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Have you considered switching your current lighting fixtures to something more dynamic? Perhaps you need lighting that’s bright and still saves you money. An LED lighting upgrade can turn ordinary lighting into something bright and dazzling for your home.
Otherwise known as LED retrofitting, an LED lighting upgrade can retrofit your current lighting fixtures into LED lighting. It’s classified into three major categories: retrofits, lamp replacements, and fixture replacements. Find out more about LED lights and the three primary upgrades used by most.
LED Lights Defined
LED is an acronym that stands for light-emitting diode. LEDs are electric lights that use LED technology to produce light that’s brighter and more efficient than regular incandescent bulbs. LED lightbulbs are versatile and can be used with many features, including table lamps. They’re also great to use for accent lighting, track lighting, and ceiling fans. You can even use LED lighting for vehicle headlights: They’ll easily and effectively cut through the heaviest fog and help you see better at night.
How LED Lighting Works
When an electrical current passes through a microchip, tiny light sources are illuminated and visible light is produced. This is how LED lighting works. Excess heat produced by the process is stored inside a heat sink to prevent further damage to your fixture. This helps preserve the lifespan of your LED lights and makes them more efficient.
Because of the heat sink, your bulbs are protected from burning out due to overheating. Plus, your bulbs will last longer and burn brighter. Today, most LED bulbs are made to fit into the same sockets as traditional incandescent light bulbs, making LED upgrades much simpler. LED lighting is also environmentally friendly because it contains no harmful elements such as mercury, which can cause physical problems.
Another interesting fact about LEDs is that they emit light in a particular direction. This makes them much more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs, which scatter light in multiple directions. LED lights are more commonly used with computers and other devices because of the quality of color that they produce.
How Do LEDs Produce Light?
LEDs produce light in a variety of colors, from amber to bright red, green, and blue. They can produce white light, but to do so means that they must use a combination of colors. These colors work together and are covered with phosphor, a yellowish substance that converts these colors into white light.
You can use LED lights in your home in many ways. In most cases, you can simply install an LED lightbulb into an existing lamp or fixture. This is known as a lamp replacement. In some instances, switching to LED lighting may require you to buy a new fixture or redo an old one to accommodate an LED bulb. The latter is known as retrofitting, which requires greater detail to be effective.
The Benefits of LED Lighting
LED lighting has several benefits for homeowners and businesses. They’re highly efficient and use 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs. Yet they produce the same level of brightness and last 15 times longer than traditional bulbs. You can enjoy greater cost savings when you make the switch to LED lighting.
When Should You Upgrade?
We rely on light to help us see, to keep us safe after dark, and to boost our moods. In some cases, light therapy is used to improve symptoms of common conditions such as depression or anxiety. No matter the reason for using light, we’ve come to rely on it in our daily lives. Lighting makes up roughly 17% of our electricity use, which is the reason to consider LED as an alternative source.
If you’re thinking about getting an LED upgrade, now is the time to do so. You can enjoy greater energy efficiency at a lesser cost, plus you’ll contribute to helping the environment.
Retrofits
Retrofits are an excellent way to make old fixtures new again with LED lighting. Just reuse your old lamp to make the LED upgrade. However, it requires the ability to work well with detail. You need to understand their internal configuration and make major changes to it. For example, a strip fixture that holds two 8-foot tube bulbs will need to be changed to accommodate 4-foot bulbs. You may need to remove other parts, such as the ballast, to create room for other parts, removing and replacing the lamp bases.
Most retrofits do very well without a lot of internal configuration. But if you need to change the configuration altogether, your best bet is to call an electrician.
Fixture Replacements
Fixture replacements deliver optimal light using an internal geometric system that distributes it evenly throughout your room. This allows you to enjoy a maximum amount of light at a fraction of the cost.
Although they may be expensive to buy initially, fixture replacements have long-term benefits. They save you the most money on your energy costs and still deliver quality light. Unlike retrofits, fixture replacements are not just modifications; they are complete replacements of old fixtures.
The good news about fixture replacements is that you can take advantage of various incentives to buy them. Most companies offer higher rebates for fixture replacements for retrofits, which motivates customers to buy them. You’ll get more rebates with a fixture replacement rather than a revamp or a retrofit.
For example, you can get rebates worth up to $90 for a brand new 400w, high-bay HID fixture, while you’d only get $60 for a retrofit. Replacing a parking garage luminaire will give you up to $75 in rebates compared to $50 for a retrofit.
Lamp Replacements
A lamp replacement is the simplest type of LED upgrade because it involves one thing: changing the bulb. You can replace the old bulb with an LED bulb that works better and is more efficient than a traditional one. However, there are some considerations. One is that the new bulb must fit the socket inside your lamp. Your replacement lamp must have suitable lighting for the bulb to work effectively.
Call the Pros in Palm Springs
At Home Team Electric of Palm Springs, we specialize in residential electrical services. Our focus is on providing quality service in what you need. We don’t just do LED upgrades, but we also do repairs on breakers, electrical panels, and electrical wiring. We offer smoke detector installation and repair, indoor and outdoor lighting, and more. Our goal is to bring your home into full compliance with local codes by offering ongoing electrical repair. We’ll repair and replace old wiring and address your surge protectors so that your home is protected during an outage.
Home Team Electric also installs and repairs your whole house generators, keeping you ready in case the lights go out. And if you have an electric vehicle, we can install an EV charging station. Our technicians are trained for a variety of services to fit your needs. Call us today for your LED lighting upgrade or any electrical issue.
