Commercial Light Bulbs
There are a plethora of lighting options for inside your business. Having the right commercial light bulbs for the job is vital to the performance and functionality of the lamp. Not only do you need to have the proper fixtures for your commercial lighting needs, but you will also need to equip those lamps with the right commercial light bulbs to maximize energy efficiency and longevity of the lamp. The type of light chosen will be based upon the lamps purpose and whether or not you will need brightness or better color rendering over energy cost savings. Because your bottom line is important, you will want the most energy efficient bulbs you can find for your residential lighting project.
Fixtures are only one half of the lighting equation; the other is what goes in that lamp. The efficiency, or lack thereof, for the light is based upon the amount of light it produces in proportion to the electricity it draws. One of the easiest ways to control this is with an energy efficient commercial light bulb. Often, these have a more expensive initial cost than less efficient bulbs, but the saving on your electric bills will more than pay for the light over the course of its life. Incandescent bulbs are usually the cheapest to purchase, costing merely pennies a piece, but they are the least efficient lights to have. The reason is that unlike other bulbs, incandescent or halogen light bulbs produce heat when they are lit. Both heat and light are forms of energy, and the more energy the light uses to generate heat, the less it is using to effectively produce light.
There are several options for energy efficient commercial light bulbs which will vary depending upon their application. The most commonly seen for indoor lighting are fluorescent bulbs. There are two main types: tubes and compact. Compact fluorescent lights can replace incandescent in the same fixtures, requiring just a simple twist of the wrist to install them. Tube lights need fixtures with ballasts in them, but once the fixtures are in place, replacing the bulbs are easy. These have come a long way from their reviled ancestors of thirty years ago. Then, fluorescent commercial light bulbs were fraught with problems. They were blamed for making people under them look colorless or “washed out”. Due to the antiquated ballasts in them, they would often have troubles with flickering and humming. This would create tension and stress for employees working under them. Today, color from these is truer and the ballasts no longer allow for the flickering and humming of the past.
Other types of indoor commercial light bulbs include halogen lights and 10,000 hour light bulbs. These two operate in the same way that incandescent do, in fact, many 10,000 hour lights are incandescent bulbs. Halogen lights unlike incandescent are more efficient because they have a longer life. This is due to action of the filament regenerating every time the bulb is lit. Caution should be taken with halogen light bulbs and lamps, though. These can burn extremely hot, and the heat output could be problematic, especially if they are near an air conditioner thermostat or room thermometer. In those places, cooler fluorescents should be used.
If you are unsure about the type of commercial light bulbs you need for your business in order to have the best in cost savings with the most effective lighting, ask an expert. Light retailers often have an experienced electrician on staff for answering customers' inquiries.
