Halogen vs LED, Head to Head

So, one of my lighting buddies was pulling my chain the other day via Facebook messages. In his own interesting way he was suggesting that I let my readers and potential clients know the real costs involved using LED lighting compared to the halogen lighting that has been used for eons. Not a bad idea – so, here goes.
We will examine the actual cost of operating the different systems.
Figures will assess costs for an outdoor lighting system using 30 fixtures each producing light equivalent to a 20 watt MR16 halogen lamp. The system will be set to operate for six hours per night annually.
HALOGEN

• 600 watts total energy
• Annual electrical cost: $131.00. Cost for 18 years: $2358.00 (central Texas average of .10 per KWH)
• Halogen lamps are rated for up to 5000 hours of use; each lamp will have to be replaced every other year at a cost of $12.50 per lamp plus labor (let’s say $10.00 per lamp, down lights in tree could be more while ground mounted fixtures would be less). Cost of replacing 30 lamps 9x at $22.50 per lamp over 18 years: $6075.00.
• Average annual operating cost: $468.50
• Total operating cost (after installation) for 18 years: $8433.00

LED

• 135 watts total energy for same light output
• Annual electrical cost: $29.50. Cost for 18 years: $531.00
• LED fixtures and lamps are rated for 40,000 hours of use. No replacement will be necessary for about 18 years eliminating this expense entirely!
• Total operating cost (after installation) for 18 years: $531.00
• Over the life of the lighting system, LED will save $7902.00 in operating costs.

It is likely that the cost of electricity and labor will increase over the next 18 years, so these numbers may not be wholly accurate down the road a bit. It is also necessary to remember that all lighting systems require a little maintenance from time to time to check wiring, clean lenses, and re-direct light to accommodate growth and changes in landscape. But if saving more money in the long term is your goal – as well as reducing your energy consumption – it is clear to see that LED is the best way to go!

Why Bother with Professional Holiday Lighting?

At last the weather is finally getting cooler and bells are ringing! Maybe a little early for the traditional Christmas bells, but our phone has already been ringing for a month with requests for holiday lighting designs and scheduling. What is it about our holiday lighting services that would cause our clients start calling in August to be put on the schedule?

The most critical issue is time. There is only so much time to do this job. Most of our clients want their holiday lighting up by Thanksgiving. A reasonable request. This would be no big deal at all but very few clients are willing to allow their Christmas lights to be installed before Halloween. So, time is of the essence for our crews trying to install everyone in about three weeks. First call, first signed contract, first on the schedule!

Another special feature we offer is custom designs and fitted light strands specific for your property to meet your holiday needs. Light strings can be made to fit the roofline of the home so there are no lighting swags from one roofline to the other. We can also use custom color schemes like red and white or maybe red and green or whatever the client likes to make the project stand out in the neighborhood. Our energy efficient LED products use 90% less energy than the old incandescent lights that we used a few years ago. This allows us to put all of the lighting onto one controller, insuring that all of the lighting comes on and goes off at the same time. And no one has to worry about tripping circuit breakers. We have access to some beautiful specialty products to punch up the designs as well, like bows, lighted garland and lighted yard art to round out a complete outdoor wonderland!

Who wouldn’t love the convenience of having someone else take care of this particular “honey do” project? No tangle of wires for you to deal with, no treacherous trips up the ladder to the roof, and no stops at the store for “just one more” extension cord! Again, we can give you that time back during the hectic weeks of the holiday season. Our professional crews arrive; expertly install your custom designed festival of lights and when we leave – ta-da! You’ve got a great holiday display to show off to your neighbors without breaking a sweat – or an arm or a leg. Add an astro timer and the homeowner (or business owner) doesn’t even have to flip a switch to turn it all on. Another bonus: after the first of the New Year, our crews return to take everything down, and take it all to our storage facility until the next holiday season. A holiday lighting project is completely hands off for our clients; they don’t even have to trip over the holiday decoration boxes throughout the year!

One last thing, you know those really cool homes that have the awesome holiday lighting that flashes to music? Well, we can do that too!!

So, it’s not too early to be thinking “Happy Holidays” - and remember that using a professional holiday lighting company can make your days merry and bright (and stress free).

Drama, Drama, Drama!!

Sometimes drama is a bad thing, but let’s talks about some good drama.
One way to create drama in your landscape is by using an up lighting technique. Since all natural light comes from the top down, turning that around and shining light up can create a very dramatic effect.
This can work very well with trees, bushes, rock walls, and statuary. A little goes a long way with this technique. Too much drama is never a good thing, and this is also true in your landscape. Since this effect is so striking, it can seem busy if used too much. “Less is more” is the rule to create an impressive display.
Limiting use of up lighting will actually enhance the desired dramatic effect in your landscape. First, choose your focal points - these are the items that you really want to bring attention to and highlight. Then decide the best lighting technique for that item, let’s say it’s a very large crape myrtle tree for example. For this item, you could probably front or cross light it making it your primary focal point in that area. You can still use more up lighting in the area but instead of placing the fixtures in front of the other trees; you may try placing the fixtures behind. This lighting technique draws the eye through the tree, toward your primary focal point that lies beyond – like your house, perhaps. You would then use softer techniques around that dramatic feature. Mixing up your lighting techniques throughout the property will add balance and produce a more pleasing appearance.

So, drama can be good in your landscape, but just like in life - too much drama is a bad thing.
Visit our website to learn more about NightScenes here www.night-scenes.com

Bye Bye Mercury Vapor

We’ve all seen them. The distinctive eerie green glow of mercury vapor lighting dots the landscapes of commercial properties all over the world casting a harsh glare like alien beacons in the night. More frightening than the spooky appearance of these lights is the elemental make-up of the fixtures: mercury. Because each of these fixtures uses mercury to produce light, the EPA Act of 2005 banned all manufacture of this type of lighting effective January 1, 2008. As existing supplies of the necessary ballasts for these lighting fixtures dwindle, some folks are fitting the 100 watt mercury vapor fixture with a 175 watt metal halide ballast, another lamp in the HID (high intensity discharge) family. This takes a bad light to new levels of abuse by sucking up even more energy! This 1940’s unit was discontinued by the United States for its inefficient use of energy and potential environmental hazards. Putting this kind of band-aid on an already power-hungry monster is simply not a good idea for anyone.

NightScenes has never advocated the use of these fixtures for any application. In fact, we rarely use any fixtures or lamps other than earth-friendly LED now – even for commercial properties. The good news for mercury vapor users is that retro-fitting with LED is now possible! This cost effective alternative uses only 14 watts, instead of 100 (or 175), and is rated for more than twice the life of the mercury vapor which is no longer being manufactured. Rated for 50,000 hours of use, these LED lamps save money in maintenance as well as the incredible savings of 80% on the energy bill. LED lamps can produce the same light output in color and intensity. Warmer colors are also available for those looking for a more natural lighting effect. So what’s not to love?

Light Positions

So, why do I place lights in different positions on plants and trees?  The main reason is to create some depth and interest in the landscape.

When you look at different lighting projects you mostly find that the installer places the fixture (usually only one) in front of just about every tree or shrub.  What this does is make everything look flat and BORING. 

By placing fixtures behind or even beside some plantings it helps to draw the eye through the object on toward whatever is illuminated behind it like the home which is front lit.

A good lighting design will also use multiple fixtures on trees that are large enough to give the tree more dimension.

Here is an example of using some back lighting on a large tree and some front lighting on other objects behind it.  You’ll find that this looks much better than front lighting everything.

LED Landscape Lighting

We have been installing 100% LED landscape lighting for over a year and a half now and we don’t see any sense in turning back.  Just like you no longer see horse and buggies parked along the road or gas lanterns hanging on the streets for light, times change and lighting has FINALLY changed.

We are often asked why we have made the change and so many others have not.  The answer is this, we have found very good LED products that we truly believe in.  The manufacturers that we purchase from have backed their products with warrantees that prove their commitment to their products and therefore, we know that the products that we are installing are of the highest quality.  This way we can say with confidence that these products, though they cost more up front, will actually save our clients money over the long term.  Others are sitting back and waiting for this technology to be “proven over time”.  Here’s the problem with that, while their waiting, their clients are paying more for lamps, service and energy.  The contractor isn’t loosing anything (right now) while waiting.  The end customer however is paying plenty for that contractor to come out each year and replace burned out lamps.  The customer is the one paying 75% more for electricity to operate those lights as well.

We would rather go ahead and trust in the technology and our manufacturers who we have been doing business with for years.  We’ve sold their other products for years and have never had a warranty issue, why would we think differently now?

LED lighting uses 75% less energy and lasts about 40,000 hours.  This means that there are no lamp replacement costs for a very long time, usually between 15 and 20 years, depending on how long the lights are operating each day.  When taking the costs of annual lamp maintenance and energy into account, the LED lighting system actually ends up costing about 50% LESS than the typical halogen lighting system.

The two primary questions I get are; what about the color and what about the output of the LED?  Here are a couple of our LED projects that we have installed.  These are 100% LED projects and you can be the judge of the color and intensity of the light that these LED products can put out.

These are mostly 4 watt LED fixtures that we are using in these projects and the most we use, to illuminate very large oak trees, are 12.5 watts and they do a GREAT job.

Now I would be remiss if I said that we had 100% success with these products.  We have had a few fixtures that didn’t work but the manufacturer took care of it and we’ve had a LOT more issues with halogen lamps over the years than we have with the LED products that we’ve been installing.

LED lighting is here to stay and we would rather lead the way than try to catch up later and cost our clients a lot of money along the way.

See the effect, not the source.

 

I really have to get better at keeping up with this blog!! 

I just read a brief article and realized that I really  needed to write something about GLARE.  Glare is the biggest problem to overcome as an outdoor lighting designer.  How do you accent or highlight something without showing the source of the light?

The first thing that we have to do is use a light fixture with a glare shield.  This will allow us to eliminate the glare from one direction but what about the other viewing locations?  I also have used fixtures with no glare shield so…It may not be possible to block the glare from every direction but there are a few tricks to help. 

One of my favorite things to do is make sure that there is a plant that can block the fixture.  This works very well when there are only one or two viewing angles.  Another thing I do is use a large rock to block the view to the fixture.

We always have to make sure that whatever we do to hide the fixture, we need to make it look natural.  I’ve actually added a form of yard art to hide a fixture that was washing a wall and guess what happened.  It created a wonderful silhouetted effect!!  I just love it when things come together and make me look good.

A good lighting designer knows how light fills a space and how to go about eliminating glare.