LED: energy efficiency - saves energy and expense - get on board

New research at Rutgers University has shown how to slash the cost of highly efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs) and significantly reduce lighting’s energy requirements. The energy savings, however, will likely be eroded as people find new uses for the inexpensive lights.

It’s a classic example of how a solution to a problem may cause more problems, or at least nullify the solution.

"I am doubtful that we will save any energy by going to LED lights," said Thomas Theis, director of the Institute for Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

LED lights use just 10 percent of the energy of incandescent lights and less than half the energy of today’s compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs.  An LED that uses 6 watts of electricity, for example, produces the same amount of light as a 14-watt CFL bulb or a 60-watt incandescent bulb.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electricity used for artificial lighting in the U.S. could be cut nearly in half by 2030 through the adoption of high efficiency LEDs.

Aztec Electrical will help you with #lightingdesign and all your electrical needs. Give us a call today at (541) 245-8560.

LEDs help grocery stores save money reduce energy use

Lighting Design

Supermarkets use lighted refrigerator and freezer cases to display a variety of foods and beverages.

These cases account for nearly half of a supermarket’s annual electricity costs, with interior lighting systems using a quarter of the electricity required to operate the case.

Nearly all commercial refrigerators and freezers use linear fluorescent lamps. Although fluorescent lamps provide superior energy efficiency in many lighting applications, their use in commercial refrigeration is not ideal. Fluorescent lamps in this application exhibit a reduced light output of up to 25% and uneven lighting on the products. These problems are a result of ineffective lamp operation at cold temperatures, the lack of optics to direct the light, and poor configuration and mounting location within the freezers.

Average illuminances across the freezer shelves at the time of the installation.
Measurements were taken on the face of the products inside the freezers.

	LEDs at 100% light output	LEDs dimmed	Fluorescent
Average illuminance	2470 lx	2148 lx	2871 lx

 

(Shppoer Surveys)

LEDs may provide a better solution.

• LEDs do not suffer the same drop in light output under cold temperatures that fluorescent lamps do. 
• The current luminous efficacy (the amount of light per watt of energy used) of LEDs—45 lumens per watt (lm/W) in 2006—is similar to the application efficacy of fluorescent lamps in commercial refrigeration. 
• LEDs also can be customized to provide several distributions of light to provide more even lighting across freezer shelves. 

These differences mean that LEDs potentially can provide more efficient lighting.

Residential Electrical: Four Key Services In Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass

Aztec Electrical we can help you design, install, and maintain your lighting to reduce your energy expenses.  Because we are a Trade Ally with the Oregon Energy Trust, we can also help you receive cash rebates and/or incentives for your home or business lighting project. 

Call us today at 541.245-8560.  #homeimprovement

Residential Wiring

Need help adding a light fixture in your home? Need new transfer switches? At Aztec Electrical  LLC, we offer residential customers in the Rogue Valley area a wide variety of residential wiring and electrical services. We also specialize in trouble shooting any problems you may be having with your electricity!

Generators

Tired of losing power during power outages? Let the experts at Aztec Electrical  LLC in Medford, Ashland, and Grants Pass install a standby generator for your home or business so you will never have to worry about power outages again! Call today for more information.

Circuit Panels

Does your house still work with fuses? Do your circuit breakers keep tripping? The experienced team at Aztec Electrical  LLC can help troubleshoot or install a better system to correct an overload problem. Call today for a free quote!

Home Remodels

Are you remodeling your home and need electrical work? Call Aztec Electrical  LLC today. We are experienced in working on home remodeling projects including moving switches, light fixtures, installing new switches, fans and much more!

LED: lighting that is durable and saves energy

LEDs are durable and save energy. Now researchers have found a way to make LED lamps even more compact while supplying more light than commercially available models. The key to success: transistors made of the semiconductor material gallium nitride.


At Aztec Electrical we can help you design, install, and maintain LEDs to reduce your lighting expenses.  Because we are a Trade Ally with the Oregon Energy Trust, we can also help you receive cash rebates and/or incentives for your home or business lighting project. Call us today at 541.245-8560. #lightingdesign

Incandescent light bulbs are now banned in the EU, while energy-saving lamps remain a bone of contention. In 2016, it will be lights out for halogen bulbs over 10 watts as well. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) therefore have the best chance of becoming the light source of the future. Experts reckon that LED retrofit lamps for use in standard bulb fittings will overtake traditional energy-saving bulbs for the first time from 2015. By 2020 it is predicted that LEDs will have captured between 88 and 90 percent of the lighting market. The tiny diodes offer a whole host of advantages as the most environmentally friendly source of light – they contain no harmful substances, consume less energy and, with a lifetime of between 15,000 and 30,000 hours, last longer than conventional light sources. They also work at full brightness as soon as you flick the switch.

New lighting technology improved with cheaper manufacturing

New research at Rutgers University has shown how to slash the cost of highly efficient light emitting diodes (#LED) and significantly reduce lighting’s energy requirements. The energy savings, however, will likely be eroded as people find new uses for the inexpensive lights.

LED lights use just 10 percent of the energy of incandescent lights and less than half the energy of today’s compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs.  An LED that uses 6 watts of electricity, for example, produces the same amount of light as a 14-watt CFL bulb or a 60-watt incandescent bulb.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electricity used for artificial lighting in the U.S. could be cut nearly in half by 2030 through the adoption of high efficiency LEDs.  

The lights are commercially available today but haven’t been widely adopted because they are more expensive than either CFLs or incandescents. The high cost of LEDs is due in part to their reliance on rare earth elements for their phosphors, materials that shift the blue light emitted by most LEDs into a broad spectrum of white light.

A new class of phosphors made from earth-abundant materials could slash the cost of LEDs by as much as 90 percent according to their developers.

The work has been driven by a dramatic increase in the cost of rare earth elements -- by as much as 1600 percent over the past decade -- due to increased demand and decreased exportation of the materials from China, which has historically produced more than 90 percent of the world’s rare earth elements.

A 2010 study looked at lighting use around the world for the past 300 years as lighting technology improved from whale oil lamps to gas and kerosene lamps to electric incandescent bulbs. The study, conducted by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico found a direct relationship between decreased cost and increased consumption.

Looking at the current transition from incandescent lights to CFLs and ultimately LEDs, the authors concluded "there is a massive potential for growth in the consumption of light if new lighting technologies are developed with higher luminous efficacies and lower cost of light."

Aztec Electrical has helped businesses and home owners reduce their lighting expenses. Call our office today to learn more about how you can use new lighting technology to your advantage.

LED Research: LED lighting enhances mood and environment

For as long as we can recall,  #lightingdesign has focused its product placement, design, and marketing on fulfilling visual needs. In the more recent past, issues of sustainability and a need for more efficient energy sources has sparked a further interest in creating green lighting technologies, with LED technology of course at the forefront.

LED lighting technology has just bumped into an entirely new dimension of possibilities and benefits with the help of a study and other research in the field of human-centric lighting (HCL).

A recent study of Lighting Europe and the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer's Association (ZVEI) and A.T. Kearney led to surpurising findings regarding the mass potential of LED lighting technology in the field of HCL and mood lighting which promises to gain a significant portion of the global LED illumination market by 2020.

Human-centric #LED mood lighting enhances well-being in two distinct but related ways:

#1 it can be optimized to effectively stimulate the organism biologically which leads to improved cognitive performance, which already proves itself in various educational settings such as classrooms.

#2 LED-based human centric lighting can emotionally stimulate by creating emotionally appealing and stimulating atmospheres, leading to improved positive emotions.

Aztec Electrical is a leader in Rogue Valley for optimizing #lightingdesign in both the home and work environments. Call us today, 541-245-8560, to learn more about our services.

Project Sunroof: mapping the planet’s solar energy potential, one rooftop at a time

Google's Project Sunroof is helping homeowners map the solar energy potential power to their home.

The cost of solar power is at a record low. A typical solar home can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year on their electricity bill.  But, as a volunteer with the Boston-based solar program Solarize Massachusetts and a solar homeowner myself, I’ve always been surprised at how many people I encounter who think that “my roof isn’t sunny enough for solar,” or “solar is just too expensive.” Certainly many of them are missing out on a chance to save money and be green.

Check out the blog for the project here.