Commercial lighting encompasses a lot of different types of lighting. From high bays to low bays, wall packs to flood lights, ceiling fixtures, garden fixtures, barn lights and more. Commercial lights cover all lighting fixtures and types that are used for anything other than residential lighting applications.
Before delving into the market of commercial lighting, you should make sure you are aware of some of the common terms that are to be found there. Let’s first talk about candlepower. Candlepower refers to the brightness of the light. It is a measure of brightness that is adjusted to the select sensitivity of the human eye.
CRI stands for Color Rendering Index. This is an important factor that determines how surrounding colors will look when bathed in the light bulb’s light.
Light is the frequencies of radiation given off by the sun that we are able to pick up with our eyes. An example of radiation that we cannot see with our eyes is ultraviolet and infared radiation.
The light bulb refers to the light source, which is contained within the shaped glass. The lamp is the light bulb and all of the hardware that assists with mounting, positioning and framing the light bulb. However, it should be noted that in some industries, the light bulb is referred to as a lamp, and the assembly that contains it is called a fixture.
Lumens is a term that is often used but sometimes misunderstood. Let’s talk about the human eye for a moment. The eye is more sensitive to some colors than it is to others. Lumens are a measurement of light, in which the amount of radiation that is present is taken into account and then adjusted to the human eye’s selectiveness. A good example is having a room illuminated by an ultraviolet light. Because we cannot see ultraviolet rays, the lumens measurement would be zero.
Fluorescent lighting is a very popular choice in commercial lighting, because they are incredibly efficient. So while they may be a little more expensive to initially purchase, they make up for the added expense by saving on energy: they use around 80 lumens per watt, which is a big difference from incandescent lights, which often use only 10 to 12 lumens per watt. Better still, fluorescent commercial lighting can have a lifespan of up to 30,000 hours. This number has doubled since only fifteen years ago! While these are definite advantages, some of the disadvantages to using this type of commercial lighting include the large size of the bulbs and lamps, and the higher cost of this type of lighting.
By: Kimberly Green
Posts Tagged ‘Light Source’
Here We Are, Discussing the Many Moods of Commercial Lighting
March 22nd, 2010Illuminate Your Home With the Best Lighting Fixtures
February 23rd, 2010
“Heaven is where the hearth is.” The warmth of your home is the place where you spend half of your life. No wonder you want to make it just perfect and lend it the kind of look and feel you had dreamt of for years. Even after spending a fortune, you find that your home does not exude the kind of ambiance you had dreamt of for so long. Your furniture, accessories are no doubt expensive and match the wall colors but still something is missing. Actually, the problem does not lie in the furnishings but the lighting.
Commonly observed, most homeowners overlook the importance of lighting systems. Merely installing some expensive lights is not enough. Lighting systems can make or break the ambiance of your home. Be it indoors or outdoors, good lighting system can turn your ‘not-so-good’ home into a ‘Wow! What beauty’ home. Imagine a space as dark as night with other areas highlighted with soft halo of recessed lights. Besides, if your walls carry a theme, flame patterns for instance, the ambiance of the room gets doubly enhanced.
While landscape lighting takes care of your outdoor landscape and garden, recessed lighting takes care of the interiors. Recessed lighting is highly versatile and is used to focus on specific areas without distracting the attention to the light source.
When focusing on specific objects like artifacts, plants, or statues, halo recessed lighting is the ideal. This lighting system comprises of ceiling mounted bulbs contained within alcoves or small niches. When used with other lighting systems, halo recessed lighting creates illusion of greater space.
However, the real dilemma arises when it comes to choosing your lighting fixture brand. For track lighting fixtures, most people rely on Halo, Lightolier, and Juno lighting. However, when it comes to the overall lighting systems, including outdoors and indoors, Kichler lighting fixtures score too well. Their high quality lighting fixtures give your home a completely new ambiance. You can easily switch the mood of your room through these high-end lighting appliances.
A number of people might be deterred by the prices of high quality Kichler lighting fixtures. But the good news is that these fixtures are extremely affordable during some seasons. Some stores offer festive discounts on popular brands. All you need to do is keep a track of these offers to bring home the lights to illuminate it the way you had always desired. Remember, it’s better to wait for the best than end up repenting with cheaper alternatives.
By: Wain Roy
