As LED technology continues to revolutionize the lighting industry, LED’s are finding their way into increasingly more decorative light fixtures. Designers and manufacturers are creating beautiful light fixtures using LED’s. Thus far, the most widely accepted uses of LED light sources have been recessed lighting, under cabinet lighting, accent lighting, rope and tape light and landscape lighting. Design styles offered by contemporary lighting manufacturers have easily incorporated LED technology. As homeowners continue to look for ways to reduce energy consumption in their homes they are becoming more educated about the return on investment offered by LED technology. Every year at the lighting market we see more decorative interior lighting designed with LED’s. It is an exciting time for the lighting industry since designers are able to create fixtures without the constraint of a bulb. The possibilities are unlimited and we can’t wait to see the progress!
Today we want to highlight some of the decorative LED products from Hinkley Lighting. Hinkley is dedicated to staying at the forefront of technology by utilizing the latest in engineering expertise and cutting edge components.
Hinkley offers a great selection of ceiling mounts with integrated LED’s. These stylish semi-flush and flush mounts are an easy way to incorporate LED technology into your home. All of them offer the following features-
Energy Efficient-consume 85% less energy than incandescent
Fully Dimmable-with any standard dimmer
Long Life-rated at 100,000 hours of usage
Field Serviceable
3000 Kelvin
80+ Color Rendering Index
Outstanding Light Distribution
Eco-Friendly-free of toxic materials
5 Year Warranty
Is there a place in your home where you could use these energy efficient AND stylish LED ceiling lights?
For more information on these or any lighting products, contact the Legend Lighting showroom at 512-251-0000 or come by to visit us at 15342 N. IH 35.
If you have shopped for an LED light bulb you have probably seen the LED Lighting Facts Label on the product packaging. Five metrics are required on the label; lumens, watts, efficacy, color rendering index and correlated color temperature.
Light Output/Lumens
This is a measure of light output. The higher the number, the more light is emitted. On the LM-79 test report (more about this later) it is reported as “Total Integrated Flux” (Lumens).
Watts
This is a measure of how much energy is required to light the product. The lower the wattage, the less energy is used. On the LM-79 test report, this is reported as “Input Power” (Watts).
Lumens per Watt/Efficacy
This is a measure of efficiency. The higher the number, the more efficient the product is. On the LM-79 testing, this is reported as “Efficacy.”
IESNA LM-79-2008
This is a standardized industry test procedure that measures performance qualities of LED luminaries and lamps and allows for a true comparison regardless of the light source.
Model Number
This is the manufacturer’s unique model number for the product.
Type
This indicates the specific type of solid-state lighting fixture.
Brand
This is the manufacturer’s brand name.
Color Rendering Index (CRI)
This is a measure of color accuracy.
Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)
This is a measure of light color. “Cool” colors will have a higher Kelvin temperature (3600-5500 K) and “Warm” colors will have lower color temperatures (2700-3500K).
Manufacturers also have the option of also including lumen maintenance and warranty information on the label.
LED Lumen Maintenance
This metric measures the amount of light the LED light source is expected to emit at 25,000 hours at a given ambient test temperature, compared to its initial light output.
Product Warranty
The URL with the warranty information is provided on the label if the product has a warranty.
More about LM-79
When LED products were first introduced to the marketplace, since it was completely new technology, there were no existing standards in place to measure and rate these new products. Standards help manage expectations about what products can and cannot do, in addition to product safety for intended applications. New standards were written, and one of the most important ones is the LM-79. This test provides a basis for rating and understanding the performance of LED products and is also a resource for various certification programs.
Lm-79 was developed and published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES). The full title is: “Approved Method: Electrical and Photometric Measurements of Solid-State Lighting Products.” LM-79 describes how to accurately measure the electrical input and light output of LED products. The purpose of the standard is to understand how LED’s perform in their expected operating environments.
As a consumer, you may never see the actual LM-79 report, but you will see in referenced on spec sheets and on labels (such as the ones above) and in catalogs. If you are considering a significant LED purchase, you should ask for it since it is an indicator of product quality and certification to programs such as Energy Star. A full report will include electrical information, photometric information and some will include full spectral power distribution.
It is a good idea to at least be familiar with LM-79 if you want to compare products or gain a better understanding of LED technology.
To learn more about the ever changing world of LED technology, be sure to contact our showroom. There is a lot to learn and we look forward to sharing our knowledge and helping you choose the best LED products for your application!
Legend Lighting recently had the opportunity to work with one of our custom home builders, VII Custom Homes, on a new project, which was featured the Home of Distinction home tour. The builder had seen a photo on Houzz and wanted to re-create this idea in their home.
The inspiration came from the Houzz profile of Wright Street Design Group from Ann Arbor, Michigan. The photo below has been added to 15,560 idea books.
Our customer wanted to use LED lighting, so Cathy Shockey, with Legend Lighting, and Cory Turney, with Diode LED, worked together on the design using LED tape light. Ultra Blaze tape light in 3000K from Diode LED was chosen and applied to the inside edge of the open back of the cubes. They were then attached to brackets on the wall, leaving about an inch of space from the wall, which makes them appear to float. The photo below shows a diagram of the design.
Diagram by Diode LED
Below is a photo of the finished project. VII Custom Homes was very happy with the results, and this unique application was a popular feature on the home tour. This is a great example of how Houzz influences design. A project from Ann Arbor, Michigan inspired a design in Austin, Texas.
LED tape light accents cubes to create wall art.
The design possibilities with LED tape light, both indoors and outdoors are limitless. If you would like to get creative with this flexible and versatile product, we would love to help!
Click here for more info and to see more beautiful photos of this home.
A complimentary, accredited CEU course presented by WAC Lighting
Wednesday, September 25th at 11:30AM
Legend Lighting Showroom
Join us for our Lunch & Learn Series as we explore how Solid State Lighting (SSL), also known as LED, continues to deliver revolutionary new solutions for residential lighting needs. Explore the features and benefits of cutting-edge Organic LED (OLED) lighting and its current and future applications. In addition, this course will cover the top features, benefits and functionality of current LED Lighting; the differences between traditional lamp sources and LEDs; and the success of LED lighting.
Complimentary lunch and valet parking to be provided. Space is limited, so please reserve your seat today!
WAC Lighting’s SSL (Solid State Lighting) Revolution CEU Course is accepted by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and accredited by the American Lighting Association (ALA), the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and the Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC).
For more information, contact our showroom at (512) 251-0000.
If you are tired of the same old, boring switches, dimmers, outlets and wall plates, you will love the new adorne collection from Legrand. New to the marketplace and new to Legend Lighting, Legrand’s innovative products add great style to these typically utilitarian devices. Elegant, with clean lines, the adorne collection offers combinations to fit every style and taste.
The heart of the product line is the unique collection of beautifully designed switches and dimmers. Each switch and dimmer in the adorne collection features a clean design with a helpful locator light to easily find it in the dark. Turn your lights on and off with a touch (like on your smart phone), click or a wave of your hand.
White Mirror plate with white Whisper switch from the adorne collection
Legrand has taken the ordinary electrical outlet and made it extraordinary! Featuring outlets that hide in the wall until needed, convenient in-wall smart device connections, pop-out outlets and even accent nightlights, outlets have never been more stylish and convenient.
adorne’s wall plates are available in 32 beautiful choices including cast metals, woods, leather, and vibrant colors. Their custom option makes it very easy to customize the wall plates to work in any decor. The possibilities are endless.
With an array of modular components that can swap out easily, the adorne under cabinet lighting system offers new high-tech, highly convenient choices. In addition to lighting and outlets, Bluetooth speakers and smart phone docks are incorporated into the design.
The adorne under cabinet lighting and outlet system
Legrand is generating a lot of excitement with these innovative new products. The adorne collection has been featured in many industry and design publications, including House Beautiful (shown below) in addition to being featured in Times Square (also shown below). Legend Lighting is pleased to announce that adorn products are now in stock at our showroom, and our interactive adorne display should arrive this month. We can’t wait to introduce this fantastic new product to Austin! Take a look at this video to learn more, and visit our showroom soon to see the product on display.
With increased interest in LED lighting and the continuing trend toward energy efficiency, we are often asked where LED lighting makes the most sense in residential applications. LED lighting is a great option for cabinet lighting, landscape lighting, outdoor lighting, recessed lighting and light bulb replacement.
LED Cabinet Lighting
One of the easiest ways to incorporate LED technology into your home is by changing out your old fluorescent under cabinet lighting to LED. WAC Lighting manufactures two of our favorite and most popular under cabinet lighting products.
InvisiLED tape light from WAC Lighting
LEDme Light Bars from WAC Lighting
LEDme Light Bars from WAC Lighting are an excellent choice for kitchen counters and under cabinets. Available in 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 lights, and in bronze, satin nickel and white, they are dimmable to 10% with an electronic low voltage dimmer. LEDme Light Bars have a true one inch profile and are rated to last 50,000 hours.
InvisiLED Tape Light, also from WAC Lighting, is one of the most flexible LED products on the market and can be used as accent lighting, in coves, under counters, bars and in toe kick areas. It is very easy to install and is a quality energy efficient light source. InvisiLED is available in 2700K, 3000K, 3500K and 4500K color temperatures, can be dimmed with an electronic low voltage dimmer and rated to last 50,000 hours.
LED Landscape Lighting
If you spend a lot of time and energy creating a beautiful landscape, you will definitely want to light it up at night to show it off. Artistic illumination of the landscape is very popular right now and can be accomplished with a variety of down lights, spotlights, path lights, and floodlights. The versatility and energy efficiency of LED make it the perfect choice for landscape lighting. LED bulbs last much longer than standard low voltage lights, and as a result, require much less maintenance.
Kichler Design Pro LED Landscape Lighting
Kichler’s Design Pro LED with Radiax Optics offers more lumens with less wattage, multiple kelvin temperatures and multiple lumen outputs. These features create design flexibility and the capability to precisely deliver light right where it is needed. The versatility, finish options, beam angles and brightness make Kichler an excellent choice in landscape lighting.
The Nexus series from Hinkley Lighting
Hinkley Lighting’s LED landscape lighting fixtures are engineered with an integrated LED light engine. Hinkley continues to stay in the forefront of LED technology with sleek fixtures such as their Nexus series. Nexus is a clean, contemporary energy saving system, which is designed to blend into the landscape. It is a dimmable system and will work with any 12V transformer and will complement a wide range of residential applications.
LED Outdoor Lighting
Consider an update to your outdoor lighting and get a great new look along with the energy efficiency of LED. There are many beautiful choices available to enhance your home’s exterior. The LED fixtures shown here from Hinkley Lighting are engineered with a high efficiency LED panel and built-in driver. Hinkley also makes GU24 fixtures that are equipped with an energy efficient socket that accepts LED and fluorescent lamps. Select lanterns can be fitted with the LED DSL-40 to convert to Dark Sky and LED.
The Atlantis Series from Hinkley Lighting
The Aria Series from Hinkley Lighting
LED Recessed Lighting
If you are remodeling your home or even as an economical alternative in new construction, consider using LED retrofit modules in your existing recessed cans. They use 85% less energy than a 65 watt incandescent lamp, producing 77 lumens per watt and last an average of 35,000 hours. The 6″EP Series shown here from American Lighting is available in 2700K and 3000K with a high color rendering that works well for general lighting. They are dimmable with most standard incandescent dimmers, can be used in damp locations and have a five year warranty. Trim colors available are dark bronze, brushed steel and white. These are very easy to install with a few simple, easy steps.
EP 6″ LED Retrofit Module from American Lighting
LED Light Bulbs (Lamps)
The quickest and most convenient way to add LED lighting in your home is to replace some of your light bulbs with new LED lamps. Toshiba manufactures high quality LED lamps in a variety of color temperatures and lumen outputs, so there is sure to be one to fit your needs. Their powerful PAR 30 lamp, shown here, provides 800 lumens and is available in three color temperatures and three beam angles. These lamps can replace the halogens in your recessed cans and are rated to last 40,000 hours. Consider replacing the light bulbs in your table lamps with the Toshiba 8A19, also shown here. This omni-directional 40 watt equivalent A-19 produces 450 lumens of warm natural light. All of the LED lamp products from Toshiba are highly rated and are an excellent choice as a replacement for your incandescent light bulbs.
Legend Lighting is introducing a new blog series, “Shine Some Light On It: Inspiring Solutions That Light Up Your Space”. In our lighting showroom, we have opportunities daily to solve lighting challenges for our customers. We decided that this would be valuable information to share with our readers on our blog. So, in this new series, we will be writing about solutions that we have come up with to real lighting problems. Maybe these examples will inspire a lighting project in your home!
Recently, two of our customers wanted to light up a built-in entertainment center in their living room. Their shelving was stained dark, and they knew they wanted to add accent lighting but didn’t know where to start. They contacted our showroom, and Resa Russell, lighting designer at Legend Lighting, went to work to find a solution. To simplify the process, the homeowners were given some homework. We asked them to provide some photos (shown here) and take some preliminary measurements. The couple had expressed that they wanted it to be bright enough, but not overwhelming.
LED tape light from LED Inspirations was the perfect solution for these homeowners’ dark shelving. Lighting the shelving with tape light could be accomplished in one of two ways. Tape light could be installed around the perimeter of the interior of the cabinet box, but they wanted each individual shelf to be illuminated. One of the benefits of tape light is that the low profile allows it to be easily hidden in a channel, which was used for this installation. With no lip on each shelf to hide the tape, the channel was an easy solution.
Resa came up with the best layout and made a visit to the customers’ home to determine the desired color and brightness. LED tape light is available in both Inspire Bright and Inspire Super Bright and comes in color choices of 2700 kelvin (matches incandescent), 3000 kelvin (matches halogen) and 4000 kelvin (matches fluorescent). Our LED Tape Light kit allowed Resa to show the homeowner all their choices and exactly how the light would look in their space. This customer wanted a warm accent light, so the Inspire Bright 2700 kelvin tape was determined to be the best choice, installed in the bronze channel. A transformer would be needed, and could sit in the center above the cabinet, with the wiring traveling down each side of the cabinet box. A dimmer was also installed, adding even more flexibility. Our sister company, Powerhouse Electrical Services, provided the installation. A photo of the finished project is shown below. Our customer was very pleased with the results.
LED tape light is a great solution to many lighting challenges that otherwise were more difficult and more expensive to solve before LED tape light was introduced to the marketplace. It can beautifully illuminate coves, niches, bookcases, toe kicks, steps and cabinets.
If your home has a shadowy spot, and you need to Shine Some Light On It, come see us at Legend Lighting. We will find the right solution to light up your space!
WAC is known for introducing innovative products that offer new solutions to many common lighting issues. Measuring less than an inch wide and a half inch deep, the Straight Edge LED Light Strip is the answer for under cabinets, coves, display cabinets and other areas where space may be a factor.
Offering two color temperatures, five lengths and several mounting options, there are many options to customize any job.
The Straight Edge has an average of 48 lumens per watt, making it an energy efficient light source for task lighting. One of the most interesting mounting accessories available is the adjustable mounting clip, which allows the fixture to pivot and direct light exactly where it is needed.
For a job that needs continuous light with some flexibility in mounting, the Straight Edge may be the product for you. The Straight Edge is on display in the Legend Lighting showroom. Come in soon and take a look!
Legend Lighting would like to wish all of our valued customers a very Happy New Year! We are looking forward to a great year in 2013!
The lighting industry is changing rapidly with new products and technologies being introduced to the marketplace at an extraordinary pace. We want to be your resource in Austin, Texas for lighting fixtures, chandeliers, ceiling fans, cabinet lighting, landscape lighting, and much more! Whether helping you find the perfect style, size and finish for your decorative lighting, or educating you on the latest in LED technology, our designers can help!
This year we plan to offer several educational and DIY classes, so be on the lookout for those in our newsletter and posted to our website. Also, our website will soon be updated with new photography, a new Legend Lighting Gallery with a portfolio of our projects, and a Design Inspiration gallery with photos from our manufacturers.
On our homepage we also have links to Facebook, Pinterest, Houzz and our blog. Follow us on Facebook and check out our boards and idea books on Pinterest and Houzz!
We’ve recently returned from the International Lighting Market in Dallas where we previewed the hottest new styles and trends in residential lighting, and we’ll be bringing these new lighting designs to our showroom in the coming months. Come visit our showroom soon. Illuminate the Possibilities with Legend Lighting!
Kichler Lighting’s Design Pro modular LED cabinet lighting just got a little better, and Legend Lighting is excited to offer this advanced lighting system to its customers. Available this summer, the Design Pro LED 2.0 modular cabinet lighting system still features brilliant, efficient LED lighting with an excellent color rendering and warm color temperature but is now even thinner, more energy efficient, fully dimmable, and more affordable than its predecessor.
LED cabinet lighting has many advantages over older xenon, halogen and fluorescent technologies. Design Pro LED has an estimated lifespan of 40,000 hours, uses a fraction of the electricity, and produces no ambient heat, making it ideal for kitchen applications. Visit Legend Lighting’s showroom to see Kichler Design Pro LED products on display, and we hope to have the modular 2.0 system available for demo within the coming weeks. In the mean time, watch this video to learn more about this new product (and be sure to turn up your volume!).
Legend Lighting would like to wish all of our valued customers a very Happy New Year! We are looking forward to a great year in 2013!