Category: Fixtures

Categories
Fixtures LED

Epson Printer vs. LED Wall Pack – Will It Light?

Can a vandal-resistant LED wall pack survive a drop from the top of a multi-story building? According to Access Fixtures, it can! They tested the durability of a new LED wall pack in a video asking “Will It Light?” In the video, they drop an Epson ink jet printer, and as expected, it shatters into countless pieces when it hits the pavement. But when they drop the wall pack, it only suffers a small crack. Regardless, the wall pack still works perfectly and lights just as well as it did before the drop!

Traditional wall packs are built using a glass lens, so when the lens breaks, so does the light source inside. In certain areas, this leads to frequent replacement of the fixture, which most property managers would obviously like to avoid. The vandal-resistant wall packs are designed without glass, eliminating damage caused by malicious activity or objects like sports balls, tree branches or rocks. LG LED modules are mounted over a pre-drilled hole in heavy-duty die-cast aluminum housing. While the modules are difficult to break, they are simple to replace if necessary.

Check out the video below!

Categories
General Lighting Fixtures LED

Somebody’s Watching Me

As Michael Jackson sang, “Somebody’s Watching Me.” Originally LEDs emitted very little light. They were referred to as light to see, as opposed to light to see by. Fast forward and today LEDs are becoming the lighting technology of choice, as they provide energy efficient light to see by.

Whats next? Possibly, LEDs that see you. While it may not be the LED chip that sees you, the LED light fixture may see you, track you through stores, and message you as “the system” determines. Is this s step to far? Maybe, but that is not up to me. Writing about this, I digress from my typical commentaries on lighting. This is more about the fixture than the light source and the light emitted.

253091_8642To read more about LED fixtures that see you and track you, click on this link.

Categories
Fixtures LED

Dude, Where’s My Bulb?

LG is one of my favorite lighting companies because they make high performance LED light modules. Recently, they debuted a new OLED lamp that doesn’t have a light bulb. This lamp certainly gets around the USA ban on the incandescent lamp!

As mentioned in my previous blogs, OLEDs are very thin and flexible, creating an opportunity to design lighting products that are certainly outside of the box. The new lamp, shown in the photo, is just the start of what is yet to come, and this time the proposed OLED product really makes sense. Stay tuned for more OLED.

Photo: LG

Categories
Fixtures LED

Did Cree Shatter the Efficiency Benchmark?

The headlines read “Cree Shatters Efficiency Benchmark with First 200-Lumen-Per-Watt LED Luminaire.” A 200-lumen-per-watt (LPW) is twice the efficiency of the best linear fluorescent luminaires—but is it real? Department of Energy (DOE) projections estimate this level of luminaire efficiency would not occur until after 2020. Is it possible that Cree’s latest innovation has achieved this level of efficiency six years sooner than projected?

The 3,200-lumen concept luminaire delivered 200 LPW + at 80 CRI at thermal equilibrium while remaining within the ANSI color specification for 3000 K. While the prototype leverages Cree’s vertical integration with innovations in LED chips, optics, materials technology and novel system design to deliver unprecedented performance, the keywords are prototype and concept. The results do not imply a product that is cost effective of can be readily produced.

Personally, I find it exciting. It does take prototypes to someday be able to produce luminaires that can exceed 200 LPW, but 200 LPW luminaires are not here yet. Today our options for LED light fixtures include luminaires that emit between 50 and 100 LPW. Luminaires with LG LED light modules that mount on the exterior of the housing—such as the ecoWedge Full Cutoff Wall Pack by Access Fixtures— have the ability to emit light in a high range. However, most luminaires that employ Cree chip on board (COB) designs such as Access Fixtures LED Cutoff Wall Packs emit a respectable 65 LPW.

Categories
Fixtures

How to Update a Cool Antique Light Fixture

In a recent lighting forum discussion, a user posted photos of an old antique fixture they found in the woods. It is a very unique fixture that the person was looking to restore and reuse, but did not know how to. Luckily, an Access Fixtures lighting specialist was there to help!

This fixture is a revere harp pump island light that originally used a 150 watt bulb with a mogul socket.

The Access Fixtures lighting specialists recognized the mogul socket, and suggested a mogul to medium socket converter which would allow the fixture to be repurposed using a medium socket lamp. Another option the specialists suggested was rewiring the fixture with a medium socket. Taking this approach would require careful, secure installation. Additionally, Access Fixtures lighting experts recommended that it would be best to bypass the ballast for rewiring, assuming the ballast is still in the fixture.

Other than the rewiring/repurposing, this fixture can be easily cleaned and refinished to create a cool, trendy new light fixture! The forum user plans to use it as a security fixture for their garage. Another great fixture for illuminating outdoor space is a wall pack. Wall pack lighting fixtures are offered in many styles and options, including energy efficient LED wall packs. You can find all types of wall packs at Access Fixtures by browsing our website, calling us, or utilizing our live chat feature to speak with an expert!

Categories
Fixtures

New NASA Images Shed Light on the World at Night

NASA has released new images of the world at night from the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. The images were captured in April and October 2012. The image below is a composite image of the world at night.
These images were made available by NASA’s new, advanced imaging technology. The images are beautiful, and allow us a look at light use (and light pollution) all over the world. Read more about the technology and see more images here.

Light pollution is a growing concern for environmentalists. Light pollution refers to light from a fixture that is distributed anywhere other than the area it is intended for. All of this extra light is wasted energy, and has detrimental effects on wildlife. Additionally, light pollution can disturb people when light shines into windows, or lightens the sky so that stargazing becomes an impossibility. Many are turning to dark-sky compliant fixtures in an effort to reduce light pollution. Read more about light pollution, and the way dark-sky compliance can help in this blog post.

Access Fixtures recently took a stand against light pollution with their brand new 180 degree bollard light shield. This shield is available for all Access Fixtures bollard lights. The shield blocks light from half of the fixture, so that when placed between buildings and walkways light trespass is eliminated, leaving building occupants undisturbed. The shield blocks light from the areas where it is not wanted, and enhances the light emitted onto the walkway. Learn more about this new light shield in the press release.