• only 1% of those surveyed think lighting is of no importance in the customer experience.

• 72% have left a venue earlier than planned because it was too brightly- or poorly-lit
• 74% have stayed longer than planned because the lighting made them feel relaxed and welcome.

• “somewhere that draws you in” (36% of respondents)
• “somewhere to spend time” (34%)
• “somewhere to go back to” (26%)
•  none of the above (4%).

• the effect and ambience of the new lighting (67%)
• the ability of staff to dim the lights (43%)
• energy bill/CO2 savings (31%)
• the upfront costs (23%).

• the new lighting had been well received by customers – 84% of customers gave positive feedback on the lighting refurbishment
• good lighting boosts business – 91% think the lighting refurbishment had a positive impact on business in terms of an uplift in sales or profits
• education is still needed about the benefits of LEDs.

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Don’t wait for the phase out, switch and save today with LED alternatives!

In order to reduce C02 emissions, the European regulation is being enforced to stop the manufacture of inefficient directional halogen lamps.

From September 1st 2016, manufacturers will no longer produce:

• Halogen lamps directional from
  C & D classes
• Related products are PAR, R50/R63/R80
• MR11 (low volt with below 4,000h)
• MR16 main volt: low volt with below 4,000h

Switch to LED alternatives to save energy, reduce C02 and save money. Novel Energy Lighting offers a full range of LED lamps, tubes, and fittings from various top quality brands. To see all our products please visit us at: www.novelenergylighting.com, or call us 0208-540-8287, email: sales@novelenergylighting.com

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Since old fashioned incandescent and halogen bulbs are being banned by governments around the world, most home owners have had to consider low energy alternatives.

The favourite choice now is LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs, which are currently leading the field in terms of energy savings, product life and ease of use.

But how many of us understand the ways in which LED bulbs are different to incandescent models, and how to ensure that when we upgrade our lighting we actually make the right choices?

Let’s start with some basic facts about LED bulbs.

Basically, they offer a number of significant advantages to the obsolete incandescent types:

1. Major power saving: LEDs use approximately five times less energy as incandescent bulbs. As an example, you can replace an old 40W reading light bulb with an 8W LED. And since LEDs offer a more focused light, the energy savings could be up to 90%, and you can therefore have a lower-wattage bulb.
2. ‘Cleaner’ Product: LEDs are non-toxic, and in particular contain no mercury.
3. Less Heat: Much less heat is produced by LED bulbs, in comparison with incandescent lights. That is especially important in Southern climates where air-conditioning is used.
4. Longer Life:  LED bulbs do not need to be replaced very often – they can last up to twenty years in regular use.
5. Better Investment: They do cost more to buy, but when you consider their longer life and energy savings, they are a great investment.

So, when the time comes to replace old light bulbs, LEDs are the obvious choice, but how do we go about making the right selection for our home? There are so many styles, sizes, shapes and special formats on the market now, how do you know which is the right one?

Here are some tips to help you make the right decision…..

Consider how much brightness you need

Back in the bad old days, we all got used to measuring a light bulb’s brightness simply by its wattage. A 60 Watt bulb gave us an average light output for most domestic situations. However, wattage actually measures the amount of electrical energy a light bulb uses – a lot of which is given out as heat. Clearly, an LED will use fewer watts to generate the same amount of light.

To make sure that you get an LED with sufficient light output, you will need to get used to measuring brightness in lumens. An old fashioned 60-watt incandescent bulb generates about 800 lumens, so to get an equivalent, you need to look for an LED rated at 800 lumens of light output. A lot of LED packaging will tell you what wattage of incandescent bulb the lamp would be equivalent to.

What about quality of light?

Depending on where you are planning to use the LED bulbs, the quality of light may well be an important factor. Light quality is generally measured by CRI or Colour Rendering Index. This number indicates how accurately the bulb illuminates colours on a scale from 1 to 100. If you plan to use the lamp frequently – say in a living room – or it is going to be used in a prominent location like an entrance hall, CRI is a very important metric to consider. However, if it’s going to go into an airing cupboard or toilet, CRI isn’t as crucial. CRI ratings in excess of 85 and above are indications of very good colour rendering.

Are “warm” or “cool” light colours important?

There is a wide variety of LED bulbs available now, offering a range of light “colour temperatures” in Degrees Kelvin, or simply “K”. How do you know what colour temperature works for you? Colour temperatures with high K ratings, 6,000 or more, are classified as ‘cool’ colours, while those with lower K ratings, 3,500 or less, are classified as ‘warm.’ You will find most retailers referring to their products as cool white and warm white LED Bulbs.

Warm white bears a close resemblance to the light produced by halogens and incandescent bulbs. It is soft, easy on the eyes and promotes a comfortable and domestic aesthetic. As a rule of thumb, warm white bulbs should be used in ‘habitat’ spaces, such as living rooms, hallways and bedrooms, and as general illumination. In contrast, cool white is a very bright, sharp white light; less suitable for domestic spaces where the brightness of the light can be too harsh and even create a clinical effect.

What shape or type of LED bulb do you need?

LEDs now come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and will be suitable for replacing just about any kind of incandescent light bulb. You will now find LED globe light bulbs, chandelier light bulbs, and reflector light bulbs – along with lots of newly manufactured shades, lamps and fixings that have them built-in.

The traditional “light bulb” shapes are designed to give an all-round source of light, for instance in a table lamp or ceiling fitting, and are known as “omni-directional”. Reflector types are designed to give light off in one direction, so they’re best for overhead lighting, spotlights, and display lighting.

How about replacing incandescent bulbs in dimming systems?

Unfortunately, many old incandescent dimmers aren’t fully compatible with LED lighting, so you need to be careful when considering dimming. Many of the newer types of LED light bulb do have dimming capabilities – a great option if you want to save even more energy and control the room’s ambient environment. But you may need to invest in an LED-specific dimmer. If you’re looking for a dimmable LED, carefully check the specification on the bulb’s packaging and make sure you control it with a compatible dimmer.

Some don’t like it hot!

LED based light bulbs work best when they are kept cool. If you use an LED outdoors in winter or inside a refrigerator, it will actually last longer. However, excessive heat can cause problems, particularly as LEDs exposed to extreme heat may degrade more quickly over time. So, if you plan to use them in an area that can get hot (like in overhead recessed spotlights) it would be better to invest in high-temperature specification types which use an advanced cooling system – like the types produced by Megaman.

And finally, how can you actually get the ball rolling to take advantage of LED technology in your home?

Right at the beginning it takes a little research effort – initially you need to go round your home and make a note of all the bulbs you are currently using – including wattage (60W, 100W etc.), type of fixture (screw, bayonet etc.), bulb type (reflector, standard, golf ball, etc.) size and colour (warm, cool, etc.). Also approximately how much usage each bulb gets.

Next you need to figure out the type of LED bulb which can be used to replace each incandescent type in terms of lumens, shape, size and fixture. Check out dimming requirements carefully, then make a comprehensive list and check prices on the Internet or through lighting retail outlets.

All that’s needed then is to make the investment, change the bulbs, and start making real savings on your electricity bill!

Visit www.novelenergylighting.com to explore the LED options available at great prices!

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How do you recognize a good LED lamp? Energy efficiency? Dimmability? Light color? Design? Size? Lifetime? There’s quite a lot to consider. However, there is also a simple solution. Join our experts, the Light Guys, on their mission: Brand Quality!

Visit www.novelenergylighting.com today to explore our range of Osram LED lighting

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In 2015 the number of lamps being recycled leapt by 44 per cent while luminaires were up 4.4 per cent. Commenting on the news, Nigel Harvey, CEO of specialist lighting WEEE compliance scheme Recolight, said: ‘It is particularly pleasing to see that the 2015 recycling rate bounced back up from 2014.  This is probably due, in part, to the recycling of fluorescent waste resulting from major LED integrated luminaire roll outs in business premises across the UK. The lamp recycling rate from 2013 to 2014 saw a drop when, for the first time, the data included LED lamps as well as Gas Discharge Lamps.  With very large quantities of LEDs being sold – but very few being returned as WEEE, the inclusion of LEDs inevitably reduced the rate.’

Turning to the luminaire recycling rate, he added ‘The luminaire recycling rate has increased from 2014 to 2015.  However, the tonnage of luminaires collected in 2015 is only 5 per cent higher than in 2014.  The rate increase is therefore primarily due to the 12.7 per cent reduction in the tonnage of luminaires reported as put on the market.  This reduction is likely to be a result of dual use classification, which means that any luminaires that could be used by consumers are now out of scope of the WEEE Regulations.’

• The Environment Agency data also reveals that membership of Recolight has increased more than any other UK scheme. The number of members increased by 23 producers between the end of 2014, and the beginning of 2016.  That is also Recolight’s biggest annual increase recorded since the scheme was established in 2007.

Visit Novel Energy Lighting to explore LED retrofit lamps and tubes for your project. Out with the old, in with the new!

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Megaman achieved another industry first in April 2015 with the launch of a wide range of LED products that incorporate a new Dim to Warm system which provides improved dimming performance with the warmth and characteristics of halogen. These LED’s emit a warmer light when they are dimmed with a colour temperature that changes smoothly from 2800K to 1800K when dimmed from 100% to 10% 

Visit Novel Energy Lighting to explore the Megaman LED range. Call us for quotation on volumes and projects. Tel: 0208-540-8287, Email: sales@novelenergylighting.com

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Megaman UK has launched an invaluable, simple to use online service to assist home owners, contractors, specifiers or anyone involved in lighting to calculate the potential savings that can be achieved when switching from standard light sources to Megaman’s energy saving LEDs. 

The new online tool, which is focused on the end user, uses quick and simple calculations to provide annual cost savings, payback and energy usage in kW and CO2. Different lamp types can also be compared at any given time to clearly show the savings involved in changing one room, two rooms or even a whole house to LED lamps using a mixture of Megaman’s LED lamps such as GU10, Classic or Candle ranges. This clever tool is also capable of generating a series of results that can be downloaded immediately or saved for assessment at a later stage.

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Megaman has extended the comprehensive Economy Lamp range of LED lamps that have been designed to offer the perfect alternative to their CFL counterparts, using only a fraction of the power with no sacrifice in performance, output and quality of illumination. The Economy 15,000 hour lamp range, represents unbeatable value and provides a myriad of options to cater for the requirements of most domestic and leisure installations.

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Megaman Reports:  The LED lamp market is growing steadily with sales expected to reach £600 million by 2018 and it is still a rapidly changing technology. LED’s have become extremely popular for both domestic and commercial applications, with huge growth in the retail sector. The only problem with LED lamps is that whilst they will save up to 80% in energy when compared to a traditional light source, they tend to look very similar to each other, irrespective of the quality of the components that have been used to make them. The trouble is, they may look the same but their performance can vary considerably. This may be in terms of the light output, consistency of colour temperature, energy consumption or the longevity of the lamp.

 In many ways, this is potentially more of a problem with LEDs than other light sources because they are more complex than traditional lamps. For example, a typical LED lighting system comprises of a power supply that converts the mains voltage to a constant voltage, which is then supplied to the LED lamp. The role of the LED driver is to convert the mains supply into either a constant voltage or a constant current that is then supplied to the LEDs themselves. The constancy of the current ensures a constant light output, with the light output being proportional to the current applied.

An important point here is that energy is lost at each of the conversion stages described above and this can have a significant impact on the overall power supply efficiency. In fact, the power supply efficiency of LEDs from different manufacturers can vary from 50% to 90% and this will influence the overall energy savings that are achieved.

Also, the light energy generated by the LED is then converted to white light by exciting phosphors that coat the LED, in the same way that fluorescent lighting works. The quality and consistency of the phosphor coating has a direct impact on the consistency of colour temperature and colour rendering. There are huge advantages to be had for commercial lighting by getting the colour temperature right – mood can be increased and atmosphere created for hospitality, whilst the colours of merchandise can be highlighted in retail applications. Megaman lamps can achieve a warm temperature of 2400K for mood creation up to 5500K for colour enhancement in retail applications.  Megaman is now concentrating on improving the quality of light and the CRI not reducing the wattage.

While the factors described above apply to all LED light sources, there are also other considerations relating to retrofit lamps that are designed for fitting to an existing luminaire. For instance, the optical design of the retrofit LED lamp has a significant impact on overall performance.

In many retrofit lamps there are both primary optics and secondary optics. The primary optics are frequently built into the LED source, often in the form of a dome that helps to increase light output. There may then be secondary optics added to modify the beam width or light distribution, adding further to the complexity of the design and the intricacy of manufacture.

There is also the whole issue of thermal management as LEDs can generate a considerable amount of heat. If the temperature in the vicinity of the LED and its electronic circuitry is allowed to get too high this will both reduce light output and the life of the lamp. Retrofit lamps therefore have a built-in heat sink to conduct heat away from the sensitive electronics – so the efficiency with which the heat sink does its job is another important element in performance and reliability.

A lack of effective surge protection is also important, as is the use of a sealed housing to prevent moisture infiltration.

For all of these reasons it is clear that each of these components is important in the overall performance of the lamp that the end user experiences, thus reinforcing the importance of high quality manufacture using proven, reliable components.

Trusted brands

Given the complexity of LED lighting, as described above, the reasons for being very cautious when sourcing LED lighting products become immediately apparent. Megaman has addressed the issues above by launching product ranges using TCH technology (an ingenious highway design across the reflector to dissipate heat efficiently) for thermal control, instant start, smooth dimming, Perfect White and Dim to Warm. Megaman also use a ‘true size shape’ that allows easy retrofit and the process of ‘LEDification’ of the traditional light source formats is pretty much complete so there are now LED alternatives for the vast majority of lamp types.

Megaman’s Dim to Warm allows linear dimming from 2800K to 1800K, providing a perfect solution for many applications where it is desirable to change the ambience at different times of day. A cosy hotel bar is one obvious example of this. The fact that these lamps are available in candle, GLS, AR111 and GU10 formats also gives them very wide scope. Tuneable White allows commercial projects to choose between 3000K and 6000K so that users can tune the lighting to the shade of white they want, without needing to change light source, and dim it if necessary. Tuneable white lighting is ideal for multi-use areas or where there is a requirement to link to human-centric lighting systems. Perfect White which makes white clothes in retail look really amazing. This is a significant development because general LED lighting tends not to show plain white fabrics at their best, but by adding a violet spike to the phosphor mix their appearance is transformed.

Megaman is also producing fittings that meet the requirements of the hospitality and leisure sectors. Indeed, as the LED light source has become well established there has been a corresponding boost in the introduction of luminaires that have been designed specifically for LED light sources. This is a clear benefit as these luminaires are able to optimise the particular optical characteristics of LEDs to achieve maximum light output ratio and efficient light distribution. In parallel, the ability to use new thermoplastics in the manufacture of LED luminaires – something that couldn’t be done three years ago – is enabling luminaire designers to broaden their creative output.

2015 is set to be a very significant year for low-energy lighting in general, and LED lighting in particular. In order to achieve the maximum benefits available it is important to start thinking beyond simply swapping an energy-hungry light source for a more efficient one and begin to take advantage of the extra functionality that are now making possible. Additionally, Megaman has its own test facility and is able to subject its products to continuous assessment to ensure good quality control and consistent performance.

Visit novelenergylighting.com to explore the Megaman range of LED lamps and fixtures: http://www.novelenergylighting.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=megaman

Feel free to call us (0208-540-8287) or email (sales@novelenergylighting.com) with your enquiry, or request for volume quotation.

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