Brothers Lighting News
Brothers Lighting & Electrical Specialist brings some important news to you:
Lighting Maintenance
Brothers Lighting can service all of your exterior lighting needs with our bucket trucks.
Lamp and Ballast Recycling
Go Green with Brothers Lighting!!! Contact us today for a free quote on how Brothers Lighting can help you recycle all your used light bulbs and ballast. It’s lamp recycling made easy for the Houston area.
Lighting Retrofits and Re-lamps
Brothers Lighting can provide group re-lamp or retrofit packages to suit your lighting needs.
Parking Lot Lighting Maintenance
Parking Lot Lighting Maintenance Bucket truck Re-lamps and Lighting Maintenance.
The End of the Light bulb as we know it…
The incandescent light bulb, one of the most venerable inventions of its era but deemed too inefficient for our own, will be phased off the U.S. market beginning in 2012 under the new energy law just approved by Congress. Although this will reduce electricity costs and minimize new bulb purchases in every household in America, you may be feeling in the dark about the loss of your old, relatively reliable source of light.
Why are they taking my light bulbs away?
Moving to more efficient lighting is one of the lowest-cost ways for the nation to reduce electricity use and greenhouse gases. In fact, it actually will save households money because of lower utility bills. Ninety percent of the energy that an incandescent light bulb burns is wasted as heat. And yet, sales of the most common high-efficiency bulb available—the compact fluorescent (CFL)—amount to only 5 percent of the light bulb market. Earlier this year, Australia became the first country to announce an outright ban by 2010 on incandescent bulbs. The changeover in the United States will be more gradual, not mandated to begin until 2012 and phased out through 2014. However, don’t be surprised if some manufacturers phase out earlier.
How do I save money, when a CFL costs six times as much as an old-fashioned bulb?
Each cone-shaped spiral CFL costs about $3, compared with 50 cents for a standard bulb. But a CFL uses about 75 percent less energy and lasts five years instead of a few months. A household that invested $90 in changing 30 fixtures to CFLs would save $440 to $1,500 over the five-year life of the bulbs, depending on your cost of electricity. Look at your utility bill and imagine a 12 percent discount to estimate the savings.
I’ve heard that CFLs have mercury in them — isn’t that bad?
Consumers are rightly concerned about the toxic substance mercury that helps CFLs produce light. Even though the amount sealed in each bulb is small — one old-fashioned thermometer had about 100 times as much mercury — contact local trash collection for disposal instructions. Environmentalists agree that more work must be done on bulb recycling programs. Right now, you can return any CFL to any Ikea store for recycling, and the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth911 have sites you can search for other recycling programs near your home.
Isn’t there efficient lighting without mercury?
Yes. By 2012, the chances are good that consumers will have many more options to replace incandescent bulbs. Manufacturers already are deploying advanced incandescent bulbs that are efficient enough to stay on the market after 2012, although they are not yet as efficient as CFLs. Even more exciting are the developments with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are jazzing up holiday lighting. The European electronics firm Philips this year acquired several pioneering small technology companies and plans a big push to make LEDs practical for ordinary lighting purposes. The lights on the New Year’s Eve Times Square Ball could one day brighten your home. LEDs last even longer than CFLs and will make bulb buying more like an appliance purchase than a throw-away item.
Is Thomas Edison turning over in his grave?
Perhaps, but the incandescent bulb has had a good run, with the technology little changed since 1879 when Edison produced light with a carbonized thread from his wife’s sewing box. The breakthrough that ushered civilization out of the candle era was so revolutionary that the light bulb itself became the culture’s iconic image to illustrate any thought, brainstorm, or idea. But energy-efficient bulbs are a better idea, says Andrew de Laski, director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. “It’s hugely important,” he says. “A 60 to 70 percent reduction in light bulb energy use will save as much energy annually as that used by all the homes in Texas last year.” That’s a big savings.
Fluorescent High Bay Lighting
The high bay fluorescent light fixture is an outstanding solution for high mounting height industrial or retail applications.
The optics has been optimized to provide maximum performance from either the T5 or T8 lamps. An optional up light component is provided to enable excellent ceiling uniformity. A high lumen package allows the benefits of fluorescents to be applied at high mounting heights that were traditionally exclusive to H.I.D. The primary benefits include exceptional color rendering, high system efficacy, 95 percent lumen maintenance, long lamp life, instant on/instant re-strike, economical dimming, and uniform brightness control. Primary applications include retail, shopping malls, light industrial, gymnasiums and recreational areas.
