, individual LED chips produce light in one direction instead of all directions like incandescent bulbs or CFLs. This is why checking the applications for each LED light is very important.  Without proper research you may pick a flood light when you wanted an omni-directional A lamp.

LED lamps are the future of lighting due to their longevity and efficiency.  But don’t assume they’re all the same.  Do a little homework and find the right LED lamp for your home.

For the latest in lighting follow TCP Lighting on Facebook or Twitter!

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3 Unexpected Business Benefits of LED Lighting

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Scott Danielson

C & I

Cutting costs is ideal for any business, especially if you want to maintain your current workforce. So why not cut your operating costs? With a business wide switch to LED lighting, you’ll significantly decrease your energy consumption. If you’re still not convinced here are three unexpected ways LED lighting will help your business.

#1 Increased Productivity

How can you get more out of your workers? Higher compensation? More incentives? How about a switch in lighting? Lighting, as it turns out, can have a much greater affect on productivity than you might think. Warm yellow lighting may be relaxing, but it can also lead to sleepy employees. Likewise, a dimly lit workplace can cause headaches and decrease productivity as your worker squint to see.

LED lighting can address all of these problems. With bright white light of LED lamps or fixtures you can improve visibility and even increase morale. Now your technical workers can see what they’re doing and your office will discourage sleepiness.

#2 Lowered Maintenance Costs

Replacing lighting can eat up a lot of time and money, especially if the lights are located at the top of massive warehouse. Thankfully, LED lighting decreases your need for replacements and maintenance. Another added benefit of LEDs is their remarkably long lives. As a result, quality LED lighting won’t need to be replaced for years and years.

#3 A More Appealing Storefront (At Night)

As you pass through storefronts at night, you may wonder why some are so appealing and lively while others seem boring or even dangerous. Lighting is the difference. At night, the human eye tends to prefer higher color temperatures or white light with blue undertones. Yellow lights, in this case, actually appear less bright and therefore less inviting.

If you want your storefront to be appealing at all hours an LED lighting upgrade to your parking lot can encourage more customer visits.

While LED lighting is touted for energy efficiency, its benefits extend far beyond your utility bill.

Contact TCP to see how LED Lighting can improve your business today!

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4 Unexpected Ways You’ll Save With LED Lighting

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Scott Danielson

Living Room 2

At TCP, we know that LEDs are the future of lighting. Quality LEDs are long lasting, energy efficient, and come in all shapes and sizes. Despite, their energy saving qualities and incredible evolution in a short span of time, some consumers are reluctant to make the switch.  However, customers that choose LED lighting don’t just save on their lighting bill. So today, we’ll show you four less conventional ways LED lighting helps you save.

Time

Very few people want another chore to do over the weekend. However, with a house full of incandescent or halogen bulbs you might end up with precisely that. Due to shorter life spans, these inefficient bulbs are more likely to burn out and cut into your free time.

LED lighting doesn’t have that problem.  In ideal conditions, LED lamps can last ten years or even longer before needing a replacement, leaving your weekend free of lighting changes.

Gas

When your bulbs do burn out, you’re going to need a replacement.  If you don’t have another one around the house and that means a trip to the hardware store. Considering how expensive gas can be over time, frequent trips can be trying on the patience and your wallet.

Once again the LED life span is there to help.  With burnouts occurring every decade rather than once a month, you’ll decrease your mileage, save on gas, and reduce your CO2 emissions.

Air Conditioning

Generally speaking, keeping your home cool is more expensive than keeping it warm. As summer approaches and the outside temperature rises, you may be dreading the air conditioning bills to come.  Some people even resort to turning off their lights to prevent any excess heat.

With older lighting technology this logic makes sense. A large portion of the energy flowing through halogen and incandescent bulbs is given off as heat and can affect your home’s temperature.  LED lighting, on the other hand, has a built in heat sink and is cool to the touch.  With one switch you can decrease your lighting and AC bills.

Replacement Costs

Customers still clinging to incandescent bulbs often look at one thing: the initial cost. Considering how long incandescent bulbs last this may be a bit short sighted.  While an incandescent bulb may cost a dollar they typically last around 2,000 hours.  Quality LED lamps, on the other hand, last around 50,000 hours. Incandescent bulbs may cost less today but they can cost you over time.

Though the initial cost of may be higher than you’re used to, LED lamps offers you plenty of ways to save. Make the switch with a TCP LED today!

For the latest in lighting follow TCP Lighting on Facebook or Twitter!

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A Guide To Your LED Lighting Upgrade

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Scott Danielson

Living Room

LED lighting has come of age and home owners are taking notice. More than ever, customers are making the switch to LED lighting and enjoying energy savings. At TCP, we want to make sure your switch to LED lighting goes smoothly. To ensure your LED lighting doesn’t disappoint, make sure your upgrade is safe and smart.

Check Your Wiring

The root of many LED lighting difficulties stems from old or faulty wiring. Without proper electrical distribution, LED lamps can appear to “fail” or worse, present a hazard. Therefore it’s always wise to investigate your lighting setups before a major retrofit or upgrade.

The same logic applies to dimmers and fixtures. If the chandelier in your entryway is ancient, it may not be suited for dimmable LEDs. Refer to an electrician if you believe your home has major wiring concerns.

Learn Some Lighting Lingo

The landscape of lighting is quite different than it was even five years ago. Now lighting packages contain a potentially confusing blend of numbers and tech specs. Don’t get left in the dark. By learning some basic lighting terms you can make sure you’re making an informed purchased.

Three of the most important terms are lumens, color temperature, and rated life. Lumens measure how much light the lamps produces, color temperature determines the color of the light, and rated life measures how long the lamp will last (on average). Armed with this knowledge, you can peruse the LED aisle with confidence.

Pick the Right Lamp

One of major advantages of LED lighting is its adaptability. Consequently, there are as many LED lamps are there are applications. To avoid an unnecessary or incorrect purchase, know your lighting needs and buy LEDs accordingly.

A PAR lamp for instance, is best used for down lighting or in a recessed can. Using this same light in a desk lamp would fail to illuminate the room and merely spotlight the ceiling. If you’re unsure on how a light can be used, check the packaging.  TCP retail packaging has pictures of the proper applications and “X”s through improper fixtures.

With every home renovation comes excitement and anticipation. Don’t let LED lighting be a letdown. Make sure your house is ready and get the right lights for you.

For the latest in lighting follow TCP Lighting on Facebook or Twitter!

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3 TCP LEDs For Your Business

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Scott Danielson

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Here at TCP, we appreciate the adaptable nature of LED lighting. Today the same energy saving technology can light holiday trees, light your home, or your place of business.  However, every business is different and requires different kinds of lighting.  Thankfully, our diverse LED line can cover all of your lighting needs.  Here are three TCP LED products that can help your business save.

LED Dock Light

Warehouses and distribution centers have a unique lighting requirement. As products are loaded on and off trucks, workers need to see throughout the entire trailer. Depending on the time of day or the design of your loading bay, this can be a challenge. Enter the TCP LED Dock Light.  With a rated life of 50,000 hours, this energy efficient product will give your warehouse team all the light it needs. This product comes in bright yellow, can be used in wet locations, and is an easy retrofit with existing dockarms. Combo packages are available for new construction.

Atlas Surface Mount LED Luminaire

There are some places where a lack of lighting can mean a lack of safety.  Walking to your car, let alone driving, in a darkened parking garage doesn’t inspire confidence and a pitch black stairwell spells disaster. If you’re looking for a fixed mounted light with low maintenance, the Atlas Surface Mount LED Luminaire may be for you. After a simple application, you won’t have to worry about replacing lights or unsafe areas for quite some time. And for those worrying about durability, this model is weather rated.

Blazer LED Wall Pack

Speaking of safety & security, how efficient is your security lighting? Since no business owner wants to skimp on security quality LED lighting can allow users to save without sacrificing their safety. One such quality light is our Blazer LED Wall Pack. Ideal for security lighting, this weather rated product can also light up doorways from the outside or in.  In addition, the lens of the Blazer wall pack is impact resistant to make sure you get the maximum light output.

No matter how your business uses lighting, TCP will have an LED solution for you!

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What Sets Quality LED Lighting Apart

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Scott Danielson

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As consumers, businesses, and cities look cut energy costs, LED lighting has become the lighting technology of choice. The advantages of LED lighting are simple.  They’re long lasting and energy efficient.  Regardless, customers still have reservations.

Some disagree with the higher initial cost of LED lamps. This is easily addressed by showing the energy savings over time. Others may worry about finding the right kind of lamp. In this instance, a simple check of a products package can tell you what you need to know. However, the greatest concern is product quality. Here at TCP we take pride in our LED line’s quality, including our #1 Rated PAR38 lamp, for this very reason. So what separates quality LED from the rest? It all comes down to what’s inside the lamp.

The Chips

The actual LED of an LED lamp is great place to start. LED chips are the actual light source of each lamp. When electrons move through the chip through a semiconductor material, such as silicon, the LED produces light. From there, the light will go through the lens either directly or after bouncing off a reflector.

Quality chips are capable of producing more lumens over longer periods of time without fading or failing. Therefore, if you want a quality LED a great LED chip is the place to start.

Heat Sinks

Early LEDs were known for rapid and random failures. This was often due to overheating. Like most light sources, the reaction within LEDs creates heat and many lamps did not properly regulate their temperature.  That’s where a heat sink comes into play.

Instead of releasing heat outwards or towards the lens, quality LED lamps distribute heat backwards into a heat sink.  This heat distribution means that many high grade LED lights are actually cool to the touch.

Drivers

While LED chips are a crucial starting point for any lamp, drivers have more influence in LED quality than many people realize.  Drivers regulate the electrical input into the lamp.  If you have fluorescent lighting your home or business, drivers are very similar to ballasts.

Because of their regulatory duties, drivers determine the efficiency of an individual lamp and can allow a lamp to dim.  All the while, they need to fit within the confines of the lamp and regulate power properly.  At TCP we understand the importance of LED drivers, which is why we develop our own.  We know that each lamp has very different needs and requires its own driver to be the best product possible.

As LED lighting continues to grow, customers will get flooded with LED products all claiming to be the best around.  Make sure they can back it up.  Look into the technology behind their lamps to find a true quality product.

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Celebrate Earth Day With LED Lighting

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Scott Danielson

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Today marks the 43rd annual Earth Day celebration! Since its inception in 1970, the Earth Day Network has pushed for environmental laws and works to protect and restore the environment.  The network consists of 22,000 partners in 192 countries. Want to get involved? With a simple switch to LED lighting, you can make the world a greener place.

Longer Life = Less Waste

Quality LED Lamps have long rated lives, especially when compared to incandescent lamps or CFLs. Generally speaking, incandescent lamps typically last about 1,000 hours.  CFLs improve on that figure greatly with a rated life of 12,000.  However, LED lamps double CFL figures with 25,000 hours lives. Higher end LED lamps can last up to 50,000 hours! The long lives of these lamps means less waste in landfills.

The longer lives of LED lamps provide another environmental advantage: less CO2 emissions from vehicles. If you still use incandescent bulbs you might be making frequent stops to the hardware store for replacements. CFL users may make similar trips for recycling purposes.  With LED lamps these trips can decrease, which means your driving will decrease, which means the CO2 emissions from your car will decrease!

If your used CFLs and old light bulbs need special pick-ups, the switch to LEDs will also decrease the mileage for garbage trucks.

Reducing Energy Consumption = Less Pollution

Nearly fifteen percent of the electrical consumption in the United States come from lighting and massive amounts of power are needed to keep those lights on.  To get that power, utility companies use coal, and petroleum.  Both of these methods release CO2 and other toxins into the environment including mercury.  Therefore, it is in our best interest to decrease our energy consumption.

Thankfully, LED lighting is an easy way to reduce costs and energy consumption. ENERGY STAR rated LED lighting will use 75% less energy than an incandescent bulb. Likewise, LED lamps also produce far less heat and can help reduce your reliance on air conditioning in hot weather.  This is noteworthy, because it takes significantly more energy to cool a home than it does to heat it.  Quality LED Lighting can reduce your energy costs and carbon footprint twofold!

Though today is Earth Day, don’t forget to promote green technology and energy efficiency on a regular basis! If you’d like to get involve with the Earth Day network visit their website or become a part of their Billion Acts of Green Community!

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