Light up your house this summer!

Whether you are looking for lighting to suit a specific event or to decorate your garden all year round, there is no shortage of choice available to you. Light Gallery Plus boasts a huge collection of decorative and functional lighting features to brighten up your outdoor environment. Think of what you want lit and how best to light it. Consider these basic lighting techniques:

• Uplighting: Good for highlighting a tree – a bare tree in winter can be dramatic. Also called wall-washing when you light up a wall.
• Downlighting or Moonlighting: Casts a smooth glow and is perfect for entry courtyards and in landscaping.
• Spread or Path lighting: Used to create pools of light along a walkway or driveway or in a planter bed for visual appeal. Best when staggered; avoid that landing-strip look.
• Backlighting or Silhouette lighting: A special effect that lights a background, such as a wall, and causes the object in front to appear as a silhouette.
• Shadowing: An effect that lights the front of an object and casts its shadow onto a wall behind it.

Energy-Wise Lighting Tips

Don’t Be Left in the Dark

Homeowners can slice their electric bill without being left in the dark. “Today, lighting technology permits you to enjoy a comfortable, pleasing and elegant lifestyle without wasting precious natural resources,” says Dan Blitzer, consulting technical lighting expert for the American Lighting Association (ALA), a non-profit organization of leading manufacturers, retail lighting showrooms and sales representatives in the U.S. and Canada dedicated to expanding public knowledge about lighting.

“Energy conservation is not simply a pocketbook issue,” adds Blitzer. “It’s socially responsible to not use more than your share.”

According to the American Lighting Association, lights account for 25% of a homeowner’s electric bill. “There are a lot of other energy guzzlers in the house besides lighting,” says Monty Gilbertson, CLC, manager and buyer for Lighting Design by Wettsteins in Lacrosse, WI. “But everyone thinks of lighting first because that what you see.”

In addition to trimming your lighting bill, Gilbertson suggests checking the energy efficiency of other appliances as well. “Put your electric water heater on timer,” he says. “Look at your washer and dryer, freezer, refrigerator, heat pump. All these compressor-driven devices push the electric bill up.”

In addition to simply turning off lights when not using them, the ALA offers the following suggestions:

CONSIDER FLUORESCENTS

Consumers can cut costs quickly by switching from incandescent bulbs or fixtures to compact fluorescents.

“This is a good idea for lights in closets, workrooms, home offices, kid’s rooms, security area, kitchens,” says Blitzer. “Plus it’s very easy to replace a bulb or even a fixture that is not fluorescent compatible — it doesn’t require electrical rework of wires.”

While incandescent bulbs are inexpensive to buy, they consume more energy than any other type of bulb and have a relatively short life, making operating costs high. Fluorescent lighting is now available in over 200 colors, ranging from the warm white tones of incandescent light to cool white tones similar to daylight. Energy-efficient fluorescents use one-fifth to one-third the electricity of a comparably bright incandescent bulb and last 10-20 times longer.

The dollar saved amount depends on how long a light operates. According to Blitzer, if you operate a security light from dusk to dawn or 4,000 hours/year and replace the 100 watt incandescent light bulb with a 32 watt compact fluorescent lamp the savings is about $26/year per fixture.

“If I operate a 100 watt incandescent bulb 12 hours/day, on average, that bulb will have to be replaced six times/year,” he says. “Fluorescents usually last 2.5 years, so you also save time and inconvenience of not having to change bulbs, particularly if they are in hard-to-reach places.”

Pavletich decided to experiment in her own home. She added frosted glass globes to her outside fixtures and switched to fluorescent bulbs.

“I watched my electric bill for four months and averaged a savings of $20/month,” she says. “Visually, there was no difference in the light quality.”

Pavletich agrees that time is money, too. “Consider what it “costs” to change those bulbs,” she says. “You have to buy them, go outside, get a ladder, put them in the fixture. I was changing incandescent bulbs four times a year. Those fluorescents have been in place for two years so far!”

SWITCH YOUR SWITCHES

Dimmers allow you to reduce lighting when you don’t need it, which saves both energy and light bulbs. Occupancy sensors turn lights off after you leave the room or shut the closet door — even if you forget.

“It’s easy to replace regular light switches with dimmers or occupancy sensor switches,” says Blitzer. “These cost more than standard switches to buy, but there is no difference in cost of installation.”

Gilbertson is also a fan of dimmer switches. “These are often overlooked, but will save energy,” he says. “If you reduce your voltage 10% on a dimmer, you will double the bulb life and save energy and money.

“I have customers who are always burning out bulbs,” adds the lighting expert. “The three nemesis of bulbs — voltage fluctuation, vibration and heat build-up — create wear and tear on light bulbs. But you can protect against all three with a dimmer control. I have 14 dimmer controls in my own house and my electric bill is moderate now.”

To dim fluorescents, use a special dimming ballast, as well as a dimmer that is compatible with fluorescents.

MOVE TO MOTION DETECTORS

Motion detectors offer another bright idea for snipping the electric bill. “These are great for outside lighting,” says Gilbertson. “You have security, but the light shuts off when not needed.”

LIGHT IN LAYERS

Those lighting new homes for the first time might consider a less is more approach. “Think of lighting in layers,” says Blitzer. “Start with the spots where lights are most important — where tasks are performed, like reading. Don’t accent everything in the living room, just the important stuff. This allows a thinning of lights without the house looking dark and will save energy.”

ADD CEILING FANS

Ceiling fans are a great way to conserve electricity year-round.  They are economical and energy efficient, utilizing about the same energy as a 100 watt light bulb.

Ceiling fans don’t actually lower the temperature of a room like an air conditioner. But by spinning the air, they create a wind chill effect that makes you feel up to eight degrees cooler.

According to Pearson, running a ceiling fan costs about one cent per hour, or pennies/day, vs. the several dollars/day to run an air conditioner. Fans can be used alone or in conjunction with an air conditioner. When used with an air conditioner, the thermostat setting can then be raised, resulting in reduced cooling costs of 40% or more.

Simply raising a thermostat setting two degrees will save about 14% on energy consumption. Studies show that setting ceiling fans to spin in a counter-clockwise pattern, will save as much as 40% off summer cooling bills — without sweltering. Simply set the thermostat a few degrees higher and flip on the fan.

In the winter, ceiling fans move warm air back to the center of the room, pushing it down from the ceiling and helping homeowners save as much as 10% on their heating bills. Simply switch the direction of the blades to spin clockwise and turn on the fan.

Can your fans be used outdoors?
We carry models that are specifically designed for outdoor use and are UL Wet Location listed. They are called Indoor / Outdoor fans. The rest of our fans are UL listed for indoor use, and are not designed for wet locations. We do not recommend using non-UL wet location fans on porches or in screened rooms, even if they will not be directly exposed to the elements.

Does the blade dimension refer to the length of each blade or the overall diameter (the blade span) of the circle described by the tip of the blade?
The blade dimension is the diameter (blade tip to blade tip) dimension.

Do I need to have two switch places on my wall to control the fan and light? Will I need a remote control to control the light if I only have one switch place?
No, you only need one switch place to control both the fan and the light, just as if you were installing a light fixture (this is technically called a “two-wire” installation). The wall control has buttons that control both the fan speeds and the light. The wall control sends radio signals to a receiver in the fan so it works just like the hand held remote except that it is attached to the wall and needs no battery.

How does the wall-mounted remote control work?
The wall-mounted remote control is a transmitter that communicates with a receiver in the fan canopy via radio waves. The canopy is the part of the fan that touches the ceiling. The remote comes with a standard size switch plate (the same as any light switch) and can be mounted on the wall in any location that has electrical power. The remote does not have to be mounted on the same electrical line as the fan but it is recommended to install it on the same line. IMPORTANT: The wall remote MUST be wired in series. Please follow installation instructions very carefully. The wall-mounted control can work together with a hand-held remote. You can also use the remote by itself to control the fan without installing the wall control. There is more information about control systems in our “how to order ceiling fans and lights” section.

Can a different wattage light bulb be used instead of the one provided?
If the light bulb has the same base as the original bulb, you can use one with lower wattage if you wish. You cannot use one with higher wattage such as putting a 100 watt bulb in a fan that comes with a 50 watt bulb.

Can fans be suitable for low (8 foot high) ceilings?
Yes, many fans can be used on an 8 foot ceiling. All of the single downrod style fans come standard with downrods for 8 foot ceilings.

What is the warranty on the fans?
The fans carry a limited LIFETIME warranty on the motor. All fans are warranted against defects in material and workmanship for one year from the date of purchase.

There are three or four basic types of lighting that should work together to light any room, including a bathroom. They are task lighting, general lighting, accent lighting and lighting that is sometimes called decorative lighting or “sparkle lighting”. A good lighting plan combines at least the first three types and sometimes all four types of lighting. This article will focus only on the task lighting in a bathroom. In the bathroom, especially around the vanity mirrors, task lighting is critical. Task lighting can assist in performing specific tasks such as applying makeup, shaving, dressing a wound, or performing a manicure.

Tip #1: It is strongly recommended that good task lighting be installed either above the vanity mirror located near the sink or on both sides of the mirror. This is absolutely critical for providing good bathroom task lighting.

Tip #2: It is recommended that the vanity light fixtures installed around the vanity mirror be incandescent or halogen fixtures because this will allow you to easily control the brightness of these fixtures with a dimmer.

Tip #3: Make certain that the vanity light fixtures you select provide more than enough light. One of the simplest techniques that you can use to ensure that you will always have enough light is to “over light” the space and then use dimmers to control the amount of light that you want or need at any given moment.

Tip #4: It is recommended that special neodymium light bulbs be used in the vanity fixtures since they provide excellent light that very closely simulates sunlight. A neodymium light bulb is an incandescent light bulb that has a slight bluish tint to it. The bluish tint, created by a thin coating of neodymium inside the glass envelope, will cause the light bulb to provide less yellowish light like a standard incandescent light bulb and, therefore, be more like the sun.

Tip #5: Recessed downlights should not be used to light your face while standing at a mirror because the light coming from these fixtures will cause too many shadows on your face. Recessed downlights can be used in other parts of the bathroom for general lighting but not for task lighting at the vanity mirror.

Tip #6: Consider installing a small lit concave mirror near the main vanity mirror. The concave curvature of the mirror will magnify what you see in the mirror and the additional light will help improve the lighting for special tasks such as shaving or applying makeup.

Tip #7: An area of bathroom lighting that is often overlooked is the shower, tub, or Jacuzzi. It is suggested that one or two recessed downlights with special shower trims be used to illuminate each of these areas. If the bathroom is already finished, a remodel, recessed housing can be used for this purpose. A shower trim, with a glass diffuser and a special gasket, should be used in these areas. You may want to consider selecting a shower trim with a domed glass diffuser because this shape often gives the most uniform distribution of light.

Always remember that “light is the first element of design; without it there is no color, form, or texture.”