Galleria Lighting

2020

This Is Probably Keeping You & Your Kids Awake At Night

This Is Probably Keeping You & Your Kids Awake At Night

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Everyone wants their kids to get better sleep because if your kids are sleeping better, you are too.

But sometimes, we may be doing things like scrolling through our phones or using a sleeping light, that are keeping us from sleeping better and we don’t even realize it. 

Turn Your Sleeping Light Off and Your Reading Light On

Check out these bedtime habits and see if you do any of them yourself. If so, it might be time to change things up a bit to give yourself a better night’s sleep.

No More Screen Time (Blue Light Exposure) Before Bedtime

A dark room at night with an open laptop and window

Did you know? 

Our phone and tablet screens emit a large amount of blue light which makes it more difficult to fall asleep.

According to the National Institute for General Medical Sciences, our bodies have a circadian rhythm, which is our “physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a daily cycle. They respond primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment.” Light is made of a wide spectrum of different colors, and science has found that each color in the spectrum actually creates a physiological response in our body. Artificial lighting has the same effect, but being exposed to the wrong artificial lighting at the wrong time of day can have a dramatic impact on how we feel and function. 

For example, blue light is most prevalent in the sun’s natural spectrum from morning to mid-day, when our bodies are expected to be most productive. This means that when we stare at the blue light on our phones just before bed,  the light is actually telling our bodies to wake up! The opposite of what we want for a healthy and regular sleep schedule. 

The effects of blue light on sleep are pretty huge. If you or you kids are in the habit of scrolling right before bed, it might be time to change that routine. 

Another study explains that a great way to help yourself get better sleep even when you are exposed to blue light is to “block the (blue) light from technology that suppresses melatonin.” 

Melatonin is a hormone in our bodies that helps regulate sleep and if blue light is keeping our bodies from creating and using it, then we’re going to have a harder time falling asleep. 

So ditch the phone scrolling before and try these ideas instead:

  • Plugin your phone across the room so you’re not tempted to continuously scroll at bedtime 
  • Set a reminder on your phone when it’s time to go to put down your phone and go to bed
  • Try using a blue light filter if you do have to use a screen before bed or blue light blocking glass right before bed
  • Change the light bulbs in your bedroom fixtures to be sure they are not emitting high amounts of blue light (look for 2700K or less)

To reduce the amount of blue light you’re exposed to, be sure to upgrade the bulbs in your bedrooms to utilize the best lights for sleeping. 

Use these warmer LED light bulbs instead!

Use Low Level Lighting

Once you have the right bulbs with low blue light, before going to bed, consider dimming the lights in your bedroom. It is best if this is done with an eye level lamp or wall sconce. Using this pattern does more to mimic the natural light changes of the sun. 

Doing this will help communicate to your body that it’s time to get ready for bed and help you wind down for the evening. Using a bright overhead light, signal to our body that its time to be productive. Cutting it off suddenly does little to help our body understand it’s now time to begin making the chemicals required for good sleep. 

If nothing else, try adding a simple dimmer switch to your main light and dim the lamps to about 30% as you wind down at night before bed.

Night Lights Matter

Many children (an adults) go to bed with a sleeping light on, but keeping the lights off at night can actually help you stay asleep better and wake up feeling more refreshed.If a night light is needed, Instead of using a normal light bulb, again try switching to low-level, warm-toned lights (2700K or lower) with a low blue light rating and see what a difference it makes in how well you sleep.

Be More Aware of the Lights in Your Home

You might think a light bulb is a light bulb, but it’s far from the truth. As you know now, the type of bulb makes a big difference in how we feel. Do you know what kind of light bulbs you have in your home?

SeniorLed claims that “Low blue light bulbs are notably better than typical LED bulbs in terms of circadian cycle regulation and human health.”

If your lightbulbs are out of date, they could be affecting your sleep. Things like harsh fluorescent lighting, that flicker a lot, and has high blue light emissions can be unsettling to your eyes making it harder to fall asleep after being exposed to them all day.

Instead of fluorescent lights, try these LED bulbs for home lighting instead. Need somewhere to start? Begin changing out the lighting in your bedrooms for a better night’s sleep.

About Us

For all your home lighting needs, visit Galleria Lighting. Our lighting experts can help you optimize any room with the best lighting for a healthier, happier home.

Clever Lighting Ideas for Your Too-Short Bathroom

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Feeling cramped in your bathroom? Every home comes with its quirks, and bathroom size and layouts are often among them. However, a cramped bathroom doesn’t have to cramp your style! Less-than traditional bathroom spaces simply call for less-than traditional lighting and décor ideas. Below, you’ll find a list of 7 examples of lighting that can transform your vertically-challenged bathroom space. Enjoy!

1. LED Illuminated Mirror

We’ve got lots to say about these, but that’s a topic for another time. They defog, have varied lighting settings, add a dramatic flair, save tons of space, and attract a lot of attention (while drawing attention away from the size of the bathroom). They’re a great addition to any size bathroom space.

Pendants

2. Globe One-Light LED Pendant

Beautiful globe pendants like this add unique texture and variety to your space. Pendants provide a fresh alternative to sconces. Ideally pendants should hang on either side of a mirror and be spaced 30 to 36 inches apart. As with any other bathroom lighting, it’s important that pendants be damp or wet-location rated. This protects against damage to the fixture or electrical components.

3. Cylinder Pendant

The great thing about pendants in a bathroom is that they can hang lower than a vanity light could, making your ceilings look higher. The standard placement for a bathroom pendant is to have the bottom of the fixture at the center line of the mirror. While many pendants come with adjustable stem lengths, you can also opt for a pendant hung by chain, cord, or wire for optimal hanging flexibility. Pendants should be part of a layered lighting plan that includes general overhead lighting, accent lights, and even natural light.

4. Mango Wood 1 Light Pendant

Keep in mind that pendants function best as accent lighting, and may not provide adequate light for the whole space. In fact, it’s better if pendants are opaque or thickly shaded, since they’re at your eye level and a clear-glass fixture might mean you’re staring straight at a bright bulb. That said, pendants like this one add texture, light, and style while drawing your eye away from short ceilings.

Sconces

5. Winfield 2 Light Wall Sconce

Sconces have been around for many years, but their efficiency and style make them a fresh solution for any space. Sconces often flank the sides of the mirror, but you can mount them to fit your personal preference. They can even augment the existing lines of your bathroom, drawing your eye horizontally in a pleasing, stylish way.

6. Glenn 1 Light Wall Sconce

The recommended height to hang sconces between 64” to 68” from the finished floor. The idea is to illuminate the face, so the exact measurements will vary a little bit depending on whether the sconce is “top” or “bottom” heavy, and where it shines light. Leaving the top half of your bathroom with less light draws attention away from the overall height of the room, focusing instead on the central, lit portion of the space.

7. AXIS SCONCE

Don’t forget that sconces are similar to the pendants—they don’t usually provide enough light to serve as a primary light source. If you do favor your sconces, you may want to supplement with hidden recessed lighting overhead. Using them as accent or task lighting, in addition to a main fixture, will add style and round out your bathroom space without detracting from the brightness of the room.

We hope that you can use these tips, tricks, and products to create an aesthetically pleasing and functional space in your bathroom—no matter what the size! Best of luck from all of us at Galleria Lighting.

Timeless VS. Trendy: Which Works Best In Your Home?

Timeless VS. Trendy: Which Works Best In Your Home?

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Keeping up with trends, whether commercially or only as an observer, can be a fun hobby! There’s so much variety, beauty, and class in this world. However, trends in fashion, décor, and even lighting, revolve quickly. If you’re thinking of replacing a more permanent part of your home, such as the flooring, plumbing, or lighting, it’s tricky to be trendy and timeless at the same time.

So how do you decide? Should you choose the latest look, with all the “Ooh”s and “Ahhh”s it’ll bring? Or should you be conservative and avoid something you’ll regret in 5 years? After all, tiny details can date a home. You know, wallpaper from the 70’s, pink tile in the 80’s, burgundy and forest green from the 90’s, bronze and faux finishes from the early 2000’s…

There isn’t one right way to go about this, nor is there one easy answer to the “trendy vs. timeless” debate. However, here are a few things to consider.

It’s Not All or Nothing

You may love some of the styles that have withstood the test of time: subway tile, herringbone (fabric and flooring), or wood floors. That’s great! On the other hand, that doesn’t mean that you can’t also incorporate this year’s hot paint colors and some trendy macramé hangings into your décor as well. Don’t try to decide everything at once, and don’t base all your decisions off of one piece of your home.

Consider Your Resale Plans

There are some cases when it’s better to choose trendy décor and finishes, even if the current trend is not your personal favorite. If you’re building a new home, remodeling, or flipping a home with any intention to sell soon, go trendy. Homes that are on trend show well and sell faster.

Avoid Over-Decorating

Though you could argue that “minimalism” is a trend in itself, we’re convinced that good use of space is timeless. Though it can be tempting to fill every shelf or cover every wall with your latest finds, an over-decorated, crowded space diminishes the artistic effect of any style. In addition, it’ll be easier to update your look later if you have few, carefully chosen accent pieces that can rotate with the next trend.

Be Smart About Trendy

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t have unlimited time and funds to remodel the kitchen or buy a new couch every time popular trend takes a new direction. However, there are plenty of simple, cost-effective ways to make your space trendy and new. Here’s a list of our favorite ideas!

1. Change an indoor paint color. Indoor paint runs its course in about 5 years, so it makes sense. You could even start with a small room… less time, big reward!

2. Rotate your rug or change it altogether. Rugs have a natural knap to them depending on how they are woven. A quick rotation may surprise you with a significant difference.

3. Update your throw pillows on the bed and couches. It’s a quick, cost-effective change!

4. Especially during the winter, add a plant or some kind of earthy décor element to bring a natural, refreshing feel to your space.

5. Switch out some art. Frames may be pricey, but prints usually aren’t! Buy a new family photo, modern print, or custom piece of art to freshen up your frames

6. Replace a key lighting fixture. In addition to updating your look, switching to new bulbs will save you money on your utility bill. Check out our catalog for some good recommendations!

7. Buy new dish towels or dinnerware. An extra pop of color can change the atmosphere in the kitchen or add some extra fun at dinner. 

Make Your Home Your Own

Trends will come and go… And traditional styles? Even there, there’s a ton of variation! Contemporary. Transitional. Rustic. Vintage. Urban. Eclectic… no matter the style, take the time to create a home environment that speaks to you. If it suits your needs and appeals to your unique style, it’ll be timeless. Best of luck from Galleria Lighting in your decorating adventures!

How to Prevent Falls Among the Elderly

How to Prevent Falls Among the Elderly

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What would you guess is the main cause of death among the elderly? 

It’s not old age and it’s not health complications. If you already knew it was falling, we’re impressed. 

According to a recent New York Times article, falling is the number one cause of death among the elderly population. If you find this shocking, you’re not alone. But when we break down all the risks and causes of falling cases, it starts to make sense. 

There are two main causes of falls in the elderly that relate to lighting: 

The first one is lightbulbs. They go out, it’s inevitable. However, when a light bulb goes out, if no one’s there to fix it, people become used to less light and often never get around to it. The more time spent in dimly lit spaces, the more likely a person is to trip over something unexpected.

The second cause of falling due to insufficient lighting is within stairways. People of all ages fall when walking up or down stairs, but this can be detrimental for the older community. Stairways are places that are often exceptionally difficult to change lightbulbs, and also present the obvious risk of falling when dark. 

Luckily, there are many precautions that the elderly and their family/friends can take to reduce the risk of falls when it comes to lighting. Many of them are so simple and yet people don’t think to implement them until they see the negative effects of not having taken steps sooner. 

Take a look at our list of tips to help prevent you or your loved one from falling:

Change the Bulbs

A person holding a lit LED light bulb against a pink backdrop

Lighting is often the forgotten solution to elderly falls. But it’s simple, the more they can see, the less likely it is for them to fall or trip. But you don’t want to just install any kind of light bulb, you want to make sure you’re getting the best and longest lasting bulb to avoid them going dim too quickly.

Long-life LED bulbs and fixtures help to eliminate the need to climb up on ladders or reach up to higher places. Eliminating the need to change light bulbs more frequently helps solve the problem of losing balance and falling while changing them out. 

Longer lasting light bulbs have plenty of benefits to offer besides just having a more prolonged life. Because they are more efficient light bulbs, they can save the user money on their energy bills. Long-life LED bulbs don’t heat up as much as other bulbs and therefore don’t heat up the house, which means the AC doesn’t have to work harder to keep the house cool. 

Step It Up With Step Lights

Stairway with lighting underneath the railing

Step lights are a great to install into a home to prevent falls for the elderly. Stairs are a real risk to elderly people who struggle with balance and seeing well, so providing a little extra light could be a real life saver. 

Many step lights have built in photo-cells that turn on and off automatically so the user doesn’t have to remember themselves! This is extremely helpful especially at night time when it’s more difficult to see. 

It’s important that a stairwell is the brightest place in an elderly person’s home so that there is never any difficulty distinguishing steps.

Landscape Lighting

Lit walkway leading to the front door of a house

Going up driveways, walking up the porch steps, getting in and out of the car, all of these are obstacles for elderly people and if they’re trying to do this when it’s dark outside, that’s just an equation for disaster and risky falls. 

You can help make grandma and grandpa’s yard look stunning while decreasing the likelihood of falling at the same time by installing landscape lighting. Landscape lighting not only looks great, it’s also a huge safety upgrade. 

And the best part about landscape lighting? 

Quality lighting for landscape is low-voltage meaning it doesn’t require as much effort or extra complicated electrical runs in order for it to work.

Increase the Lumens

Most homes are simply not sufficiently lit for the elderly. An easy fix to this problem would be to increase the lumens in the home. What do we mean by that? 

A lumen is the total amount of visible light that is emitted from the bulb. So if it’s increased that means the lighting is brighter, therefore making it easier to see. On average, the lumens should be doubled in most rooms and dimmers should be installed so that the level can be made comfortable in any room. 

Not only will changing the lumens in a home help a person see better and help prevent falling, it can also help with depression and sleeping better which happen to be massive problems in the elderly community. Having more light has been shown to boost a person’s mood and being able to dim the lights in the evening can help a person fall asleep easier.

Upgrade to Remote Control

White bedside table decorated with a lamp, flowers, alarm clock, and remote

We live in an incredible age of new technology that can be used to really benefit the elderly. New devices like remotes, motion sensors and smart switches can make it easier for the elderly to control their lighting without having to stumble around in the dark. 

Having this kind of technology is especially useful to install in areas like the bedroom and bathroom. As we age, our bodies struggle to stay asleep during the night due to restlessness, needing to use the bathroom and other reasons. The chances of tripping and falling are much more likely if a person has to shuffle around in the dark to find a light switch. 

Having a remote control light switch near the bed is a great way to ensure the safety of the elderly. A small remote can be easily placed on their nightstand where they’ll be able to easily reach it and have access to the lighting in their room. For the bathroom, motion sensors are a good way to go so the lights turn on and off automatically.

Simple upgrades like these can help make the lives of the elderly so much easier and safer.

White hanging light fixture on a blue background

Here’s where We come in.

At Galleria Lighting, we know that lighting is far more than a light switch or decoration. It not only brings brightness and healthier living into your home but acts as a safety mechanism for those that need it most. Our lighting experts are here to help maximize the amount of light in your home to help you see better and enjoy life more fully. We are able to walk anyone through the best types of lighting for elderly homes and living situations. We’ll show you tips and tricks to add light to spaces you never thought of, and bulbs that last what feels like a lifetime.

Preventing falls among the elderly can be easily avoided, and lighting is one of the first steps to ensure their safety and wellbeing. 

Come visit us at Galleria Lighting today and let us help you find the perfect lighting for your home.

Ready For An Upgrade – Try a Remote Controlled Ceiling Fan

Ready For An Upgrade – Try a Remote Controlled Ceiling Fan

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Do you love the benefits you’ve received from your traditional ceiling fan, like increased air circulation or more cost savings per month– but feel ready for an upgrade? A remote controlled ceiling fan, just might do the trick in helping you reap all of the rewards one can offer.

When it comes to home design, a ceiling fan can be at the center of attention as many are now both functional and aesthetically compelling when compared to other lighting fixtures. You won’t have to trade beauty for function, as they are equally important in defining the design of your home. There are some great additional functional benefits to a ceiling fan with a remote.

The Benefits of Remote Controlled Ceiling Fans:

Convenience and Ease of Use

Though you may not know it, most ceiling fans can be adapted to work with a universal fan remote purchased after the fact. However, technology, designs, and engineering have now made it possible for most to come with their own unique ceiling fan remote control. Either way, having a remote to quickly change the speed, adjust the dimmer, or set a timer will make it easier to use. Don’t worry about fan pulls and pulling them one too many times any more. 

Gone are the days of getting up off of your couch or out of bed to flip the switch and turn off your fan. Just program or install a remote and fully control your lighting or fan fixture. With minimal effort, you will have one of the conveniences of living in the 21stCentury.

Shop Galleria Lighting Remote Control Ceiling Fans

Monochromatic, modern greyscale living room with two five-blade ceiling fans

Added Comfort

Ceiling fans can provide a bit of nostalgia, as your childhood home probably had one if not multiple fans. Making your home comfortable by installing a ceiling fan and connecting you to your roots, especially one with a remote, will add coziness and a sense of warmth.

Ceiling fans come equipped with a variety of features including a rotation switch, different speeds, sometimes attached lighting apparatuses, and can naturally cool or heat your home. 

Temperatures tend to fluctuate making it difficult to get comfortable. Having a ceiling fan can help circulate the air and leave it eight degrees cooler in the summer months. Later in the year, reverse the direction of the fan and it will pull the heat upward making the entire space feel cozier.

Not all houses have the same ceiling height, but lucky for you there are a variety of ceiling fan designs, sizes, and models – all providing the sole purpose of adding comfort to your everyday living situation. 

If your ceiling is less than nine feet, a flush mount ceiling fan might be best so guests or family members don’t bonk their heads as they enter the room. Another variegated style is a ceiling fan with light – a win-win situation. Both of these designs have the ability to be adapted to work with remote control. The number of blades on a ceiling fan does not have any significance but can influence your overall feel. Simply find a ceiling fan to best fit your home décor and comfort needs.

Traditional ceiling fan with wood blades, dome light, and pulls

Luxury or Necessity?

You might be thinking a remote control ceiling fan is for those who seek a luxurious lifestyle, but to be honest it can be a fixture for everyone. A ceiling fan could become helpful in a variety of situations, and even be a necessity.

  • Elderly People– The elderly to utilize their lighting fixtures and not risk falling. Getting up and moving around might create a risk for them, and this could help ease the difficulty. A ceiling fan remote control can also assist them in utilizing features they normally could not.
  • Task Lighting or Specialized Activities– Whether you are completing a specific task, chore, or activity around the house and want less air circulating instead of interrupting your focus by getting up and altering the fan speed, simply use a remote.
  • Young Children– If having a ceiling fan scares you because you have small ones who like to jump around and pull the fan pulls, altering the function and operation of the ceiling fan can minimize or remove the risk. 

Shop Ceiling Fan Remotes

Sleek, modern ceiling fan in black matte finished mounted in a neutral living space

Adapt and Install

Upgrade your traditional ceiling fan and turn it into luxury accessory, by making it work through a remote control. Installation is simple and easy and you will be wondering why you didn’t do it sooner. Most universal fan remotes available on the market work with a variety of brands.

At Galleria Lighting, we have lighting specialists available who can help you discover what fan will work best with your home décor, which remote control fan kit to purchase, or the perfect size of fan for your favorite room.

Although there are options to integrate the remote control of a ceiling fan with smart home technology via your hand-held device, we recommend sticking to a ceiling fan remote control. Having a separate remote just for your fan will allow you to control it without messing up the frequency of your other devices.

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Dark Sky Lighting: Mysteries Revealed

Dark Sky Lighting: Mysteries Revealed

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When was the last time you really saw the beautiful night sky? Was it in your backyard last night or your last camping trip? Too often, the breathtaking night sky is just a summer memory, overshadowed by street lamps and light pollution.

That’s where Dark Sky lighting comes in. Dark Sky outdoor lighting is designed to point the light towards the ground and not up into the sky, where it can contribute to light pollution. In fact, a growing number of communities are now introducing dark sky ordinances that require dark sky outdoor lighting with specific types of reflectors, shields, cut-off angles, and bulbs.

Seem drastic? You’d be surprised how far-reaching the effects of overly bright outdoor lights can be. Not only do they add to light pollution and make it difficult to enjoy the stars, but they also disrupt the natural cycle of nocturnal animals. Excessively bright lights can also cause “sky glow”, an unnatural, manmade illumination of the sky that resembles smog.

Luckily, Dark Sky lighting is becoming increasingly common, and there are plenty of ways to transform your outdoor lighting to meet these new guidelines. Start from scratch with stylish, efficient new fixtures, or try some of the tips below.

  1. Consider adding a motion sensor on your outdoor lights. It’ll turn on the light when needed and turn it off automatically when it’s not.
  2. Instead of a new fixture, try a new bulb. Decreasing the lumens of outdoor bulbs makes for better night lighting, since it illuminates the area only as needed.
  3. Consider shading your outdoor fixtures, blocking light from entering the sky unnecessarily. You can also point your fixtures at the ground to increase the accuracy of the light.
  4. Avoid using light that crosses property lines. This can detract from property values and irritate neighbors, so try to be considerate by angling lights away from neighbors’ fences and windows.

Make your nights clearer and your lights smarter by investing in Dark Sky lighting. Not only does it protect the environment, it boosts your efficiency and saves you money. Not a bad deal, right? So give it a try and go enjoy those stars.

LEARN HOW LED TECHNOLOGY WILL FOREVER CHANGE THE WORLD

LEARN HOW LED TECHNOLOGY WILL FOREVER CHANGE THE WORLD

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During my time in the lighting industry, I’ve received countless questions about LED lights. What are they? How are they different from traditional light sources?  How do they work? Why are they more expensive? And the list goes on…

This guide will teach you the ins and outs of LED lighting and how to use this innovative technology to your benefit. We’ll cover the very basics and some more advanced concepts, so buckle up and get ready to see how LED lighting could transform your home lighting!

1. Yes- They Use Electricity

Electricity is created by the flow of electrons from a positive end of a power source (such as a battery), through a conductor (usually copper wire), through the item that is being powered (in this case a lightbulb), and then back to the negative end of the power source. This is called an electrical circuit, because the electrons ultimately end up in the same place they started.

This method of transferring power applies to household appliances, cell phones, modern cars, and LED lights.  With any of these devices, functionality depends on an unbroken circuit, and usually, a switch to control it.

2.  They’re Not Like Incandescent Bulbs

Our idea of light bulbs stems mainly from the traditional incandescent bulb. Let’s imagine one like this image, which is a medium base, A-style lamp. The light bulb threads into a phenolic lamp socket, more commonly referred to simply as the “light bulb socket”. As the bulb is placed inside the socket, the lamp holder connection makes contact with the leads inside the socket. Turn the power on, and an electrical current flows through that connection to the tungsten filament, heating the metal and causing it to release energy in the form of light. 

This heat energy inside the pressurized globe of the bulb creates the light that shines from incandescent bulbs. Most of them require roughly 40-100 watts to produce light, but this obviously depends on the brightness of the bulb. LED’s function quite differently, so let’s take a look at how an LED will react to the same electrical current.

3. They’re Built to Create More Light

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. The science here is a little dense… But I’ll do my best to cover the basics. A light emitting diode is made by pressing three layers of semiconductor material together. These materials vary in composition depending on the application, but often include zinc and nitrogen (as opposed to tungsten carbide in incandescent bulbs).

When an electron enters the diode, it is charged with more energy than it originally had. This is called electronic excitement. While it is still inside the diode it passes through the diode’s layers and releases this excess energy in the form of light!

4. They Come in Infinite Shapes, Sizes, and Colors

Because of the way they are made, diodes come in practically any shape and size. They can be stretched out to look like a filament inside of a traditional glass light bulb or formed into a small square. Quantity of light also varies, and many LEDs use multiple diodes to produce even more light. It’s amazing technology—even in these various shapes and sizes, most LEDs also contain a transformer, or voltage regulator, inside the bulb or fixture to regulate their energy usage.

5. They Last a Long Time

One of LED’s many benefits is their long life. They last much longer than traditional bulbs because they don’t produce nearly as much heat as their more traditional counterparts. With LED lights, you can practically say goodbye to burnt out bulbs! This explains why their upfront cost is slightly more than older bulbs—with LEDs, you won’t be purchasing new ones very often, and the money you spend on the bulb is quickly recuperated in saved energy costs.

6. That’s Right—They Save You Money

As mentioned, the process of electronic excitement uses far less energy than heating the filament in a traditional bulb. In fact, an LED light bulb uses as little as 14% of the energy burned by an incandescent bulb! This means that by changing home light bulbs to LEDs, the average American will save over $1,000 in a 5-year span. If you have other types of lights in your home, such as halogen bulbs, you can save even more than that!

7. LEDs Maximize Existing Fixtures

Another overlooked benefit of LED bulbs is their ability to effectively exceed the maximum wattage of light fixtures. Sounds crazy, but it’s something you’ve probably thought about before! When a room in your home feels dingy or underlit, it’s probably not because the fixture is old or inadequate. More than likely, the bulbs simply aren’t providing enough light for the room.

Typical light fixtures can power a 60 watt incandescent bulb, but because LED bulbs are so much more efficient, that same fixture could power a 100 watt equivalent LED bulb! This provides much more light than the fixture could normally provide, and allows the flexibility to choose from various light colors. Not only will LEDs save you on your utility bill, but they can also save you from buying new fixtures.

8. The Sky Is the Limit!

8. The Sky Is the Limit!

Now that you’re an expert on LED lighting, start imagining the infinite ways they could light up your home! Because they are so small, they hide easily under kitchen cabinets or alongside a staircase to light up the steps. They could add a dramatic flair to a theatre room or simply update the recessed lighting in your home, providing a more consistent brightness. My favorite LED distributor, Alloy LED, provide a wide range of products for almost any lighting project, and they might spark some ideas for your home. And as always, we’re here for any of your lighting needs! Stay lit, my friends!