New LED Fixtures From RAB Lighting!

RAB has come out with some excellent LED versions of their products as well as some completely new ones. For the most part, their LED fixtures come in two colors, warm white and cool white. The wallpacks are really simple to install and put out a lot of light, especially considereing that the fixture is so thin! The LED Landscaping and path lighting bollards are very stylish and add an attractive edge to your residential or commercial property. For more information on RAB's LED Lighting, and to order, click HERE.

Nora Lighting is now offering LED light bars!

Nora Lighting has been a popular name in the industry for a long time now, and they have just release their LED light bars. They come in 2 different color temperatures to suit your application, and are more than 10 times as efficient as traditional undercabinet and cove lighting solutions. For more information, and to order, click HERE.

LED Products from CREE Lighting!

Now from CREE, LED recessed, architectural panel, and PAR38 lamps!
Cree LED fixtures are incredibly efficient and deliver an incredible lifespan. The snap-in installation of the LED recessed modules in very easy and you will benefit from using less electricity. The lights come in 2700K and 3500K color temperatures, to suit your room or offcie needs.
You can purchase CREE recessed LED products HERE.

The architectural drop-in lights create a "quiet" ceiling and are designed for offices, schools, hospitals, and retail environs, and because of these fixtures being LED, they allow for easy installation which was not possible with fluorescent technology. More information here.

Undercab LED Tubelites!

Nothing ads that final show-home look to kitchen and other home cabinetry like unseen, undercab lighting. The only problem with traditional "puck" style undercabinet lighting is that those little fixtures can generate a lot of heat, and if you have a kitchen full of them, you could be heating your kitchen by as much as 5 degrees without even knowing it. That added heat means you are now spending more energy and money keeping your house cool during the warm season.

If you happen to live in California, any new construction has to adhere to the Title 24 energy code. Title 24 Section 150(k) states that, "Permanently installed luminaires (light fixtures) shall be high efficacy luminares..." So installing energy efficient technologies like LED lighting in not only your kitchen, but also as closet lighting, cove lighting, or even garage lighting, can help your home abide by the latest energy standards, which may find their way into other states as well in the coming years.

Now consider a new product offered by City Wholesale Electric - LED Undercab Tubelites. These nifty lamps come in 1ft, 2ft, 3ft, and 4ft links, and can be chained (interconnected) for a maximum length of 8 feet. The linking is very easy, you just plug the end of one into the other. Also, you have 4 "color" choices, from Cool White to Warm White (2800K - 5500K).

The home user, DIY type will like the fact that these can be installed with just 2 screws/anchors, and powered by a wall-plug DC adaptor, while the contractor can install and power these via a 20W or 40W constant voltage (hardwired) power supply.

You can buy these LED Tubelites and any related accessory by clicking on the product ads on the right (>>), or by clicking here: City Wholesale Electric

LED Lamps - as in light bulbs?

Many of you might know of LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting from those swirling, glowing toys at dance parties, or maybe the occasional flashlight which sports them. But now, you can use that technology in your home for everyday (and night) light! However, because this industry is still in its infancy, you might want to take a moment's pause before committing yourself to this phenomenon.

There are no established standards yet for these bulbs, and as such, they vary as much in form as in function. Essentially, the LED lamp works like the now-popular CFL bulbs in that their power conversion devices are built-in to the bulb fixture itself. A CFL lamp has a built-in ballast, and and LED lamp has a built-in transformer. It took a long time for the industry to adjust to the consumers' desires for the CFL, and in turn it will take a while for LED lamps to fulfill their needs.

Still, this is a step in the right direction. LEDs (as they are promoted) offer upwards of 50,000 hours of life, compared to (some) CFL's claims of up to 10,000 hours. Also, the LEDs claimed wattages are much lower than those of the fluorescent persuasion.

One manufacturer claims that its' PAR30 lamp with a brightness of "SUPER BRIGHT" runs at a paltry 7W. Now, back to the "no established standards" subject: What is SUPER BRIGHT? I have no idea. It seems that LED light output is either measured in a different scale than we are used to (lumens or candlepower), or the reason could be that the outputs just don't stand up to those of other lighting methods, making manufactuers get creative when marketing their products.

But still, lower power consumption and longer lamp life is a great goal to be headed toward.
Well, we have been reading up on the LED lighting phenomenon, and it doesn't seem that the technology can fill the space currently occupied by traditional incandescent and CFL. The reason that most of these bulb manufacturers don't specify their light output relative to current bulbs, is that they just dont compare.

So far, it seems the best applications for LED lighting are specialty or decorative applications. If you are expecting to light entire rooms with LED bulbs, forget about it for now, but they can be used for any of your decorative or accent lights in your home. In fact, philips has developed a line of LED bulbs for use in projection and decorative applications, click here for more information.

LED Lighting