This month, everyone is taking the leap to be more green by pledging to take the bike rather than drive, or turning off the lights for longer periods of time to reduce heat waste. Those of us in the lighting industry are taking on the challenge of beautifying the environment with new energy-efficient and sustainable lighting designs.

Leading lighting vendors have showered the market with Energy Smart and Energy Star-rated indoor and outdoor light fixtures that are infused with designer style.

Check out the latest light fixture fashions: From classic traditional and urban rustic to sleek, modern and art-deco, these designs receive top grades in energy-efficiency.

Here at Kolb Electric, we’ve had numerous business owners throughout MD, DC, and VA approach us for more information about commercial light-emitting diodes—more commonly referred to as LEDs. Businesses everywhere have been forced to find ways to reduce their monthly expenses and save money in order to survive in these challenging economic times. Transitioning to commercial LED lighting is one of the ways businesses in the area can save money and enjoy other benefits as well.

Commercial LED lighting is very energy-efficient—replacing incandescent, halogen, or compact fluorescent light bulbs with LED lighting reduces energy consumption 50 – 85 percent. Some studies reveal that businesses have the potential to save as much as 60 percent on their electricity bill each month by making a total change from incandescent bulbs to LED lighting. ENERGY STAR reports that lighting is the largest cost component of a commercial building’s electricity bill and a significant portion of the total energy bill.

Some businesses shy away from LED bulbs because of their higher initial cost compared to other bulbs.  However, it will not take long for businesses to recoup this cost in the form of direct savings on electricity bills. Also, LED bulbs work by generating light using a semiconductor rather than relying on heating up a traditional filament. What does this mean for you? It means the highest quality LED bulbs can last up to 50,000 hours. The typical incandescent bulb, on the other hand, lasts only about 750 hours.

Work environment upgrades are closely tied with an improvement in the performance of employees. A Cornell University study estimates that a 3 – 5 percent gain in worker performance can be achieved with better lighting. In many cases, the gains in worker productivity alone are enough to offset the costs associated with commercial LED lighting. Light has a direct correlation with ease of reading, lower eyestrain, reduced errors, better turnaround time, reduced risk of musculoskeletal injuries, and psychological well-being.

The great thing about commercial LED lighting is that it can be tailored to meet your needs for color accuracy. Whether you want lighting that’s warm, cool, or neutral, the right type of LED lighting is available. Color rendering—the ability to make colors look true—must also be taken into account when it comes to LED lighting. The color rendering index (CRI) characterizes light sources in view of their ability to produce “natural light” and can be between 0 and 100. The closer an LED light comes to 100 on the CRI, the more naturally colors are rendered, and the light is perceived as more pleasant.

Transitioning to commercial LED lighting can help you save immediately on your electricity bills. The fact that LED lighting lasts significantly longer than incandescent bulbs and has the potential to improve employee performance is also beneficial to your business. If you want to learn about what type of commercial LED lighting is best for your business, contact us today.

While power outages aren’t a common occurrence in and around Sydney, there are times when you have to deal with an electricity outage due to inclement or stormy weather. Our modern day living is highly dependent on electricity and without it; our lives can literally come to a standstill. This is why it becomes important to check back and ensure that we have some proper power and outage solutions in place.

While most electrical outages don’t last for over a few hours, it’s best to be prepared for the situation. We have listed a few tips that will help you prepare for a power failure or a power outage:

There is no point in running around in frenzy when there is a power outage; and it is important that you create a plan in advance for this type of a situation. It doesn’t have to be a very complex one, but should include some basic things such as being able to locate where the candles and emergency lights are kept, so you can access them easily. You should also know where the emergency kit and the additional supplies are kept. .

It is very important that you have an emergency kit that can be used in case of power failures and power outages. You have the option to purchase a ready kit from the market or put together one yourself, with all the essentials such as:

These are just the basic things your kit needs to contain. The items and quantity of the items would be dependent on the number of people in your household.

Whenever any power outage or failure occurs, it is a good idea to check the utility service provider website. The companies generally post updates on the scale, probable duration and size of the outage. If you find that the problem isn’t at the utility company’s end, you should check with your neighbours to know whether they too are facing the same problem.

This will give you a clearer picture about whether the power problem is exclusive to your home or your entire neighbourhood has been affected by it. It’s important that you keep the freezer and refrigerator doors shut till the power problem is fixed.

Getting a standby generator installed on your property is one of the best ways of dealing with a power failure or outage. You would be able to use the generator to power the basic appliances in your home and maintain the indoor temperature on your property at comfortable levels. Speak with your local electrician about getting a good capacity generator installed.