LED lighting is known to save you money on your electricity. Not only that, but they will also save you money in maintenance with their long life span. These advantages together with all the other great reasons to use LEDs, make them an obvious choice for your home lighting. But did you know that by using LED lights you can actually add value to your home? Every home being sold or rented is now required by law to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) done. The EPC shows how energy efficient your house is (or isn’t as the case may be), covering areas from insulation to energy usage. One category on the EPC is lighting. If you have low energy lighting such as LEDs in every fixed lighting outlet, you can increase your efficiency over all and your EPC rating. Having a high EPC rating could add value to your house, making it more appealing to house hunters, especially energy/ environmentally friendly conscious ones!

Above: An example diagram taken from EPC Document

The EPC Certificate is a document which rates all areas of energy efficiency in the house from wall and roof insulation to lighting and heating. It shows what areas are good and what areas are poor, offering suggestions on how improvements can be made to the buildings energy efficiency and even shows the savings that could be made from the recommended improvements.

Lighting is one the category you may not have considered when thinking about the energy performance of the house. But installing LED lighting in all you lighting fixtures will not only save you money but will bring your EPC rating up. A potential home buyer will want to get the most for their money and having a house with a high EPC rating will certainly help entice them to your property.

To view your properties EPC rating or that of a house you may be looking to purchase/rent just search the database with the postcode and you can view the full certificate, you can also view the local neighbors certificates to see how similar properties compare.

According to the EPC certificates, just by changing your lighting to low energy lighting, you could save a considerable amount of money and energy. For example, I have recently moved into a one bed rented maisonette property, according to my EPC certificate by swapping all my B22 bulbs to low energy lighting I could save at least £28 a year. But the EPC certificate simply states low energy lighting, so I can assume that changing all of my Traditional B22 bulbs to LED B22’s (which consume even less energy than the conventional CFL energy saving bulbs) I would save even more!

It is always helpful to find new ways to save money in this current, tough economic climate and checking your EPC rating and suggestions is a fantastic way to do this. You can also apply a few things at home to help you increase potential savings, install an OWL energy monitor to track your energy usage and help you identify ways to cut your electricity costs. Switch all lights to low energy LED lighting to see a dramatic cut in electricity bills. Ensure plugs are turned off when not in use and don’t leave electronic devices on standby. It’s amazing how a few simple tricks can help you cut your energy costs, and potential increase the value of your property!

The post Add Value To Your Home By Using LED Lighting! appeared first on SimplyLED.

Above: An example of the classic ‘Pong’ game.

Pong

The much loved game, where moving paddles bounced the ball across the screen until one side missed, has been bought back in Philadelphia. The simple yet highly competitive (and addictive) game has been recreated on the side of a 29 story sky scraper. Computer scientists Frank Lee and his team from Drexel University, used LED lights lining the side of the building in Philadelphia to create the games. The LEDs are linked up to control game panels, housed in the close by Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the public can play the interactive King Kong sized game. Using the LED lights meant that the scientists could control each light individually using special codes and sequences making this interactive game possible.

Above: A video showing the marvel

Above: A Screenshot from the classic arcade game ‘Space Invaders’

Space Invaders

The infuriatingly addictive game has been super-sized by artist ‘Filthy Luke’. He created the mammoth version of the game on the side of Manchester’s Town Hall. Although not a true version of the game with no moving parts it has still been attracting quite a lot of curiosity. He used road barriers, traffic cone and other street furniture to create the piece. He used LEDs lights throughout the piece so when a passer by presses the button the whole game illuminates and comes to life. It attracted some criticism but we love the idea!

Above- Luke using the Space Invaders ‘game’

LEDs were the chosen light source for these outdoor mega sized games for various reasons. They are small and easy to design into unusual shapes, they are bright so can easily be seen even from a distance. LEDs can be made to almost any colour, and their low power consumptions means even on a large installation, using hundreds of bulbs they will not use anywhere near the amount of power as other lighting sources.

You could try creating your own LED game or installation using products such as the LED RGB Remote Control Flexible Strip Light. Use the remote to control the colours and the flexible strip can bend to the shapes you want. Or use one of our Colour changing LED bulbs to create an unusual installation based on your favourite game.

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The long life span offered by LED lighting is one of the major attractions for many people. Unlike conventional Halogen or Incandescent bulbs, LEDs will help rid the need for continued maintenance and the replacements of faulty bulbs. As LEDs do not rely on heating a delicate filament to produce light, they generally do not just stop working as you would expect a traditional bulb to when it fails. Instead, LEDs are said to have reached the end of their usable life when the light output drops below 70% of the original brightness offered when new. This is measured in lumens.

So what exactly does the life span of and LED bulb mean? And how is it calculated?

What is the life span?

• The life span of an LED bulb is said to be the amount of time the bulb produces useful light.

• LEDs suffer lumen depreciation over time and the bulb will get gradually get dimmer.

• The life span is measured up until the lumen measurement depreciates under a certain amount, for most domestic bulbs this can be either 70% or 50%, also read as L70 and L50.

• Once the lumens fall under 70%/50% of their initial output they are considered to be no longer useful.

Take note though; the stated life span is not the necessarily guaranteed. Ensure you check the warranty that is sold with the bulb as well as the life span.  LEDs contain many components and can be subject to premature failures just like any other electrical product.

How is it calculated?

You may be asking: “If LED bulbs have only been around a short while, how is it possible to claim the LEDs will last 1000’s of hours?”

• All LED bulbs are subjected to rigorous testing.

• As part of this testing, the LED chips used within a bulb/ lamp are illuminated and under careful observation, the lumens are measured continuously.

• The collated data can then be input into a mathematic formula that, based on various patterns formed will calculate and predict the L70/ L50 figures.

For a more in-depth explanation, see this publication by LED manufacturer Cree on their LED testing.

Will they last the estimated lifespan?

Yes. Most customers, when using the LEDs as directed, will experience years of use without failure. Some may even exceed the estimated ‘life span’ and not notice a depreciation of Lumen/ light output. LEDs unlike incandescent bulbs should not just fail at the end of their life. Their lumens/ light output will depreciate over time.

Whilst LEDs do not rely on a delicate filament, this does not make then immune to failure. Whilst uncommon, you may experience a sudden failure with an LED bulb and this can be down to a few factors. Here are a few reasons that may cause an LED to suddenly fail:

• Temperature- LEDs may stay cool to touch but it is a myth that they do not create heat. A ‘heat sink’ is built into the back of most LED bulbs and this is used to dissipate the heat created. A good heat sink should allow the heat to escape and keep the LED chips from over heating. If however, an LED bulb has an inefficient heat sink that doesn’t do its job well, the LED chips can overheat and fail prematurely. It is also worth considering the ambient temperature which can affect the bulb. LED chips are sensitive to high temperatures they are in a room that is subjected to increased heat, this will shorten the lifespan and may cause the bulb to fail prematurely.

• Insufficient housing- always ensure you are using a sufficient housing unit for your LED. For example if using an LED above a shower unit or outdoors it must be in an IP65 rated fitting. Otherwise moisture can cause damage to the bulb.

• Manufacturing- Sometimes a bulb may fail do to a manufacturing issue. Often caused where parts of the LED lamp have not been soldered together correctly this can cause either the power not to run through correctly leading to the LED not working, or it can cause heat to build up within the lamp close to the chips, raising the internal temperature of the lamp, causing the chips to fail.

LEDs on the whole should not simply fail. Though sometimes this may happen and it may not be obvious at first why but try eliminating reasons that may have caused it. Always check the life span of a bulb to see what life you could expect from it, but remember to check the warranty as well as the life span is not the warranty of the bulb. If you ensure you take the best care of bulbs, ensuring they are in an environment that is not too extreme in temperature and it is a suitable housing then they should last the expected time.

The post LED Bulb Life Span; What It Means And How It’s Calculated appeared first on SimplyLED.

Getting enough sleep is essential to functioning well during the day. Too little sleepy can leave you grumpy, irritable and generally make getting through a day that much harder. Some clever designers have found ways that LEDs can be used to help you wake up naturally and comfortably in the morning. There is even one which allows you to control your dreams! Helping you to make the most of your sleep.

LUMI Sleep Mask

This mask is worn whilst you sleep and it blocks out the light, allowing you to enjoy an undisturbed sleep, then when it is time to wake up it gradually illuminates replicating day break. It allows you to wake in the most natural way possible letting you wake up comfortably and refreshed. Designer Mr Hide from Birmingham Alabama originally created the mask to allow for a deep sleep without being interrupted by street lighting. He then considered the possibility of sleeping without light interruption, but the ability to still be woken by daylight. This is how the LUMI mask came to exist. LED lights built into the mask gradually illuminate over time to replicate sunrise, then a alarm beeps to ensure the user is awake. It is anticipated the mask will be used mainly by shift workers who need to sleep at unusual times. This mask allows the user to trick the body into believing it is day and night, as and when required.

Above: The ‘Remee’ Eye Mask

Remee

The Remee mask is like something straight from the Hollywood film ‘Inception’. Developers Duncan Frazier and Steve McGuigan created the mask from their company Bitbanger Labs and raised funds for development using online funding website KickStarter. The mask allows you to take control of your dreams, it does this by making the brain aware that it is sleeping and that it is a dream. The device features 6 red LED lights, they are faint so won’t wake the user up but are bright enough that the brain can register them. They flash in a sequence designed by the user to be recognizable. The flashing starts when the brain is at a REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep, which is where most dreaming occurs. The idea is that whilst dreaming, you see the red LED lights in the distance, this allows you to realise you are in a dream and therefore take control of what you do in it. It is said that the mask doesn’t always work and wont always allow you to take control of your dreams, but some of the time it will work and the results can be fantastic.

Who knew LEDs could have so many uses beyond just lighting your home. Their small size and quality of light can lead to many uses. Technology is rapidly growing and who knows what else we will be able to do using LED technology in the future.

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Above: An example of the Fiber-optic Curtains

A light up bedspread could be a great item for children who can’t sleep without a light on. However at the hefty price of £320 per item, you may be better with just a simple bedside lamp. The material has been carefully chosen as it does not heat up and poses no risks of electrical shocks making it completely safe for the intended uses. It can even be washed, although it has to be washed very carefully.

Although this material is very clever and from the pictures, seems to produce a nice level of ambient glow lighting, we are not convinced that sleeping with a bedspread lit up may be all that practical. It can of course be turned off but then it seems to loose the point of glowing anyway! It is a fun gadget but for the price tag it may be for only real gadget enthusiasts. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled to see how this product develops and what other uses it may potentially have in the future!

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As a large delivery company approximately 90% of their carbon emission come from the transport of parcels, they only deliver via road systems and never use aviation in a bid to lower their carbon emissions, but even with driving they were producing approximately 15 millions tones of carbon each year. With their new scheme though, they have managed to bring it down to 13 million with expectations for that number to continue to drop over the next few years.

How are they lowering emissions?

DPD are working to lower their emissions; their aim is to be completely carbon neutral, whereby their company has no addition to carbon production and its damaging effect to the environment. They are doing this is two ways Insetting and Offsetting.

Insetting

DPD are working to lower their carbon emissions. They are doing this from their drivers, through to their depots and offices. The more they lower their carbon emissions the less they will have to offset. Here is a few ways they are insetting

• Driver training, making drivers pay more attention to how their drive and the impact this can have on their carbon emissions and fuel consumption, leading to Eco-Driving.
• Double Deck Trailers- these can hold up to a third more volume than a single deck trailer, allowing for more parcels to be delivered on fewer vehicles.
• Cutting energy consumption- They are working to cut their energy from using technology such as sensor activated lighting and power usage awareness campaigns.

Offsetting

This is where unavoidable carbon emissions are off set in their five biggest markets, they are UK, France, Germany, Netherland and BeLux. The offsetting of this carbon is being invested into by DPD’s parent company La Poste. Carbon offsetting means that they company will pay for each metric tonne of carbon they produce, that will be offset against somewhere where carbon production has been reduced using renewable energy such as a wind farm.

These efforts work to make each parcel DPD deliver carbon neutral, so when you receive your order you can relax knowing that not only has it been delivered quickly and safely it has had no impact on the environment. Here at SimplyLED we are very conscious of our carbon footprint and that is why we work hard to find environmentally friendly yet practical ways to work. From using DPD as a carbon neutral company to recycling packaging wherever we can, we are also WEEE complaint. We are constantly looking for ways to lower our carbon footprint as we feel it is essential for the future, without compromising any level of service. If you would like to know more details of DPDs Total Zero Initiative take a look at their information pages with loads of in-depth knowledge of the initiative.  We would love to hear from you if you are trying to lower you carbon footprint and how you are doing, comment below with what you are doing!

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Andrew Whyte- Light Dome

Andrew Whyte has found a way, which he is keep strictly under lock and key, to create solid looking domes using LED lighting. He is keeping his lips sealed on exactly how he creates these amazing images leaving many people including mathematicians trying to figure out his technique. What he will tell is that he uses LED lights, a camera set for long exposure, and a cable release which allows photos to be taken remotely. Andrews exhibition of his work was shortlisted for Best Exhibition in the The News Guide Awards in November 2010.

Marc Cameron and Mark Brown- Tron Ghost Cars

Inspired by the Disney 2010 movie ‘Tron Legacy’ this duo started creating images of cars in a graffiti fashion using also LED lighting and long exposure cameras. The outcomes are some amazing detailed images of various sport and high end cars. Each photos took up to four hours to shoot and were take at random sites from deserted roads to high streets and paths. They make the perfect image for any one who loves to combine cars and gadgets.

Janne Parviainen- Light Paintings

Janne Parviainen is a light painting photographer, he paints over objects and people to create 3 dimensional images of multi colours. He also uses long exposure camera and LED lights to create the images. He like most other light artists wants to create these new style of images without having to do any post productions edits, the photos are printed straight from how they turn out from the camera.

 

LED light art is a really exciting new adventure in the art world. It can divide opinions on art and photography, what ever your personal opinion it is clear how much time, and skill it can take to make these amazing pictures. Have a go yourself try using a camera and small led lights to create your own patterns and pictures.

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SimplyLED are proud and excited to announce that shortly we will be stocking a range of LED products from Sylvania. We cant wait to show you all the new products we will be selling but until then here is a bit of background of the company.

Who are they?

Sylvania have been around selling lighting solutions for more than a century. They are best know as the inventors of the first GU10 bulb. They provide a wide range of lighting products and solutions and are front runners in finding and providing the best and newest innovations in lighting technology. The company first created in the 1900s started by renewing burnt out light bulbs. Since then they’ve gone on to become manufacturers of many things, ranging form television to chemistry. They continue to research and create new products and keep up with technology. In April 2007 Sylvania was acquired by Havells India Ltd, to form Havells Sylvania.

What do they do?

Sylvania bring the newest products and technologies in lighting most recently having a large focus on LED lighting. They have had their products integrated into some large notable projects such as Tate Modern Museum, Barbican Centre London and Dublin Airport to name a few.

Here is a quote from Edward Lees, Strategic Business Unit Manager for LED Lamps at Havells Sylvania, talking about the company and the work they do.

Havells Sylvania is committed to delivering high quality LED lamps which meet the needs of customers and the latest legislations. Through continuous investment in R&D, we never stop striving to develop new and innovative replacement products for all applications. The outstanding performance and efficiency of our RefLED Superia and RefLED Coolfit lamps highlights just how impressive our R&D capabilities are, and reaffirms our position as the leading lamp company within the reflector LED lamps market. Manufacturing LED lamps in Europe cements our commitment to made-in-Europe quality, giving customers the lower energy costs and reduced maintenance benefits associated with LED technology with no compromise in light quality

Sylvania LEDs

In 2011 Sylvania created their first true 50 watt LED equivalent bulb. It was an exact retrofit for current GU10 tungsten halogen and meet the GU10 350 lumens. Since then they have gone on to great many types of retrofit LEDs and new LED luminaries for both domestic and commercial use. All their LEDs are made a distributed in Europe.

We will be stocking a large range of Sylvania’s LED retrofit lamps ranging from GU10’s to B22s and many in-between. We can’t wait for you all to start using them and giving us your feedback with these new products. But don’t worry we will still be keeping our other ranges as well including our fantastic NxtGen Series II range.

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Lumens

Lumens in its simplest form, is a measurement of how much light is created from a source. The higher the lumen the brighter the light source is. It is a measurements of light that is required by law and is found on all light packaging. It is a great indication of brightness and can help find the right bulb for your requirements. It is often the most convenient measurement to use when comparing the brightness between bulbs (other than turning two bulbs on side by side).

Candelas

A Candela is a measurement of  light intensity. It is based on the principle that the light of one candle is one Candela, therefore 20 candles would equate to the brighter light of 20 Candela. Think: How would 1 candle light a room in comparison to 20 candles in the same room?

This measurement can be used to work out the amount of useful light given from a spotlight. Brightness is needed but it is only useful if enough of that light is reaching the object you wish to illuminate. A spotlight with a high lumen output but low Candela value, would be bright at the source but would be no good in a room with a high ceiling as the source would not reach the lower areas of the room.

Lux

Lux is the measure of illumination on a given surface at distance. It is generally defined by how bright the light is on a surface at a defined distance. 1 Lumen falling on 1sm= 1 Lux.
Lux will generally decrease as distance increases from light source.

With an understanding of these three measurements it can become easier to understand lamp labeling. With LED lights it really does help to have a good understanding of the varying measurements and fundamental workings of an LED because unlike traditional incandescent where we could buy based solely on the wattage, with LEDs there are many more thing to consider. Our blog ‘LED Lighting: There’s More Than Meets The Eye’ will help you gain an understanding of other areas of LEDs you should consider when purchasing new LED lighting. If you are still worried or baffled by the minefield of lighting jargon fear not, most electricians will have a good understanding of lighting, or if you are working on a unique or quirky project, you could always consider hiring  professional lighting designer. They will often consult your lighting needs based on the atmosphere you wish to create of the brightness you would like to achieve in a given are. They can provide specifications for you to use and compare when exploring different types of bulb.

The post What Are Lumens, Candelas and Lux? appeared first on SimplyLED.

Lumens instead of watts

Traditionally when replacing an incandescent bulb you would simply look for a 60watt bulb (as an example). But now with the production of LEDs, CFLs and Halogens the wattage you are looking for may no longer exist, and may not give a true representation of the light output from the bulb. LEDs for example are incredibly efficient, so may only need a small amount of power to achieve the same brightness. A better way to find the right brightness of bulb for you is to identify the Lumens. These are a measure of brightness given out by the bulb and are a great benchmark t use when comparing different bulbs, whether they be Halogen, CFL or LED.

A general guide for Lumens replacing watts is:

• 100 watt Incandescent – 1600 Lumens
• 75 watts -1100 Lumens
• 60 watts – 800 Lumens
• 40 watts – 450 Lumens

This is just a rough guide, look for Lumens around these amounts for your replacement bulbs, obviously if you want it to be brighter or dimmer just adjust the Lumens as needed to find the right bulb for you. You should also consider how Lumens are measured, this can sometimes vary, and Lumens can depreciate over time. All good resellers will normally include a ‘home-trial’ so that you can test the bulbs brightness in your own environment.

Watts

The Wattage will still be displayed on the labeling but this information is intended purely to inform you how much power the bulb consumes when turned on. It does not give an indication to the brightness of the bulb e.g. a 4 watt and a 7 watt LED could potentially still give the same Lumens depending on efficiency.

Colour Rendering Index (CRI)

Not all LED light packaging will include this. If it does, you can use this information to determine how well colours appear under the bulbs ‘artificial’ light, compared to natural daylight. The higher the figure the closer to daylight it is. But also note; the colour temperature may affect how well colours truly look. This article on CRI will give you more information on the topic.

Colour Temperature

Colour temperature is measured in Kelvins. It is a measurement used to show where on the colour spectrum the light produced by the bulb can be found. It is useful to know, especially with LEDs as it will ensure the colour will be right for your application.If for example you were replacing a Halogen bulb in a sitting room and you wished to retain the same warm colour, you should stick to a warm white which is normally around 3000 kelvins. Whereas in a modern kitchen may want a cooler whiter light to help highlight stark colours or design features. Cool white is typically around 5000 Kelvins.

LED Lumen Maintenance

Some products will display ‘Lumen Maintenance’. This is generally given to display how quickly the brightness of your LED will deteriorate. It will state an example ambient temperature and number of hours. The percentage shown compares the initial output of the bulb (lumens) to the brightness of the bulb after a period of use. For example a bulb may state that after 25,000 hours in a room with an ambient temperature of 25 ˚C, the bulb still outputs 95.11% of its initial brightness.

The estimated life span of a bulb is often based on it’s L70 value: This is when the bulb drops below 70% of it’s original brightness and is considered not fit for purpose. Lumen maintenance is handy to know because it will suggest whether an LED will loose some of it’s brightness very quickly- This is common place with cheaper LEDs. Whilst they may not fall below the L70 value for 25,000 hours (suggested life span) you may be loosing valuable lumens after just a few hours. This is worth considering when you are paying extra for  bulb which states a very high lumen output.

Energy Efficiency rating

This has recently been updated and now ranges from ‘A++’ to ‘E’. If you purchased your bulb more than a year ago, you packaging labels may only go up to ‘A’.

This label s designed to lets you know how energy efficient your light bulb is. LED bulbs will always be in the higher ends of the energy efficiency rating; A++ being the best and E being the least efficient.

Life Span

Your labeling may also feature a life span. This is the time the bulb is expected to last when used in an optimum setting. Double check your supplier though; rarely will the bulb be guaranteed for this period of time. External factors will often shorten the estimated life spans such as ambient room temperature, use of LED compatible drivers/ switches and more. You should consult your supplier for more information regarding life span.

Hopefully this will have made LED lamp labeling a bit simpler for you. Don’t be overwhelmed with the information offered to you as if understood correctly, it’s there to help you make an informed decision. Remember that inflated lumen figures re not the be all and end all, as high lumen output products may not always give that same brightness. Lifespan can often be cut short by other factors so remember to consult a lighting designer/ electrician to avoid disappointment. Now that you are armed with this extra information, you will hopefully be more likely to get it right first time and really benefit from LEDs.

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First is it important to understand the basics of how an LED bulb works. The most common LED bulbs (SMD) use many small LED chips rather than  a single ‘LED’. When an electric current is passed through these chips, the emit light. Unlike a traditional incandescent bulb which as only a few parts, LEDs have many parts and components within each bulb, even the chip itself is made up of layers of different materials. To ensure longevity,  it is therefore important that an LED manufacturer ensures all parts are of the best quality and work well in conjunction with one another, whilst still giving an excellent quality of light.  Here are some of the important elements used in an LED bulb and what you should consider when making your purchasing decisions.

Beam Angle

Above: Illustrative example of beam angle.

The beam angle of the bulb can affect the amount of impact the light from your chosen bulb has in a room. A wide beam angle such as 120˚ works great where light needs to be well spread but inevitably this means less ‘useful’ light will reach low areas- this especially worth thinking about if you have tall ceilings. If your room does have a higher ceiling, a narrower beam angle works great such as a 60˚ angle. The narrower beam means the light given out is more concentrated and therefore  punches more effective light towards the ground or surface areas. Traditional Halogen Spot Lights tend to have a beam angle of 38˚- this often leads to cold spots in the room where light does not reach. A 60˚ beam angle for many customers is the ideal choice. It will mean enough light is spread out to eliminate cool spots in your room, whilst enough light is given to make the bulb.

Very narrow beam angle’s such as 38˚ may cause a spotlight effect, but for some applications this may be useful. This could range from highlighting key features in the room like your favorite piece of art, to use for task lighting in rooms with particularly high ceilings.

Binning

Above: Illustrative example of LED ‘Binning’

Binning is a term used to describe the categorizing of LED chips by quality. When LED ‘chips’ are manufactured, they are essentially ‘punched out’ from one larger ‘master’ chip. At the center of this ‘master chip’ there is generally a higher concentration of Phosphors and this generally leads to better light output and higher Lumens. Compare this to the chips punched out towards the edge of the ‘master chip’ and the Phosphor count is a considerably lower, as is the lumen output and quality of light.

At the end of this process, the smaller LED chips are then put into ‘bins’ depending on which part of the master chip they were sourced from:

• Manufacturers, purchasing chips for their LED bulbs can then choose from the various bins available, from the best quality (and more expensive) chips from the middle, to the cheaper chips sourced from the outer sections.
• The cheaper chips will normally have a lower L70 value (the time it takes before the LED deteriorates and outputs less than 70% of its original brightness).
• At times, some manufactures will opt to buy a ‘mixed’ bin. This, as the name implies is where a selection of chips are bought from different parts of the master chip. This often leads to unnatural colour variations and changes seen over the lifespan of the bulb.

Above; This information could help to explain why you may see a bulb on website 1 at £12.99 whilst the ‘same’ bulb is available through website 2 at £11.70. As with most other technology based products, you often get what you pay for.

Useful links:

White paper: LED binning

Cree colour mixing (good photo showing variation in colour temp)

Lumen Depreciation

Unlike traditional incandescent or halogen bulbs, when an LED reaches the end of its life it doesn’t necessarily just turn off, its will gradually grow dimmer. This is known as lumen depreciation. This happens gradually over time, the human eye cannot usually detect a reduction in brightness until it falls below 70% of its initial brightness. This can be represented as L70, whic means that after a certain amount of time for example 30,000 hours; the LEDs lumens have depreciated by 30%. This is also how LED life span in calculated; by the time it takes for the lumens to depreciate below 70% of their original brightness..

Useful link:

Cree Lumen Maintenance (has some useful pictures of lumen depreciation graph and cross section of and LED)

System Efficiency

Quite simply the harder you run an LED the more likely it is to fail. LEDs are designed to run at low wattages, but if a chip is having to work harder to produce its light output it can become damaged or deteriorate a lot quicker than one not being driven as hard. If you try to use an LED on a circuit with too high voltage or power it can cause damage to the chips. Some LED bulbs will have protectors built into them against things such as power surges, so if there is a slight fluctuation in power it will not damage the LED chips, but not all bulbs feature this. One LED bulb that does feature this technology, is the NxtGen II LED range available from SimplyLED.

How Temperature affects the chip

Above: An illustrative example of how a heat sink works.

Although LEDs stay cool to touch the front and do not produce infrared light which emits heat, it is a common misconception that LEDs do not get hot. LEDs, do in fact get warm, but a ‘heat sink’ is used to dissapate heat away from the sensitive LED chips. This is often round at the reverse of the bulb. If the chips are subjected to high temperatures it can affect how well they preform and will also decrease their lifespan. So not only should you ensure the bulb has a good heat sink that is effectively drawing heat away, you should also ensure that you do not expose the bulb to any particularly high ambient temperatures, where there isn’t adequate ventilation.

There are many factors to consider with LEDs. You want to ensure you are getting the best possible quality bulb for your money, sometimes it can be tempting to go for cheaper alternatives, but as you have now seen sometimes they may be cheaper but you will loose out in quality of both the light and the bulb itself. Having a better understanding of how LED bulbs are made and work can help you choose the right bulb for you and understand how to use them correctly. Don’t forget though we are always here either via email to info@burtonsons.co.uk or on the phone at 0845 459 8010 to answer any more questions you may have.

The post LED Lighting; There’s More Than Meets The Eye! appeared first on SimplyLED.

Whether you work for a business, a school or in any other form of public building you should be able to spot emergency lighting being used. This is lighting that in the case of an emergency such as power cuts or a fire would still provide light and can be used to show emergency exits. One thing you cant risk happening is your emergency light failing at a crucial moment, so you need to ensure you have the most reliable lighting as possible. One way to ensure you have reliable lighting is to use LED emergency lighting.

Here are a few examples of LED emergency lighting and how they could benefit you:

3W LED Maintained Emergency Downlight Kit- This kit provides you with up to 3 hours down light lighting in the event of a power cut. This is great for blocks of flats where hall way lighting is essential. If the power does cut out the battery packs with this down light would power and LED bulb for up to 3 hours which would generally give plenty of time for power to return to the building.

Maintained LED Emergency Bulkhead Light- This emergency bulkhead can be great for at home and in commercial use. Placed in car parks and walkways having a 3 hour battery life the public can feel safe knowing that even using a power cut areas will still be well lit. It can be used at home as well above a garage or front door so that in any emergency you can still feel safe at home with consistent reliable lighting. Being IP65 rated it can withstand weather conditions so will be there when you need it.

Maintained LED Emergency Exit Drop Sign Light- We all see these emergency exit signs everywhere in day to day life and take them for granted, but they could save your life in an emergency. By using an LED emergency light the long life of the LEDs means you know your sign will be there for when it is needed. And with 3 hours battery time if the power cut out the sign is still illuminated for up to 3 hours.

Using LED emergency lighting could make all the difference when it is needed the most. LEDs have a much longer life span than other bulbs so you can know that once you put in your LED emergency lighting it will keep giving out a consistent life for years to come. Also LEDs have a fantastically bright clear light, which can be essential in an emergency situation.

The post LED Emergency Lighting Showing The Way appeared first on SimplyLED.

Governments and politics can sometimes be a sensitive and often confusing subject, with many parties and leaders facing standoffs and oppositions on laws and ideas to make our country better. But one thing I’m sure they can all agree on is making the world greener, by using energy efficient items and lowering their carbon footprint. That is exactly what number 10, 11 and 12 Downing street have done. They have upgraded the Grade 1 listed building to use low energy lighting combining CFLs, LEDs and T5 Tube Lighting. All this work has lead to the building being awarded with a BREEAM award.

The BREEAM award is a prestigious award, handed to buildings which excel with high scores under the BREEAM scheme. It covers lots of areas; from energy to ecology the buildings are judged on all areas. If a building is considered to be of a high standard and is making a conscious and considerable effort to consider the environment during the running and/or construction of the building, they may be awarded a BREEAM award.

The installation of the low energy lighting has not only reduced Downing Street’s carbon footprint and helped towards gaining the BREEAM award, is has also cut the building’s electricity usage by as much as 13%. A massive saving for a building of this magnitude.

Switching to LED lighting is a great way to cut your carbon footprint at home or in a business. It can be a simple solution as there are a wide selection of retrofit bulbs to choose from. Simply purchase in the correct fitting, for example GU10 Spot Lights, and directly swap over your lighting with no fuss. Why not switch use our Energy Saving Calvulator today to see just how much you could save by switching with the help of SimplyLED. Click Here for Energy Saving Calculator

The post LEDs Score No.10 a Breeam appeared first on SimplyLED.

LED lighting can open up the opportunity to be as creative as you like in the design of new lighting lamps and lighting systems. The advantages of the LEDs small chips and low power consumption means the conventions of traditional lighting can be broken. This is exactly what a US start-up company has done with their new NanoLight LED lamp.

Above: The NanoLight E27 LED Bulb

It is a lamp like no other LED lamp on the market. It is made in a dodecahedron shape of circuit boards, which feature LEDs mounted onto the surfaces. It is then affixed to an Edison screw base. Unlike normal LED lamps it doesn’t feature a heat sink, it may seem strange but the hollow interior of the bulb allows for air circulation therefore removing the need for a built in heat sink. The lamp strips the idea of the bulb back to the essentials; the makers state that as there is no need for the glass cover, so they didn’t put one on.

Above: Another design concept shown housed inside a conventional lamp fitting

However unusual the NanoLight may appear it does seem to boast some impressive technical data. The creators say that a 10 watt version of the bulb is the equivalent light to replace a 75 watt incandescent. A 12 watt bulb is equivalent to a 100 watt bulb, and even another 12 watt bulb that is said to produce 1800 lumens. However it’s colour temperature is a cool 4000 kelvin and a CRI rating of 70, so is not quite a true replacement for current incandescent bulbs.

The creators used Kickstarter to gain funding for manufacturing and shipping of the products to customers. Kickstarter is a great company which allows creative projects to ask for funding, creating a page with videos, images and explanation of their project and how they will use funding. If people like the projects they pledge money towards it, if the project reaches it fundraising goal it receives the funding. NanoLight at current has 5746 backers and has had $273,278 pledged for their project. This well out ran their goal of having $20,000 pledged.

This just goes to show that LEDs are capturing the imagination of many people and their potential usage is endless, it shows the future that not all bulbs and lighting have to follow the conventions of the bulbs that have gone before. Who knows how our bulbs will look in the future, or what impressive performance statistic they can give, but we may be seeing the future here. Right now the design of this bulb may not appeal to all, its strip backed exposed look would take some getting used to. But these designers have shown what a small start up company can do in LED development and innovation with some support and funding.

The post LED Light Bulb Start-up Raises Over $200,000 Through Kickstarter appeared first on SimplyLED.

Your bathroom is a room that can be easily over looked. Generally we tend to think that as long as it is clean, and functional it’s great. But you could be making so much more out of your bathroom with a few clever tricks using LED lighting.

LED Bath Tubs

LEDs are gradually becoming utilized in broad spectrum of products. Even bathtubs are now incorporating LEDs to enhance your bathing experience. Japanese company Takeshita have made a bathtub that glows entirely using colour changing LED lights. You can choose between 7 different colours or a random light setting to provide what they call “a healing bath experience”. However this tub will set you back a whopping $15,000. If you are looking for something slightly more affordable you can now purchase shower heads and taps which incorporate LED lights to make the running water glow. Or for an even easier option try some floating LED lights, simply place them in your bath and enjoy the ambient glow they create. This is much safer than using candles around the bath and will make the most of a relaxing bath.

Bathroom Lighting

Using LED lighting in your bathroom will give you many benefits. If you have children or forgetful teenagers who seem to forget to turn the bathroom light off, then the low energy consumption of and LED bulbs means you wont rack up large energy bills. Why not try LED bulbs such as the B22 High Power Remote Control Colour Change LED bulbs which, will not only give you a good quality light, but also give you the option to add a selection of colours depending on your mood. At the touch of a button, you can use the remote to easily choose your colour and brightness which will be perfect to get you ready for a relaxing long soak.

The World Is A Stage

Make the most of your bathroom mirror and create your own dressing room using LED lighting. Why not place a cool white LED Strip Light around your bathroom mirror to achieve the perfect lighting effect for applying make up?- You’ll always look your best. Better still, all of our LED Strip Lights are IP65 rated and won’t be affected by the moisture in the bathroom air.

These are just some of the ways LED lighting can be used to enhance your bathroom. It doesn’t always have to involve lots of hard work or the refitting of appliances, but a few simple lighting changes can make it look like a whole new room. Always be aware that electrical components placed in areas of excessive moisture, like a bath room, will often require an appropriate fitting. If you are fitting a new source of light in your bathroom and require advice on IP ratings, please consult a qualified electrician.

Switch to LEDs today and see what a difference the improvement in light can make to your bathroom and your energy bills!

The post Let LEDs Enhance Your Bathroom appeared first on SimplyLED.

SimplyLED are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of quality LED lighting and since 2010 we have helped tens of thousand’s of customers upgrade to LED products and at unbeatable prices. To celebrate St. George’s Day, starting now we are automatically applying a 10% discount to all products purchased from SimplyLED.co.uk. This offer will end at midnight on the 23^rd April, St. George’s Day. We’ve also got a range of other fantastic products and promotion available a great prices so find the best deals for you and start saving money and energy today with LED lighting.

 Shop St. George’s Day Deals by >clicking here<

An Automatic 10% off all orders

Place an order today and you can save a fantastic 10% off with no minimum spend. No coupons, no discount codes. Simple.

Whether you are kitting out your kitchen with our NxtGen Series II GU10 bulbs, or jazzing up your hall way with an RGB LED Remote Control Strip Light 10% off will leave more room in the budget to purchase the best possible LED replacements. As an example, purchase 20 Dimmable GU10 NxtGen Serires II Bulbs during this weekends promotion and you will save £52.98 when you combine our multipack discount and 10% off. This is the equivalent of receiving 4 of your bulbs for free!

New and Noteworthy

Recently we have been expanding our range of LED products and here are just a few of the fantastic new items now available to you.

GU10 4×1 watt LED Bulb, Twin Pack – This new double pack of High Power GU10 LED bulbs are perfect replacement for your current 50 watt halogens. With a power consumption of only 4 watts you will quickly see the drop in your energy bills. Available in warm white, these are a direct replacement for your existing bulb and look great in any room.

Owl Energy Monitors – We now stock two types of OWL energy monitors. These handy little devices simply clip onto your existing wiring and tell you in real time how much your energy is costing you (or how much you are saving once you have switched to LEDs). The Owl +USB also includes software to track and record your power consumption, so you can see exactly when you are using the most electricity and which appliances are the main culprits. An essential item to help reduce your energy bills, at home or at work.

LEDs for Under a Fiver!

Although people are becoming more aware of LED lighting and the massive benefits it can bring, for many people it is the initial outlay that can be off putting.

Here at SimplyLED we try are best to soften this blow as much as possible! We already offer competitive multi-pack pricing and we even now offer 0% finance to help our customers upgrade to LED and today we are pleased to introduce to some attractively priced ‘bargain’ LEDs:

Use your 10% discount on top of these prices!

B22 LED Candle Shape Bulb – This is a bayonet cap clear candle bulb, with a efficient 3 watt power consumption. Available in warm white it looks fantastic in any decorative light fitting. With a pack of 5 costing just £24.99 that works out at just £4.99 per bulb!

>CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW<

B15 Crystal LED Candle Shape Bulb- This stunning small bayonet cap bulb features a decorative crystal design. Its warm white glow makes it an ideal replacement for current incandescent bulbs fitted in chandeliers, whilst using only a fraction or the energy. This bulb will happily replace a 25-40w traditional bulb whilst only consuming 3 watts of power. With a pack of 5 costing £24.99 making each bulb only £4.99. An absolute bargain!

>CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW<

E27 Crystal LED Candle Shape Bulb- This is very similar to the B15 Crystal Candle bulb only with an Edison Screw cap. This bulb features the crystal surface and outputs a gorgeous warm white glow, making it a perfect choice for your chandelier. This popular bulb will save you money without losing any decorative appeal. Again with a pack of 5 being only £24.99 it makes these bulbs a steal at only £4.99 each!

>CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW<

High Power GU10 LED Bulb – This popular 35 watt equivalent GU10 bulb now comes in a pack of 3 bulbs. It is the ideal replacement for your current halogen bulbs, especially if you are looking for a slightly mellower light without the intensity of a traditional 50w Halogen. Available in both cool white and warm white so you are sure to find the right choice for your needs. With a power consumption of only 2.8 watts, the savings you make will not go unnoticed. The pack of three costs £14.99 meaning each bulb will only cost you just £4.99 each! A £2 saving on the previous price of £6.99 per bulb.

>CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW<

Be Quick!

Please note though some items are in our clearance range and are available in limited quantities. Once we are sold out, we will not be getting any more stock so Grab your St George’s Day Deals quickly before they all go! Clearance products (packs of 5) are not available individually.

The post St. George’s Day Deals at SimplyLED.co.uk appeared first on SimplyLED.

As a landlord of a property you not only want to try and maximise your profits, but you also have to ensure you a providing a good, safe home for your tenants. One way that can help you keep your running costs low, but keep your property looking high quality is to use LED lighting.

Why LED?

• Low power consumption – LEDs can run generally between 3-8 watts of power compared to a 50 – 60 watt bulb.
• Long life span – LEDs can have a life time of up to 35000 meaning, even if your tenant leaves them on for long periods of time the LEDs will keep working for the well over the length of an average tenancy.
• Reliable bulbs – LEDs are highly reliable so once they are in you wont be worrying about having constant failures.
• 3 Year Guarantee –With our 3 year guarantee you can feel confident that your initial outlay will be covered.

Where can they be used?

LEDs are made as a retrofit solution for the majority of bulbs, from incandescent standard shapes bulbs to GU10 Halogen Spotlights. LEDs are easy to fit and will often simply replace your existing bulb. Here are just a few examples of where LEDs can be used in your rental property:

• Replace bayonet cap incandescent bulbs- Your standard pendant lighting in a room is easily replaced with a B22 Standard Shape LED. You will still get good quality light, thats a direct replacement, all with a fraction of the energy usage.
• Replace GU10 kitchen Spotlights- Dramatically cut your energy from a 50 watt Halogen GU10 to a 5 watt GU10 LED NxtGen Series II Spotlight. You can even have a choice of colour, and whether you would like a dimmable or non-dimmable bulb.
• Fit communal emergency lighting- If your building has communal areas it is essential that you have reliable emergency lighting. Use LED emergency lighting to know you have reliable lighting if it is ever needed.
• Use Fire Rated Down Lights to be safe- Keep your property properly protected against fire by using Fire Rated Down Lights in your rooms. They give 90 minutes of protection against fire from the floor below, which could make all the difference in the case of an emergency.

LEDs will make all the difference to your rental property. You will see a massive difference in your energy bills to the property and you wont have to worry about having to constantly replace broken and blown bulbs. If you are unsure what bulbs you might need to change your property over to LEDs feel free to contact our customer services team to discuss your needs on 0845 459 8010.

The post Landlords Make The Most of Your Property With LEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

LEDs can be used throughout your shop to give good quality, reliable and energy efficient lighting. Use spotlights such as the GU10 NxtGen Series II bulbs to either light the whole shop. Or place them in directional down light fittings to highlight particular stands, or products. This draws a customers eye to an area of the shop, whilst giving enough lighting for them to clearly see the product and read any labeling.

Give an ambient glow to shop using LED Strip Lighting. This works great for creating sections of a shop. Run the Strip Light around a fixture or product stand to separate it from other products, creating distinct areas within the shop. For example, in a cookware shop you could section off all saucepans and cooking apparatus, eating equipment, baking equipment etc. It helps your customer to easily take in the products and understand them if they have clear sections related to their uses.

Make your shop look a bit funky and unusual with coloured LED lights. Either go for single coloured lights to give a coloured wash, this gives a great effect on seasonal promotions, eg. at Halloween give a red wash over related seasonal products. Or go for a colour changing bulb, this gives you the option of setting it to one colour wash, or have different colour and light effects. You could choose from flashing, to fading depending on the area. A fade effect works great if you are trying to sell products aimed to aid relaxation or a luxury experience, e,g, a luxury bathroom suite.

LEDs will not only give you the option of creating these awesome lighting designs but lots of others too, the possibilities are endless! They also have many other advantages that may help your business. LEDs have a much lower power consumption than traditional halogen or incandescent lighting, so you will save a massive amount on electricity bills with these bulbs running generally 9+ hours a day. LEDs do not give out heat in their light beam unlike halogens, this works great if you are lighting a product that may suffer damage under the heat, e.g. food or flowers. LEDs also typically have a much longer life span than other styles of lighting, so once the bulb is fitted you won’t have to worry about having plenty of spare bulbs, and having to perform constant and fiddly replacements.

So not only will you have all of these benefits by switching to LED lighting in your shop, but they will give you a beautiful strong quality of light. Making your products look the best they can be.

The post How LEDS Help Sell Your Products appeared first on SimplyLED.

Developers ZEDproject have proposed a 91 home Eco Village in Devon. The houses generate their own electricity, keeping energy uses as low as possible. The houses feature Solar paneled roofs. They are anticipated to create enough electricity to have no need for mains power, and will even produce extra energy, which can be sold back to the national grid. If you drive an electric car you will even receive free ‘fuel’, with stations on the development available to charge electric cars up.

The developers of the Eco-village are hoping that this village will show the way for other eco homes and villages to be built. Although these house do cost more than their traditional counterparts, the energy savings and eco capabilities of the homes outweigh the initial outlay.

If you want your home to be more eco friendly, with out having to partake in your own grand design project, there are a few simple things you can do to make your home greener. Install double glazing and ensure all windows are fully sealed. Single glazed windows are often inefficient and mean you will loose a massive amount of the heat in your home. Have your insulation upgraded, many older homes will have little insulation, and new techniques are around that will improve your insulation without a huge amount of work being involved. For example cavity wall insulation is a great way to help cut down your heating bills, and takes only a matter of hours to be installed.

Help cut down other bills at home by installing water saving fixtures to taps, these regulate the amount of water given out by the taps, so you waste less water, a great saving technique if your home is on a water meter. LED lighting is a great way to cut your electricity costs, their low power consumption means you use a fraction of the electricity compared to that of a halogen or incandescent bulb. Try installing an energy monitor in your home, these can let you see at what time of day and what devices are using the most electricity, so you can make a conscious effort to cut your power consumption.

Making your home more eco friendly not only helps the environment but helps your pocket as well. There are many ways you can improve your home from the big physical changes to small changes in your behavior. One day hopefully all homes will be as eco friendly as these new homes, but for now we can do all that is possible to make our homes as energy efficient as possible.

The post Eco Home Owners Earn Money appeared first on SimplyLED.

 Football facts:

• The football, named the SOCCKET, features a pendulum, which moves whilst the ball is in use. The pendulum movement gathers kinetic energy, which is transferred to a generator. The energy created is then stored up in a rechargeable battery. The ball can then be connected to a small LED light so that the power stored can be used to illuminate the lamp.

• The ball has been designed for families on low-incomes who live in areas where there is little to no lighting available such as areas off grid. Now, with the help of  this technology, families who live in the remotest areas can have lighting, which requires no external power.

• The Football weighs only one ounce more than a usual football so is still easy to use. It is made from deflation-proof, water-resistant EVA foam and can therefore take much use, without having to worry about keeping it away from water or having to re-inflate it.

• The football not only gives families a light, but it encourages health and fitness within the communities, playing football keeps the user fit, and can offer a chance for children to play together. So it not only gives light it can bring children and adults alike together to play football.

Creating sustainable lighting for areas of the world where there is no grid electricity available is a challenge that is being tackled in various ways. The majority of lighting created features LED lights and some form of moveable parts, which gather the kinetic energy produced. The LEDs are chosen so that the designers can take advantage of their low energy consumption, bright light output and durability. Also LEDs have a long life span therefore the lights will last a long time, essential in hard to reach remote places. Philips have created an Off Grid Lighting scheme which gives the remotest places lighting ranging from home lamps to street lighting.

These new self powered lighting systems, give everyone an equal chance to have reliable lighting which improves quality of life dramatically. The sustainable light sources also allows user to have consistent lighting without generating large electricity bills, or having to use dangerous lighting fuels in areas where there is no grid electricity. These sustainably powered devices could lead the ways to in the future having completely sustainable energy sources in every home.

The post A Good Excuse For A Kick About appeared first on SimplyLED.

Seasonal Affective disorder is something that affects many people. It becomes most apparent in the winter months with darker, shorter days causing people to feel symptoms of depression at this time. These include but are not limited to: sleeping more, loss or appetite and less enthusiasm in life.  SAD.org.uk;the registered National Voluntary Organisation for information on the disorder, advice that drugs should not be used to treat SAD, instead they advise using light therapy to treat it.

Light therapy works by replicating natural sunlight by giving off a white light that contains colours across the spectrum. This is said to stimulate the production of the hormone serotonin which stimulates the body to be awake. Recently, LEDs have been used more frequently in light therapy as it was recently discovered that not only does the natural daylight spectrum help combat SAD, but the bandwidths of blue light found in most LEDs have been found to help too.

When undergoing light therapy, a patient will often sit in front of a special light box. The light given off replicates that of sunshine, which in turn stimulates the productions of hormones within the body that are thought to be lacking in sufferers of SAD. Sufferers will sit in front of one of these lights for between 20- 90 minutes a day. SAD lights can be purchased for home use, but be careful to ensure it is a correct medically certified light box. Check this list to see if you box you wish to purchase will be a medically recommended light box and will help treat your SAD symptoms.

By using light therapy you are helping to combat the cause of the symptoms, whereas taking drugs such as anti depressant will only cover up the symptoms and will not work to treat the SAD. There are other things that can help to aid symptoms of SAD and these include a dawn simulator which can help to lessen some symptoms of SAD however, this will not work as effectively as light therapy. These simulators light up gradually, simulating sunrise and helping allow your body to wake up naturally. It is supposed to ensure you are fully awake, in a natural manner.

Light therapy is helping sufferers of SAD every day combat their symptoms and carry on with life as normal. We would love to hear from you if you have has experience using LED light therapy to help with treating SAD. Comment below with your experiences; Did the light therapy help you? Did you use a traditional light box or and LED light box?

The post LED Lighting Helps Sufferers of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) appeared first on SimplyLED.

The kitchen is often described as the heart of the home. It’s a room you can spend hours of your day in, from cooking large Sunday roast dinners, to whipping up a quick evening meal. You need the lighting to be functional and bright, but still look attractive to fit in with whatever scheme you have within your kitchen. It is all about layering the lighting, so that one room can utilize different lighting for different times and uses.

Layer 1

General lighting- This is the over head lighting in your kitchen. When turned on it should illuminate the majority of the kitchen and allow you to work easily without having large dark areas or ‘cool spots’. You could choose to light this area with a bright cluster of spotlights such as the GU10 NxtGen Series II. These 50 watt equivalent bulb with a 60 degree beam angle will give you a bright, evenly lit room.

 

Layer 2

Mid level lighting- This could be lighting placed under kitchen cabinets which are used to illuminate the mid level of the room such as counter-tops and work surfaces. This lighting is great for when you need to do intricate work on worktops which require bright, close proximity lighting. It can also be used to give a more subtle lighting to the room for a softer effect, perfect for when you don’t want it as bright as the full over head lighting. For this style of lighting, why not use small spotlights such as the MR11 or our Under Cabinet Lighting Kits, or alternatively light along the length of the cabinet by using an LED Strip Light.

Pendant lighting- This also works on the mid level, hang pendent lights from the ceiling above breakfast bars or tables to highlight these areas and give it a section of lighting. For this use B22 or E27 standard sharp bulbs which offer a good level of light output without being too bright. We also sell dimmable versions of these bulbs to help you set the mood for a more intimate occasion.

 

Layer 3

Accent Lighting- This is lighting which accents or highlights an area of your kitchen. It is not necessarily a functional lighting but it gives another level to your lighting in the room and works as a decorative feature. Light up dark shelves or corners again by using LED Strip Lights. Or opt for the RGB Remote Control Strip Light Kit to give the room some colour to contrast against the white lighting already in place.

 

Layer 4

Storage lighting- This is lighting that can be placed inside cupboards and drawers to make finding ingredients and storing items that little bit easier. For this, why not use some simple, cheap ‘push on and off’ lighting cells which have a simple self adhesive backing to make installation easy. The built in battery power will also mean that no extra, tricky cabling is required.

Your kitchen is a great room to get really inventive with your lighting. You can create sections within the room and give it different moods depending on the layer of lighting used. With the simple addition of some coloured lighting, a once boring room can be quickly transformed with very little work needed. There are no rules when it comes to lighting, just ensure you have suitable lighting that combines both practicality with lighting that adds that bit of jazz.

The post LED Kitchen Lighting- The Options appeared first on SimplyLED.

After experiencing a small nightmare whilst trying to find the venue and get parked (no satnav, one way streets, and lots of traffic)  I eventually made my way to the entrance of Earls Court, which had been splendidly decorated with artificial turf and yellow flowers for the show.  I was slightly apprehensive about going in with a rucksack full of leaflets and a shirt with the company name emblazoned across it’s front (as we weren’t actually exhibiting at the show), and half expected to be searched and told to clear off.  Luckily, I was allowed to walk straight in- and straight past the bag search, incidentally.

Upon entering the venue, I was confronted with a massive picture of the TV Foodie Gregg Wallace.  Luke, Steve and I are all big fans of Gregg, mainly because of this buttery biscuit base video.  I had hoped to see him in person and get a photographed with him in (with me wearing my SimplyLED shirt, obviously) but unfortunately this was as close as I got to seeing him.

One celebrity that I did see howsoever was Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses (was actually just a look-a-like).  I spotted him smoking outside the venue but unfortunately it slipped my mind to get a photo.  He was there to promote The Only Fools and horses refit in aid of Red Nose Day.  The replica 1980′s flat was built and fully kitted out with the original psychedelic carpet and features taken from the TV series, including the famous living room bar.

After taking a look around the venue, I headed over to the two show homes in which our NxtGen LED bulbs were being used;  the Low Cost Living House and the Prince’s House.  Although the houses didn’t open until 1pm (it was around 12.30pm)  there was already a large queue forming.  Reluctant to stand in a queue for over an hour, I set out to find someone responsible for overseeing the project and ultimately managed to blag my way into the houses before the public which meant that I could take some photos of our bulbs in action on my iPhone.

Overall, the design and quality of both homes was outstanding, and I was impressed to learn that they were completed in only eight days!  (some of the paint was still wet!).  Both the Low Cost Living House and the Prince’s House used SimplyLED tiltable GU10 Downlights fitted with NxtGen Series II Warm White Bulbs.

After looking around the houses, I took a walk around the venue.  Not being a homeowner myself, I have to admit to not finding much of interest.  However, I was keen to look around the  ‘Quiet House’, a showcase of the quietest technology and solutions to unwanted noise for our home.  I met a few mates who work at Yamaha Instruments (also based in Milton Keynes) who had partnered with the house and were demonstrating a range of their silent instruments- I even got to play on their piano for five minutes!  Walking round towards the garden section of the show, I came across an ‘endless’ swimming pool which pumps water towards the swimmer leading to an effect similar to swimming upstream in a river.  There was a guy actually swimming in the pool, not sure if he was from the company or just happened to have bought his trunks, but it succeeded in gaining some attention from the passers by.

Later in the afternoon I spent some time handing out leaflets and talking about LED lighting to people who were queuing to enter the Prince’s house, and I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of interest in our products, and energy saving lighting in general.  As expected, many of the people I spoke to were completely unaware of LED bulbs as an energy saving replacement for halogen bulbs, and those who did know a bit about them were concerned about poor levels of brightness, and harsh colour temperatures.  I explained about how our NxtGen bulbs use the most up to date technology to produce a superb light that is as good, if not better, than halogens.

The Low Cost Living House (and a security man who later tried to throw me out for leafleting!)

The Prince’s House and Highgrove Shop.

I came away from the show with a valuable insight into common misconceptions about LED lighting gained from talking to people first hand, and this will prove useful content for future blog articles.  I also look forward to receiving some professional photographs of the homes which we will of course be sharing on our Twitter and Facebook profiles.  I hope that we can work with the organisers of the show again next year!

The post My Trip to The Ideal Home Show appeared first on SimplyLED.

This reinvention of home lighting is where LED technology holds the advantage. LEDs are created from multiple chips which span the colour spectrum, meaning one bulb can produce an almost endless possibility of colours. Coloured LEDs can also be dimmed; this gives a massive amount of freedom to the user , allowing them to create personalised lighting in their home. New technologies are being created which tke advantage of the flexibility offered by LEDs. One stand out technology allows LED bulbs to be set to any colour and controlled remotely using the internet and a smart phone. An example of this type of bulb is the Philips Hue Lighting system.

Philips Hue

Phillips have created the ‘Hue LED’ bulb. They feature all the power saving advantages that make LED lighting so popular, but are a far more intelligent lighting solution. You can use your smart phone to choose colours from a photo to recreate a scene, or choose a colour setting to set a mood, e.g. recreate a sunrise to wake up to. You can also control them remotely with your smart phone to turn them on and off. This has the potential to aid home security and make it appear you are home when you are not. Alternatively you can use the device to simply turn the lights on remotely on your way home so you do not return to a dark house.

Above: A flexible RGB LED Strip Light.

LED lighting can open up endless possibilities for home lighting design. Unlike incandescent and other lighting sources LEDs can come in very small packages which still give out a bright light, such as and LED Strip Light. Being only 8mm in width and 2mm in depth and with added flexibility (literally) it can be placed almost anywhere. Whilst the LEDs on the Strip Light are small, they still give out a fantastic amount of bright light.

LEDs also give you the option to keep the same lighting as before in style and quality but dramatically reduce your energy consumption. Typically a 50 watt halogen GU10 bulbs can be replaced by an LED GU10 bulb with the same light output but using only 5 watts of electricity, saving you a massive 90% on the energy consumption. With many LED bulbs being designed as retrofit items, you can often upgrade to LED lighting without having to change any fixtures or fittings.

LED lighting is the future, it allows you to redesign your home lighting exactly how you want, giving you the freedom to break away from plain on/off white bulbs. Make your home the best it can be with the future of LED lighting!

The post The Future of LED Lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

Above: An example of an (LED) Lamp.

Lamp

A lamp is effectively a bulb. It can be placed into an existing fitting and it’s this easy upgrade-ability that makes them an attractive solution. Generally an LED lamp is a retrofit solution for a previous halogen or incandescent bulb. Here are a few examples of an LED Lamp GU10, B22 Standard Shape and E14 Candle. The advantages of using an LED lamp is that they are cheaper and easier to fit than a luminaire. To fit a mains powered LED lamp, you simply remove the previous bulb and fit it with the new LED. They are cheap and easy to replace and can be done by anyone, you will not need an electrician to fit these. They are available in a range of styles giving you a wide range of colour options, brightness and beam angle. However the brightness of LED lamps is not as bright as the brightest of luminaries.

Lamps are great for when you want to replace your current lighting with LEDs in a quick and easy way.

Above: An example of a complete luminaire.

Luminaires

Luminaires are the full light fixture which includes the lamp. They are often used when replacing full lighting systems, or when adding lighting to a new domestic or commercial building. They have the advantage of being one unit so you only have to fit one thing as opposed to installing the lighting fixture and then having to source a suitable lamp afterwards. Luminaires in general will have a higher lumen output as the whole lighting system is designed together and everything can be taken into consideration (heat dissipation/ system design). This often mean that fewer lighting points/ Luminaires are needed per room. The energy efficiency offered is much the same as separate lamps. When upgrading existing lighting one should consider the reduced ease of fitting whole Luminaires; you may need to consult and electrician/ lighting designer when fitting one.

Luminaires are often used in new builds where a high lumen to watt ratio is needed.

Both lamps and Luminaires give out good quality light and have their uses. Lamps will usually be used where you are looking to replace existing lamps, as technology improves, LED lamps will remain a technology that can be easily upgraded in the future whereas this may not be the case with Luminaires. A Luminaire may be used where you are building a room or redesigning the full lighting within a room  as they will often offer a higher lumen- watt output, meeting modern building regulations with ease.

The post Lamps or Luminaires? appeared first on SimplyLED.

Above: An example of how CRI can affect the appearance of tone and colour of an person or object.

Why is it useful?

In a situation where it is necessary for lighting to show colour well, a bulb that gives out a light similar to daylight is essential. This is where the CRI rating comes in, it lets you know how close to natural light the bulb emits. The higher the CRI rating, the nearer to natural daylight a bulb is, 100 being the highest. Although a high CRI rating is important, so is the colour temperature of the bulb. For example if a bulb is registered at 2700 kelvin (very warm white) it may lack colour from the blue end of the spectrum, therefore blue shades will not appear clear enough. To get the perfect daylight match you will need the correct colour temperature combined with a high CRI temperature.

How is it measured?

CRI is measured by comparing 8 colour samples under the light source in question, the appearance of the colours is then compared against a reference light source, to see how different the colour appears. The differences in colour appearance between the two lights is measured and then subtracted from 100 to give you the CRI rating.

CRI and LEDs

Although a high CRI rating is a good way to judge an incandescent bulb which has one colour that can be produced, it is not always a true representation of an LED bulb. A white LED bulb emits light that is actually made up from a combination of colours. An LED may have a low CRI rating, but because of its daylight white colour, colours will still look lively and bright under it.

So the CRI rating may be something you consider when choosing an LED bulb, but also take into consideration the colour. A cooler colour temperature around 5000 kelvin will give a daylight white appearance which in turn will give colours a true look. So always remember to look at all specifications of the LEDs not just the CRI rating.  The best companies will include a satisfaction guarantee or home trial, so for the best test, take advantage of what’s on offer!

The post What You Need To Know About The Colour Rendering Index (CRI) appeared first on SimplyLED.

We cannot wait until Easter as it’s a perfect excuse to eat chocolate all day and not feel guilty about it!  But which is the best Easter egg? My personal favourite  are Cadbury’s Creme Eggs,  but others in the office are siding with a Lindor chocolate rabbit or a luxurious Hotel Chocolat egg.  Whatever your personal choice, no one can deny that secret joy we all get from unwrapping the foil off a big egg on the day.

We want to keep that Easter magic going this year and are running our very own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory style golden ticket promotion. Some lucky customers will receive a ticket in with their order which features a special code, ring us and tell us this code and you we’ll refund your entire order! It really is that simple, all you have to do to be in with a chance of having your full order refunded,  just  place an order over the Easter weekend, and keep your eye out for a special ticket. But if you miss out on a ticket you may still win a free Cadbury’s Creme Egg in your order.

It is safe to say this has the been the coldest Easter that many of us can remember, and maybe you have had to spend a bit more than you had hoped to on your heating and keeping warm this winter.  Let us help ease those costs by extending our money off promotion for over the Easter period.  Here’s the details in case you missed them; all orders will automatically receive 10% off everything, spend over £150 and you will get a whopping 15% off your order.  Get your orders in quickly before the promotion ends!

Place an order and save now: >Click Here<

So if you are thinking of updating your current energy hungry GU10 halogens now is a great time. Order a pack of 20 GU10 NxtGen Series II Non-Dimmable bulbs and not only will you save a fantastic £31.47 (in other words 2 bulbs free).  You could also win one of our special tickets and have you full order refunded, or maybe just make your day a little bit sweeter and win a Cadbury’s Creme Egg!

Now really is a great time to take that step and move your lighting over to LED lighting. We wish the best of luck to everyone entering the promotions and hope you have a great Easter, enjoy your Easter eggs whichever type you go for. And we will see you all after the Bank Holiday.

We will be shut from Friday 29th March to Monday 1st April, but return to take your calls and questions on Tuesday the 2nd April.

The post Have An Egg-cellent Easter! appeared first on SimplyLED.

What you will need

-Cotton wool (preferably in a large roll)

-Paper Lantern

-LED Flameless Candle

-Hot Glue Gun

How to make it

-Pull apart the cotton wool until it resembles clouds

-Use the hot glue gun to apply glue to various areas over the paper lantern

-Stick the pulled cotton wool onto the glued areas until the lantern is almost covered; ensure it is all fluffy to the desired effect

-Turn on the LED Flameless Candle and place inside the lantern

-Hang your LED cloud light somewhere where it will impress.

These safe and cheap to make decoration will look much more expensive than they are, decorate with additional jewels and glittery strings to make the light extra ‘bling’. This works especially well for kids bedrooms. In a little girls room, why not go crazy with the cloud theme? Using the glue gun and cotton wool you could decorate plain boxes to make secret boxes to hide their favourite jewels in. Or decorate the posts of bunk beds with the cotton wool to put their bed in the clouds. The possibilities are endless, it would certainly make you the coolest of parents creating a fairytale bedroom up in the clouds. Alternatively use Coloured LED Lighting in the lamps to create a multicoloured clouds.

Of course these lights are easily customised and can be used for many occasions; from weddings to birthday parties. If you make one of these we would love to see how they look. Why not combine them with one of our Candle Shaped LEDs or grab a bargain from our clearance range and create a few LED Cloud Lights. Remember to Tweet us your pictures and let us know what you used them for! We’re on twitter: @SimplyLED.

The post How To: LED Cloud Lights appeared first on SimplyLED.

The bulbs, available in GU10, B22 and an E27 range just slot into your present fitting and the provided remote control can then be used to go through a range of colour and light settings. It gives you the control and flexibility to change the look and feel of any room at the push of a button.

The bulb allows you to choose from 16 different colour options in total. This also including a bright white light, which allows the bulb to be used for general purpose lighting when needed. The remote control also allows you to choose from the following light settings.

• Static
• Fade
• Flash
• Strobe
• Smooth

These settings, mixed with the colour options and dimming capabilities, allow you to personalize your lighting in every room. Then when you want a different mood simply click a button. Go from a relaxing dimmed light or fade setting to a bright, intense flashing effect in a matter of seconds.

These new bulbs look great in any room and here are just a few examples of how you could use them:

Bathroom

Make any soak in the bath even more relaxing with one of these bulbs (when used in a suitable fitting). Why not choose a fading effect, or a dim blue colour to aid relaxation. Blue is said to be a calming colour and it should enhance any relaxation experience.

Kids Bedrooms

I’m sure we all remember when we were children; flicking our bedroom light switches on and off, trying to create party lighting in our bedrooms. Well give your kids the option without the risk of damaging the switch or blowing the bulbs. With our new colour changing LED bulbs, your children can select a funky flashing multi coloured lighting effect to give them the ultimate party room.

Conservatories

Conservatories are a great way to add extra space to your home, but they can often be under used in the evening time, due partially to their dark cold appearance. They can however, make a great space for entertaining. Why not use a selection of our new remote colour changing bulbs to give a great white light when needed, but switch to a multi coloured light in the evening when entertaining. It will bring new life to a lesser-used room.

Shop Remote Colour Changing LED >Click Here<

The post Colour Your Home With Our New Remote Control Colour Changing LEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

How does it work?

As a home or business owner, you first need to contact an installer who is registered with the Green Deal who can then come and survey your home. The surveyor will create a report for you containing information on how well your home is performing and what improvements can be made. If the energy savings you will make outweigh the cost of the improvements, you will be granted a Green Deal loan and the work will be carried out. You then pay off the loan gradually through your electricity bills. The payments stay with the house so if you move the new house owners will take over making the payments. If a landlord has the work carried out it is the bill payers who make the payments, so if the tenants pay the electricity bills, they pay off the Green Deal loan.

What’s the advantage

The scheme allows your home to reach its optimum potential for energy savings, which in turn will not only make your house more efficient but will save you money on your heating and electricity bills. The aim is to encourage old, inefficient homes to become greener with no upfront cost to the home owner/ bill payer. Better still, once the loans are paid (which you’ll barely notice) The savings are yours to keep!

How Do I Find a Registered Installer

To find a registered installer, check with Department of Energy and Climate Change who will help advise you and find a local installer. If you find an installer without the help of this department, check if they have the Green Deal Approved mark. This will show you if the company can complete the work as part of the scheme. For more information contact the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234.

How do I become a Registered Installer

If your company is interested in becoming a registered installer, assessor or finance provider for the Green Deal you first need to apply.  You will need to contact a certification body to find out how to be a Green Deal assessor or installer. To become a finance provider follow this link for more information.

The Green Deal is a great scheme which will hopefully allow many more homes and businesses to become energy efficient, without having to worry about the initial financial outlay. This means less energy being consumed, lower energy bills for consumers and ultimately a large positive impact on the environment. We would love to hear if you have become involved in the Green Deal and how it is working for you. Comment below to tell us you experiences. Alternatively, get in touch through our social networks: Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

The post The Green Deal- What’s All The Buzz About? appeared first on SimplyLED.

Between March 20th and 27th we’re going to be donating Cadbury’s Creme Eggs to the Children’s Hospital in Oxford, as well as St. Mungo’s, a charity which helps vulnerable and homeless children across Milton Keynes, the city in which we are based.

We’ve got two big boxes of Creme eggs waiting in the warehouse, and there’s no way we’ll be able to eat all of them- so we need your help to give them away!  There’s a couple of ways you can do this;

Place an order-  order any product from our site and we’ll donate an egg.  Simple.  We’re offering 10% off orders over £100 and 15% off orders over £150, so there’s no excuse not to!

Retweet us-  We love Twitter as it provides a great way to keep in touch with our customers as well as a whole range of eco friendly businesses and organisations.  You can find us @SimplyLED

Like our Facebook page- just head over to our Facebook page, and click like!

Click here to go to our homepage.

The post SimplyLED- Supporting The Community appeared first on SimplyLED.

GU10- This is the most popular LED bulb we stock. Often purchased to replace power hungry 50w Halogen spotlights. This is the mains powered version, with nodule like pegs on the end. This bulb normally pushes into the fitting then twists to lock into place.

MR16 – Also known as GU5.3 fitting, this is a low voltage 12V bulb and therefore requires a transformer/ driver. It features two small pins at the back and simply pushes into an existing MR16 fitting.

B15- This is a description of a bulb cap.  Also known as SBC (for small bayonet cap), it is available in a range of bulb shapes.

B22- Like B15, only slightly bigger. This is a Bayonet cap bulb, also known as a BC fitting. It is available in a range of bulb shapes and sizes.

E14- A screw type cap.  This is a small Edison screw (SES) bulb and is available in a range of bulb shapes and sizes.

E27- This is a slightly larger Edison screw (ES) it has a threaded base to screw into your fitting.  It is available in a range of bulb shapes.

Energy Monitors- These are devices, which show you how much energy you are using in real-time. They’re a great tool to help cut your energy bills. We stock a range manufactured by “Owl”

Insulation Coverable- This refers to our Fire Rated Downlights and simply means that loft insulation can be directly laid over the back of the Downlight safely without causing a fire hazard. If a Downlight does not state this, then it is not safe to be directly covered by any insulation.

NxtGen- SimplyLED’s very own range of LED lamps, equivalent to a 50 watt halogen bulb. They feature a 60 degree beam angle, black heat sink and are available in three colour temperatures- cool, warm, and very warm white. A trend setter in the world of LEDs and exclusive to SimplyLED- Don’t settle for anything else! >Try them for yourself by clicking here<

Spring Clip- This refers to the mechanism that holds the bulb in a Downlight, a spring clip uses small metal clips just under the fascia of the Downlight to hold the bulb in place and stop it from falling through.

Twist and Lock- This refers to the mechanism used to hold the bulb into a down light, the bulb is fitted by pushing and twisting the bulb and it is held in place by a mechanism, as opposed to by metal clips.

We hope this has cleared up any confusion regarding lighting terminology. If you have anything else you need clearing us get in contact and ask. Our customer services team is always happy to answer any questions you may have.

Don’t forget to check out Part 1 of our glossary, if you haven’t already. Click Here for Part 1 

The post LED Lighting Glossary Part 2 appeared first on SimplyLED.

So it’s official: Pinterest has taken over our lives! From telling us how to cook a three-course meal, to suddenly making us all want to learn to crochet , there’s an amazingly wide variety of pictorial content on pinterest.  But in our Pinterest journey, we have come across some amazing uses for LEDs. From objects people have made themselves with LEDs, to awesome new LED products; they’re all there. So to save you the hours of trawling through Pinterest to find them, we have made a list of our top ten just for you!

10. Sit back an relax

We think it looks a little like something out of Batman’s cave, but this sofa features a colour changing LED lights that illuminate the underneath of the sofa and around the cushions. It would look great in any modern bachelor pad!

>Click Here<

9. Rainbow Showers

Showering is an essential day-to-day task, but this clever showerhead will make any old shower far more exciting. It has multicoloured LEDs built into the showerhead that make it look like you are showering under a rainbow.

>Click Here<

8. Spell It Out

Use an LED Strip Light to write out a word to decorate a room. Use in kids rooms to spell their name, or in the living room with the family name. Or just to say a phrase or word that means a lot to you.

>Click Here<

7. To The Pointe

This LED tutu lights up the stage. The multicolored LED lights featured in the skirt of the tutu certainly make a change to the traditional white tulle skirt seen in ballets. We think it still doesn’t look any more comfortable!

>Click Here<

6. Penguin Time

Ok so this isn’t strictly to do with LEDs, but it is a great use for all those old incandescent bulbs you have taken out and swapped with LEDs. The old bulbs can be repainted to make any number of decorations for next Christmas from a penguin, to snowmen even Santa Claus. What will you make?

>Click Here<

5. Stitch Up

This simple-to-make rug features an LED Strip Light crocheted together to make this simple but beautiful looking rug.

>Click Here<

4. Star Gazing

Make the most of your outdoor space and patio furniture this summer by enhancing them using an LED Strip Light.

>Click Here<

3. Don’t forget to look up

This stunning cathedral made from LED lights is something we found and just had to share. Made as part of the 2012 Light Festival in Ghent, Belgium it features 55000 LED lights. Bought together to make this stunning piece of light architecture.

>Click Here<

2. One Step At A Time

Never miss a step again with this staircase lit up on the underside of each step using an LED strip light. It is a great alternative to leaving bright overhead lights on at night, for those midnight wander, or just to create a feature out of your staircase.

>Click Here<

1. Drip…Drip…Glow

This amazing piece of work features an LED light which glows the material looking as if its dripping down, giving the effect of a liquid LED light.

>Click Here<

There are endless amazing ideas on Pinterest and these are just a few examples that we loved. LEDs have endless possibilities for their uses and new ways to use them are constantly be being found so keep your eyes out for other cool ideas.

Why not follow SimplyLED on Pinterest by

>Clicking Here<

The post Our Top Ten LED Pinterest Finds appeared first on SimplyLED.

1.LEDs have a very low power consumption. This means they can use up 90% less energy than an incandescent bulb and up 50% less energy than a fluorescent bulb.

2.LED bulbs are often retro-fit and can replace your current bulbs straight away! Normally, you won’t need to change your fittings or purchase specific holders; LEDs bulbs are available in most fitting (GU10 spotlight, Bayonet, Edison Screw).

3.If the whole of the USA switched to LED lighting today, over the next 20 years electricity demands for lighting would reduce by at least one-third; a massive energy saving! 258 million metric tons of carbon emissions would also be saved. In addition to the savings, the construction of 40 power plants could be stopped which also contribute a huge amount of carbon emissions. All in all, the USA could save over $200 billion with a simple change to LED lighting!

4.LEDs work great for illuminating light sensitive pieces of art work or food items because they produce no UV radiation and very little heat. The effects of prolonged exposure to LEDs bulbs will not damage or affect items in the same way that prolonged exposure to heat emitting light sources such as halogen bulbs would.

5.LED light technology can help combat Jet Lag. Scientists have developed a device which uses earphone-like equipment to shine a bright LED light into photosensitive regions of the brain. When used at specific points in long haul journeys, they can be used to combat the effects of jet lag.

6.An LED light bulb could last as long as 30 years, even with regular use. They can have a life span of between 30,000 and 50,000 hours typically. If you were to use a bulb with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 hours for four hours a day, that’s over an incredible 34 years!

7.LEDs can come in an organic form called OLED. Organic light emitting diodes (OLED) is an ultra thin material, which can be applied to almost any surface. When an electric current is passed through the material it lights up brightly.Audi have recently experimented with using this technology for tail lights on their new concept car!

8.LEDs have been combined with paper to make paper LEDs.

9.LED lighting can come in a variety of colours and can even be colour changing. The basic chip colours available included red, green and blue. These can be combined to give almost any colour option.

10.LEDs have been used in numerous fashion applications from making your mouth light up, to glowing eyelashes.

So now that you know a little bit more about LEDs, why not stun friends and family with your new found LED knowledge!

The post 10 Things You Never Knew About LEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

The Ideal Home Show is a great event with 8 dedicated areas providing lots of information; from building a new home to cooking up a storm, the Ideal Home Show can provide you with everything you need to know.

A major attraction at the show each year are the purpose built houses, designed to demonstrate what is possible in your home. This year we’re pleased to provide the houses with our ultra efficient LED products. Both homes will be exhibiting our critically acclaimed NxtGen Series II LED bulbs and an assortment of fixtures. This will give you a great opportunity to see for yourself why our NxtGen LED’s have received such great feedback, and were chosen to be featured at the show.

Our critically acclaimed NxtGen Series II LED, as featured in the Princes House & Low Cost Living Home (Ideal Home Show 2013) are exclusive to SimplyLED.

Purchase our NxtGen Series II LEDs exclusively through

SimplyLED.co.uk or our recommended resellers. >Click Here<

We will be visiting the Ideal Home Show over the course of the exhibition and we would love to meet some of you. Look out for one of our representatives on the opening day, this Friday. Sam will be by the ‘Low Cost Living House’ as well as browsing round, handing out leaflets with special discounts, exclusive for visitors of the show. Keep your eye out and see if you can spot him wearing one of our SimplyLED t-shirts. We will also be tweeting live from the show on any days that we attend. Follow us: @SimplyLED

We are really excited to visit the show and get our products into the houses, we have been creating new leaflets, competitions and giving away tickets. If you are going to be at the show keep your eye out for our team and our bulbs, tweet us what you think. We hope you have a great time at the show if you are going, and we will keep you updated with the great stuff we find too.

The post Ideal Home Show 2013 appeared first on SimplyLED.

After nearly two hours on the train, and some much-needed coffee we arrived at the Excel; and we have to admit that we were amazed by the amount of people there and the size of venue.  After getting lost whilst trying to find the ‘Evolution of lighting’ section, we eventually found the seminar ‘LED Basics- Understanding Equivalence, Efficiency and lifetime claims.’ It gave us some great information about how LEDs are made, tested and rated that we will be writing about if the near future. There were many great LED and general lighting stands at the show that showed us other new innovations that are being made in LED technology.

It seemed that there was a massive range of people visiting the show; from architects and lighting designers to DIY’ers looking to make their homes more energy efficient. There were also plenty of interactive devices to give you a hands on chance to play with the equipment- we had great fun with Photonstars’ interactive dimmer wheel where we could control all aspects of the lights, or see real live bees and insects buzzing around the flowers in a specific container.

There were some great exhibits featuring every aspect you might ever need to either transform your home to a eco energy efficient home, or if you are building a new house from scratch.  Here are a few of our favourites:

Zero Carbon Future

This company provide installers, engineers and electricians and even a design service to install the best renewable energy products in your home. They supply biomass and solar thermal products in a bid to help customers cut their carbon emissions.

ICI Paints/ Dulux Trade

Okay, I have to admit this stand made the list for me because it came with its very own Dulux dog, and who can refuse any animal that cute? The company are working to reduce the whole-life footprint of the decorating process. They are setting targets for themselves of sustainability in economic, environmental and social issues.

Crash

Crash is a great charity, which is working together with many companies in the building trade to improve emergency shelter for the homeless. They’re work involves encouraging businesses to donate money and products to improve the shelters, giving the homeless somewhere safe, clean and warm to sleep. They are an industry charity that receives no government funding and rely entirely on the patronage from companies in the construction sector.

We came away from the day fully loaded with leaflets and our minds buzzing with information. We were stunned by the amount of home grown businesses, which offer such great ways to improve the energy efficiency of homes. I hadn’t appreciated how they are ways to make any home no matter where it is or the size of it eco efficient.  Hopefully this has given you an insight into our day at the Eco Build.  We had a fantastic day and can’t wait to go back next year and see what else they have to show.

The post The Eco-Build Exhibition 2013 appeared first on SimplyLED.

Here are just five of the world’s tallest buildings which have taken the use of energy-saving LEDs to a whole new level.

• The Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai is the world’s tallest building at a dizzying 2,717 feet. Its 163 floors include 30,000 homes, nine hotels and seven acres of parkland. It makes use of both interior and exterior LED lighting systems and these, along with 300 projectors, integrated stroboscopes, and sky traces produced one of the most breathtaking lighting experiences ever seen when the tower opened in 2010.

• At 1,971 feet it may not be the tallest, but the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Saudi Arabia could be the world’s most extravagant building. As the second tallest building on Earth, it houses hotels, shopping malls and conference halls. Pride of place goes to the clock tower, whose four faces are illuminated by an incredible two million individual LEDs.

• The Empire State Building’s lighting has come a long way since a simple searchlight was used to announce that Franklin D. Roosevelt had become President. This year the Empire State will save millions of dollars by replacing traditional lighting fixtures with LEDs as part of a huge renovation programme. The new computerised system is incredibly versatile, with a palette of sixteen million colours, completely outshining the mere ten previously used through traditional lighting.

• It might only be the 66th tallest building in the world, but London’s Shard Tower is the tallest in Europe. At just over 1,000 feet, it contains offices, luxury hotels, exclusive apartments and a public observatory. Resembling an upturned icicle, the Shard, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, has probably the most state-of-the-art lighting to be found in Europe, including coloured lasers, searchlights and multi-coloured LEDs.

• At only 620 feet, the Baku Flame Towers in Azerbaijan doesn’t even make the top 300. However, its three towers provide one of the most exciting examples of programmable LEDs in the world. Hundreds of thousands of red, green and blue LEDs cover nine facades to provide stunning lighting imagery to this city’s Caspian Sea skyline. From flames to flags, fireworks to the Eurovision logo, The Flame Towers have to be seen to be believed.

It seems LED lighting is set to revolutionise and beautify tall buildings everywhere. Digitally wrapped skyscrapers are becoming the norm, with plans to use them as ultra-bright digital advertising billboards in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Of course, none of this could be achieved without the benefits that LED brings in terms of high brightness, weather resistance, almost infinite colour variety, improved safety, longevity, and, most importantly, cost. With electricity usage just 1/20th of the cost of traditional lighting methods, LEDs make these magnificent displays affordable.

Thanks to LEDs our cities are becoming cleaner, more environmentally friendly, more interesting places to live. Who knows, perhaps one day all large buildings may simply be blank canvases to be creatively illuminated. What a wonderful sight that would be.

The post LEDs on top of the world appeared first on SimplyLED.

The tanks are available in a range of colours thanks to the coloured LED lights.

The aquarium is a filter free tank which is lit by LED lights. The LEDs are used to light up the translucent moon Jellyfish, which the tank has been specifically designed for. The circular tank swirls 7 gallons of water around, keeping the Jellyfish away from the side of the tank. However even with all these features, the moon Jellyfish do only have a life span of 6 months, but they can reproduce, with adults producing larvae almost every day.

The tank, at a cost £238, comes complete with a small family of Moon Jellyfish and specialist Jellyfish food. It is currently only available in the US although they will ship abroad, however they will not ship the live Jellyfish. The Jellyfish are available from the UK from specialist stores, but they will set you back a little bit more.

The Jellyfish seem to make good pets as they are exotic and unusual and will defiantly give guests something to talk about. Sitting watching the rhythmic movements of the Jellyfish, combined with the glow from the LED lights give a tranquil, calming effect.

LEDs were used in the tank as they create minimal heat and will not impact the temperature of the water. This in turn means that no cumbersome cooling system is needed which would spoil the design of the tank. The long life span offered by LEDs mean the can be placed in the tank without worrying about expensive maintenance costs when having to replace faulty lamps. This also means less frequent disruption for the Jellyfish.

If Jellyfish aren’t your kind thing, LEDs can still be used in fish tank lighting, they are cheap and effective to run and give you a brilliant quality of light, allowing you to enjoy your fish with the clearest light possible. So whether you are providing lighting for a humble goldfish or an exotic sea creature; LEDs will always show them in their best light!

The post LEDs light up Jelly Fish appeared first on SimplyLED.

As you may be aware, if you’ve been following my blog www.queenofeasygreen.co.uk, I am currently in the process of renovating and extending my own home with my main aim of making it as eco-friendly and energy efficient as possible.

As part of our work, we have installed energy efficient measures including eco-friendly loft, wall and floor insulation, energy-efficient (Low-E) double-glazing, as well as radiator reflectors to keep our home warm and cosy whilst reducing our energy bills. But, as you will know, it’s not just heating our homes that racks up the energy usage, many household appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers and ovens are also responsible for making our electricity meters spin around at a rate of knots. But did you realize there might be another energy-guzzling culprit in your home that you may be overlooking?

Lighting!

Yes, with our relatively recent love affair with halogen spotlights, which illuminate our homes as bright as high street showrooms, halogen lights are one of the heavier users of electricity in our homes.

The reason being is because rather than lighting each room with a single bulb, homeowners with halogen spotlights can sometimes have up to ten or more bulbs in each room. So, for example, if you have 20 x 50w halogon bulbs in your home, one hour of use (1000w) would cost you 10p an hour. That may not sound a lot, but times that figure that by 6 hours a night and then 7 days at week, it soon adds up to over £200 a year and that’s just for your lighting!

So how can you still enjoy the crisp brightness of halogen lights whilst reducing your energy consumption? The simple answer, switch to LED – this is what I have done.

SimplyLED kindly sent me some of their GU10 LED NxtGen Series II Dimmable lights to review and I can honestly say I am very impressed.

In the past, the light from LED’s was considered to be a little weak and ‘cold’ in colour, but this is not the case now. With improvements in light output and colour, many LED’s, SimplyLED’s bulbs included, are now comparable to halogens in colour temperature and brightness. Plus, with SimplyLED, you also have a choice of either ‘Cool White’ or ‘Warm White’, as I was fitting the lights in my bedroom I chose the latter which illuminate our room with a bright, yet cosy glow.

A word of advice, however if you choose dimmable LED’s you will need to fit a compatible dimmer switch to ensure they work smoothly, with no flickering. This is a universal issue with dimmable LED’s, not just SimplyLED’s bulbs, and there are several dimmer switches available on the market which are suitable.

Finally price, without a doubt replacing all of your halogen lights with LED bulbs in one go means a high up-front cost, GU10 bulbs start at £11.99 each. However, when you consider that LED’s use up to 90% less energy than ordinary incandescent bulbs AND that they last up to 15 times longer than LED bulbs (LED bulbs last up to 30,000 hours whereas the average halogen bulbs lasts 2,000 hours) the energy consumed through usage and the minimal replacement costs mean your will see a return on your investment within the first couple of years. Plus, you will go on making further financial savings for many more years to come.

Also, unlike CFL bulbs, LEDs do not contain any hazardous materials such as mercury, and so are less harmful to the environment when they’re disposed of.

So, if you want to make a significant saving on your energy bills, but do not want to compromise on the quality of light in your home, I’d heartily recommend that you consider switching from halogen to LED. Saving energy has never been so simple, or should that be so SimplyLED?

Ready to make the change to LED?  SimplyLED are offering an exclusive discount to Queen of Easy Green readers!  Just use the code “QOEG10″ at checkout to receive 10% off your order.  

The post The Queen of Easy Green reviews our NxtGen GU10 bulbs appeared first on SimplyLED.

The OLEDs react to the movement of the car, so if for example, the wheel turns left, the lights flow left also. As the car breaks the swarm lights move up to boot. Audi have designed this intuitive technology so that drivers behind can see exactly what the driver of the Audi is doing.

Above: A video showing Audi’s ‘Swarm’ OLED Lighting technology.

However, motoring organisations say that although the new technology is clever and interesting, it should remain concept. They feel that the swarming effect created by the lights may be too distracting for drivers and isn’t as clear as Audi are making out. Some organisations feel that the new technology may cause some confusion to other drivers and increased risk of accidents.

The OLEDs use an organic material, which light up when an electric current is passed through them. It is a thin material so doesn’t add any bulk to the back of the car unlike conventional tail lights. OLEDs are fast becoming an exciting technology and have massive potential in various applications. Being ultra thin and lightweight, OLEDs can be applied to almost anything, anywhere, from TVs to clothing. Although it has many uses, OLED is still a developing technology and doesn’t come cheaply. At the moment it isn’t quite as robust as some other lighting technologies either. Due to the organic materials used, protection is needed to ensure the delicate displays are not damaged. With tail lights however, this does not seem to be an issue. With a strong protective cover and area of space available to work with, OLED seem a perfect replacement for traditional tail lights.

Sitting behind an Audi with ultra futuristic OLED tail lights would certainly brighten up the dullest of journeys and the idea behind the technology also has the potential to make driving even safer. But as it stands this is only a concept idea so we wont be seeing it on our motorways quite yet. Keep your eyes peeled though!

The post Audi Lights Up With OLEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

Whether you loved or hated P.E. at school, we all have memories of the sport halls.

Recently a company called ASB have developed an LED smart floor which can be used in schools to light sports halls. The LEDs are laid under the floor and can be used to light different boundary marks depending on the sport being played. The floor illuminate the markings for five different sports in total, eliminating the confusion caused by multicoloured sticky tape, typically found in school sport halls.

This smart floor is made from toughened glass which features an anti-skid laminate. Ultra bright LED Strip Lights are placed under the glass which are then linked up to a control panel, allowing the user to choose the court type needed at the touch of a button. The sports that can be played using the LED smart floor are: tennis, handball, volleyball, basketball and badminton.

For those of you worried about playing sport on a glass surface, fear not. The LED Floor utilizes an ultra strong laminate surface, uses toughened glass and is slightly sprung to help soften the strain placed on joints moving around on the floor. Better still, the floor can be heated from underneath, perfect for sports such as gymnastics which can mean you have direct contact with the floor. Alternatively its an efficient way to heat up the room without the need for cumbersome radiators that limit floor space/ decrease safety.

If a school decides to invest in one of these floors it will set them back £420 per square meter. It may be a large expense but with the sudden increased interest in sport since the 2012 Olympics, this could be the next step to give children in our schools the best opportunities in sport. Schools that invest will stand out and be able to use the new smart LED floor technology as a talking point. They can even have the schools logo embellished on the floor!

The post LED Smart Floor appeared first on SimplyLED.

Wedding dress
With the hit series “My big fat gypsy wedding” we saw the elaborate and intricate details of the women’s wedding dresses. The women in the community constantly trying to out do each other with more innovative dresses. One particular dress feature LED lights being sewn into dress illuminating individually sewn on butterflies. Designed by Thelma Madine a popular choice for traveler wedding dresses. She worked her magic to use LEDs in this dress to create a fairytale look.

Above: LEDs were used in the creation of this spectacular dress, worn on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

LED Eyelashes
These LED eye lashes bring a whole new meaning to fluttering you lashes. The LEDs are designed to make you eyes look bolder. They have movement sensors which detect movement of the pupil and the head and can flash with this movement. Made by the company Soomi Park, who knows in a few years we will be flashing our eyelashes.

Above: The LED eyelashes in action.

Light up your smile
Designer Motoi Ishibashi and Daito Manabe have found a new way to light up your smile using LED technology. It uses an LED placed in the mouth using something similar to a mouth guard. The mouth LED is controlled by a computer which allows you to choose the colour. When switched on they light up your smile in multiple colours.

Above: A video showing the LED mouth pieces being used.

Make an entrance
Fashion tech company CuteCircuit have launched a range of clothing embedded with LED lights. The items are charged up by USB, some items of clothing feature controls which allow you to choose the colour, its like having a new dress every time! Admittedly they may not be the most practical items, you can’t exactly just stick it in the washing machine but they will defiantly turn heads when they are worn.

Above: An example of an LED dress.

These are just a few ideas of how LED lights are being used in fashion. You could make you own LED fashion items use LED battery powered fairy light and fix to clothing to give that extra zing to any outfit.

The post Life is a Catwalk with LEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

The 1^st March marks St David’s Day, the patron saint of Wales. Here at SimplyLED we are celebrating the day by bringing you a massive range of St David’s Day Deals! So find the best deals for you and start saving money and energy today with LED lighting.

Shop St. David’s Day Deals by clicking here >

Up to 15% off

Place an order today and you can save a fantastic 10% off with no minimum spend. Better still, spend over £150 and you can save and even more with 15% off all items. Whether you are kitting out your kitchen with our NxtGen Series II GU10 bulbs, or jazzing up your hall way with an RGB LED Remote Control Strip Light 15% off will leave more room in the budget to purchase the best possible LED replacements. As an example, purchase 20 Dimmable GU10 NxtGen Serires II Bulbs during this weekends promotion and you will save £34.47, or the equivalent of receiving 3 of your bulbs for free!

New and Noteworthy

Recently we have been expanding our range of LED products and here are just a few of the fantastic new items now available to you.

GU10 4×1 watt LED Bulb, Twin Pack – This new double pack of High Power GU10 LED bulbs are perfect replacement for your current 50 watt halogens. With a power consumption of only 4 watts you will quickly see the drop in your energy bills. Available in warm white, these are a direct replacement for your existing bulb and look great in any room.

Owl Energy Monitors – We now stock two types of OWL energy monitors. These handy little devices simply clip onto your existing wiring and tell you in real time how much your energy is costing you (or how much you are saving once you have switched to LEDs). The Owl +USB also includes software to track and record your power consumption, so you can see exactly when you are using the most electricity and which appliances are the main culprits. An essential item to help reduce your energy bills, at home or at work.

LEDs for Under a Fiver!

Although people are becoming more aware of LED lighting and the massive benefits it can bring, for many people it is the initial outlay that can be off putting.

Here at SimplyLED we try are best to soften this blow as much as possible! We already offer competitive multi-pack pricing and we even now offer 0% finance to help our customers upgrade to LED and today we are pleased to introduce to some attractively priced ‘bargain’ LEDs:

B22 LED Candle Shape Bulb – This is a bayonet cap clear candle bulb, with a efficient 3 watt power consumption. Available in warm white it looks fantastic in any decorative light fitting. With a pack of 5 costing just £24.99 that works out at just £4.99 per bulb!

>CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW<

B15 Crystal LED Candle Shape Bulb- This stunning small bayonet cap bulb features a decorative crystal design. Its warm white glow makes it an ideal replacement for current incandescent bulbs fitted in chandeliers, whilst using only a fraction or the energy. This bulb will happily replace a 25-40w traditional bulb whilst only consuming 3 watts of power. With a pack of 5 costing £24.99 making each bulb only £4.99. An absolute bargain!

>CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW<

E27 Crystal LED Candle Shape Bulb- This is very similar to the B15 Crystal Candle bulb only with an Edison Screw cap. This bulb features the crystal surface and outputs a gorgeous warm white glow, making it a perfect choice for your chandelier. This popular bulb will save you money without losing any decorative appeal. Again with a pack of 5 being only £24.99 it makes these bulbs a steal at only £4.99 each!

>CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW<

High Power GU10 LED Bulb – This popular 35 watt equivalent GU10 bulb now comes in a pack of 3 bulbs. It is the ideal replacement for your current halogen bulbs, especially if you are looking for a slightly mellower light without the intensity of a traditional 50w Halogen. Available in both cool white and warm white so you are sure to find the right choice for your needs. With a power consumption of only 2.8 watts, the savings you make will not go unnoticed. The pack of three costs £14.99 meaning each bulb will only cost you just £4.99 each! A £2 saving on the previous price of £6.99 per bulb.

>CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW<

Be Quick!

Please note though some items are in our clearance range and are available in limited quantities. Once we are sold out, we will not be getting any more stock so Grab your St David’s Day Deals quickly before they all go! Clearance products (packs of 5) are not available individually.

The post St. David’s Day Deals at SimplyLED.co.uk appeared first on SimplyLED.

In the competitive industry of TV manufacturing companies are constantly looking for new ways to have ‘the next big thing.’ Well Austrian firm C SEED Entertainment Systems have found the next big thing, all too literally. They have created an LED TV, which is the words largest TV measuring at an enormous 201 inches across, just over 16 Feet.

The screen has been designed by carmaker Porsche and features 725,000 LEDs. The massive screen may not quite fit into a little one bedroom flat but is perfect for private yacht owners. When turned off the TV folds away and is easily opened using the remote control. The TV will however set you back £414,000, a splash in the water to give you yacht the ultimate luxury.

The TV uses fingerprint recognition technology to keep from just anyone using it. It also includes streaming capabilities using fiber optic cables and a windows 7 server. It is protected against the environment with waterproof components, wind sensors and lasers. So you know your investment is safe.

If you don’t quite have room for this LED TV then do not fear, LED TVs are becoming a common place in homes now a days. Their clear crisp picture makes for excellent watching, used together with a good surround sound system you could create your own little home cinema in your living room.

To create the cinema at home with your LED TV there are a few simple tricks you can use. Place LED Strip Light around the back of your TV or TV stand to give the back lit effect. Or place strip lights around the edge of the room so when the main lights in the room are turned off you have lower lighting to give the true cinematic atmosphere. Try this great recipe to make perfect popcorn at home, invite friends over to watch the latest releases without forking out a tonne to go to local cinemas. Bring the cinema to you with LED TVs and LED lighting!

The post Worlds Biggest LED TV appeared first on SimplyLED.

Why LEDs?

LEDs can produce a strong, consistent light which, unlike fluorescent lighting will not flicker. Other light sources will often produce unwanted noise or loud buzzing, but with LEDs this is not the case. LEDs also benefit from an increased lifespan and a very low failure rate. These benefits combined make LED lighting ever more attractive. The reduced maintenance will help save money and unnecessary time spent, attending areas that are not lit due to failed bulbs. The powerful light, output from LEDs will help to make people feel safer. Statistics also suggest that the brighter lighting will help deter criminals and reduce overall crime levels.

LED lighting can also be seen to have financial benefits too as their low power consumption means users will make considerable savings on electricity bills, and the long life span of the bulbs means less maintenance and associated costs.

Where Could LED Lighting Be Used?

One obvious place where LED lighting could be used to its advantage could be in underground or dark car parks. People will feel safer and feel when the well lit car parks will help reduce vehicle crime. LED lighting is also great for street lighting, in particular underpass lighting. Again their bright light makes people feel safer, as they can see who is around and know they can be seen easily. LED lighting can also be used to light up play areas and parks, especially skate and bike parks used by young people. The bright light allows them to make the use of the facilities regardless of the time of year, yet feel safe even after dark.

How Do I Know If It Is LED?

If you are unsure if the lighting in a public space is LED, there are a few simple ways to tell. If the light is brighter or whiter than normal, it might be LEDs. Often in public spaces, councils or other management companies will opt for a ‘cool’ white, as this is most like daylight. If you look at the lighting (do not look directly for a long time as this may cause eye damage) often you can see many little bulbs or ‘chips’ within the fixture and this is another indication of LED lighting. If you use a facility such as a car park and feel it would benefit from LED lighting, why not contact the owner or manager of the area, and highlight the benefits LEDs would have. It will save them money and make you feel safer; how can they refuse?

LEDs are now being seen as more than just an eco friendly replacement to high energy consuming incandescent lighting. They are being proven as being safer, more cost effective and producing better quality of light. The addition of LEDs to any public space will improve the look and feel of it instantly, meaning more people will use the space even after dark. So next time you are parking your car, or walking along the street have a look around and see if you notice any LED lighting in place.

The post Feel Safer With LED Lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

1. Velcro

We all recognise Velcro and many of us use it in day to day life, from the fasteners on our first shoes as children, to pockets on bags, Velcro has many uses. But did you know that the original inspiration behind Velcro came from observations on how the Burdock plants would use a similar method to attach its seeds to animal fur? Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral discovered the seed had many little hooks which attached themselves to animal fur allowing the seed to be dispersed by the animal.  Inspired by his discovery and the possibilities he envisioned for the technology, he then went on to developed his own hook and loop system out of fabric. Velcro has since become a house hold name thanks to that clever little seed.

Above: An illustrative example of how (Hook and Loop) Velcro works.

2. Improved aerodynamics

A whales fin feature tubercles (bumps on the edges of fins) which scientists have discovered improve aerodynamics, giving the whales more lift. The air is pushed through the bumps, which icreases the wind speed flowing through, this in turn helps increase the lift. This goes against the common idea that smooth straight blade of fin gives the best aerodynamics and experiments have proved the channels created by the tubercles, actually do give better aerodynamics. This idea is being explored further by scientists and could be applied to planes and wind turbines to increase efficiency and stability.

3. Ants Lead the Way

Cataglyphis ants from the Sahara desert are being studied with the hope of getting a better understanding into how they navigate their way back to their nest. It is believed that the ants have an inbuilt system which uses visual cues and landmarks along with an internal navigational knowledge to allow them to return to their nest after foraging. Scientists are trying to apply this same technology to robots so that they can mimic this action. At the moment robotic navigation relies on either pre installed maps or GPS navigational systems to give directions. But if experiments prove successful and the ants system can be recreated, navigational systems will become more efficient and even self reliant.

4. Climbing The Walls

For years scientists have been fascinated by reptiles such as the Gecko and their ability to climb surfaces with ease. They discovered that the Gecko has millions of hairs on its feet which are split and connect with the tiny molecules on any given surface. The hairs work in a similar way to a hook and loop system (like Velcro), which allows the animal to move easily with the smallest amount of contact,. Engineers have found a way to build a similar system and utilise it on robots, allowing them to move in any direction on almost any surface, without the use of inefficient and slow suction cups.

5. Fireflies light up LEDs

Fireflies produce a bright light from their abdomen. Scientists researched what makes their light so bright. They discovered that the way their body is made up of scales allows light to shine out without being reflected back. Researchers have created a way to use this idea to improve the efficiency of LED lights. At the moment much of the light produced is reflected back into the bulb due to the way the photons travel through the LED material. But by creating a material in a similar way to the fireflies abdomen and applying it to LED lights, light efficiency is improved by up to 55%.

These are just a few examples of how nature is influencing technology, it shows us the most efficient and reliable way to make technology. So next time you take a walk through the woods take a look around and see how else nature could influence technology!

The post How Nature Is Leading The Way To A Brighter Future appeared first on SimplyLED.

As some of you may recall, last Thursday was St. Valentines day and to celebrate we ran an extra special promotion; giving away every 14^th customer’s order for free.   The promotion was an astounding success, and we had a great time calling up customers to let them know that they’ll be receiving their bulbs for free!  The winners will receive a refund for their purchase by Thursday 21^st February.

Peter Knell from Stevenage was one of the day’s first winners, winning his order for two Remote Controlled RGB Striplight Kits.  Another lucky winner was Jon Honeyball from West Sussex who won his order for ten Warm White NxtGen Series II GU10 bulbs and two G4 High Power LEDs. Mark Stevens in Hertfordshire won his order for a ten pack of NxtGen Series II GU10 LEDs and matching down lights.  A free 5m remote control RGB Strip Light kit will be sent out to Stephen McGartland; and Beverly Clark from Kent won her 10 Pack of GU10 Lamp Holder Cables.

We hope that you are all very pleased with your energy saving LED lighting products!  Unfortunately not everyone could be a winner, but we’d like to say a big thank you to all of our customers who ordered on the day.  If you didn’t win on the day, or are just feeling lucky, then why not order this week for the chance to win one of our fantastic experiences?  Experiences range from a Luxurious Afternoon Tea for Two, to an exhilarating aerobatic flight day.  You can find out more details about our daily Fabulous February Giveaways here.

The post Valentines promotion appeared first on SimplyLED.

Above: An original concept sketch for the ‘Silence Room’

Architect Alex Cochrane designed and created the space. Although dubbed ‘The Silence Room’ it is in fact designed so that background noise from the store can still be heard, but at a muted level. The room is an interpretation of the original Silence Room created by the stores founder in 1909. Customers are guided to the room by lights hung along a corridor, which lead to an entrance, building a feeling of anticipation. Customers are asked to leave belongings and shoes in lockers at the entrance, so the room is a peaceful haven. Customers are also encouraged to lower their voices to enhance the relaxed environment. So far customers have used the room for sleeping, meditation and even for prayer.

Above: An example of how LED Strip Lights have been used to light the room

Warm White LED Strip Lights have been placed on the underside and rear of the seating area and benches. This gives an ambient glow to the room and moves away from harsh focused spotlights and visible bulbs. This offers an overall, ambient glow to match the calm mood intended. The floor, seating and walls have been covered in a cream felt which also helps to dull some of the outside noise and the neutral colour helps to aid a calm atmosphere.

The idea of a silence room is one that many business or even homes could adapt. Large offices could transform a conference room or some spare office space to a Silence Room. Employees could take breaks away from computers and harsh office light to relax in the room, leading to more productive work time. Alternatively, you could recreate the calm sanctuary in your home. Why not transform a spare bedroom to a silence room, or even just decorate your bedroom in calm neutral colours, with little clutter. You could use LED Strip Lights around the room to give an overall lighting effect as opposed to traditional incandescent pendant lighting. You could even try experimenting with an RGB Remote Control Strip Light. The remote could be used to choose and colour and light setting to suit your mood at any given time.

Next time you’re in London pop into Selfridge’s Silence Room for yourself to see the effects. Or create one at home to have your own sanctuary to escape from hectic day-to-day life and relax. Don’t forget, if you want to take some pictures of your installation or create a short testimonial video, you can send them into videos@simplyled.co.uk for other customers to see. Click here for full details.

The post LEDs Create Ambient Space appeared first on SimplyLED.

What is it?

In many areas of the world there is no lighting grid system so after dark, life comes to a halt as there is no reliable or safe lighting available. It is estimated that 500 million Africans and 1 billion Asians have no sustainable lighting. This means they rely on Kerosene lamps, a far from ideal solution as the gases they produce can have harmful effects, not to mention the cost of the oil needed and the low light given out by the candle. Philips have found a way to solve this issue with their solar powered LED lighting. The solar power provides a low cost, sustainable light source for these off grid areas.

 above: An example of how the off grid lighting works

Why Solar Powered LED Lighting?

In areas such as Africa, which has a lot strong sunlight, Solar power is perfect. The sun charges the lamps during the day and when night falls the LED’s give off a powerful light. The advantage of the LED’s is that their lower power consumption means the can stay on for longer; As they consume less power, they use up less of the stored energy, meaning the energy can last longer. The LED’s long life span will also ensure a low maintenance cost for the lamp without the need for frequent bulb changes. The lamps do not require any mains electricity which means they have a low installation cost allowing them to be placed almost anywhere.

Applications of the Solar Powered LEDs

• Roads and junctions
• General areas flood lighting
• Sport activities and events
• Security
• Markets
• Construction sites

Impact on the region

In equatorial regions they have roughly 12 hours of nightfall a day, and if life has to stop at nightfall due to lack of lighting it impacts quality of life heavily. Having lighting means businesses can work later, communities can come together in sport activities and communal areas which are safer due to the bright lighting. Lighting the roads at night means safer roads for drivers and pedestrians, also it creates inviting business opportunities. If businesses can travel easily in and out of major cities and town, it creates a welcoming environment for business bringing a better economy to the towns and cities. The project itself of installing these lights creates considerable job opportunities for locals to install and the maintenance of the lights.

Other uses of Solar Lighting

Philips have produced a range of Solar powered LED’s which include hand held lamps, home lighting systems and reading lights. These products when used in off grid areas give users a considerable increase in quality of life, as they can do more at home after dark, things we take for advantage such as reading a book before bed, or just sitting in a well lit room in the evening with your family.

So next time you flip on a light switch at night or drive down a well lit road, have a think about how you would cope without these everyday luxuries, and what a difference the solar powered LED lights are making to peoples lives across the world.

The post Philips Off Grid Lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

If you are embarking on your own Grand Designs project, or looking to update your business’s lighting and are considering using LED, tell us about it! We are always fascinated to hear about how our LED lighting is being used and are happy to help advice on the right products to suit a particular task.

We would love to know if your business or building project is using LED lighting. Whether you are at the stage of deciding whether to convert to LED, have a few questions on your project, or it is completed and you want to show off your LEDs; please get in touch. Send us your questions, ideas, photos or details of your projects. We can help to advise you how to get the most out of using LEDs and point you in the direction of items you might need. Or if you have completed a project large or small we would love to know about it.

We are looking to build up a portfolio of case studies about projects and businesses using LED lighting. We want to display these on our blog to help others and show off the benefits of using LED lighting. If you are interested in being featured in one of these case studies please get in contact with us by phone: 0845 459 8010.

The post Tell us about your lighting needs for your project appeared first on SimplyLED.

Installing the right type of lighting can buy the occupants of a building the time they need to escape from that building in the event of a fire.

They also buy the actual building extra time by slowing down the spread of fire throughout the building. In situations where the fire crew arrive early much of the basic fabric of a building can potentially be save. This can be the difference between a building having to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up or simply needing the interior stripped out and replaced.

For businesses and homeowners, this is important not only from a cost point of view. It takes far less time to replace the interior of a building than it does to demolish a building and rebuild it from scratch.

From a business point of view, this is very important. The quicker repairs can be completed the faster the business can get back up and running. For a homeowner this is also important because it means that the family can resettle into their home after a few months rather than having to wait a year or more for repairs to be completed.

Ceilings without Fire Rated Downlights are compromised

A ceiling that is not fitted with Fire Rated Downlights is a compromised ceiling. Your ceiling should work as a fire barrier, not a means for fire to spread. The small gap between the rim of a standard downlight and the ceiling itself presents a point for fire to gain purchase, once the ceiling itself is actually alight fire quickly spreads to the floor above.

The rim of Fire Rated Downlights are constructed to ensure that fire cannot easily gain purchase. There is effectively no gap between the edge of the light’s rim and the ceiling. Nor is there a gap around the point of the casing where the bulb fixture is located. In effect, there is a fireproof seal, which can give up to 90 minutes fire protection when installed into a ceiling built of fire retardant materials.

The post The Importance of Fire Rated Downlights appeared first on SimplyLED.

What is a PIR sensor?

A Passive Infrared Sensor, is a sensor attached to the Flood Light which detects infrared light signals. Infrared is a heat energy emitted by objects above the absolute zero infrared amount. Humans and animals with warm body temperatures emit a high infrared signal. The sensor detects the infrared emitted by a person or object with a higher infrared signal, and sends an electrical signal to the Flood Light to turn on.

Why would you use a PIR?

You may choose a Flood Light with a PIR as opposed to one without because if a Flood Light is placed outside your home, to keep it turned on all the time can be disruptive and wasteful of energy. It would have to be manually turned on and off as required. Whereas a Flood Light with an PIR sensor will only turn on when required by detecting a person, so when you arrive home as soon as you pass the sensor the light turns on so you can get into your house in bright light. Then once you are in your home after a short time the light turns out so the light doesn’t disrupt you.

Using an LED Flood Light with a PIR sensor will make your home safer and lower your energy costs compared to use with a traditional Flood Light, due to the lower power consumption of the LEDs and the light only on when needed. The LED Flood Light will give out a strong bright light and it’s long life span means you wont have to worry about fiddly and difficult lamp changes. So take the step and make your home even safer with the LED Flood Light with PIR sensor.

The post LED Flood Lights with PIR Sensors appeared first on SimplyLED.

Solar Panels could be a great way of achieving both of these things!

Make money

To boost income, one thing homeowners can do is invest in solar panels, which offer an eight to 12% return on investment (ROI), higher than your high street bank.

According to the Energy Saving Trust’s calculator a household who would normally spend about £35 a month on bills, can look to save / make just under £391 a year by not paying for energy and payment from the Government.

We may think fossil fuels are cheaper than renewable sources but, as it has only been too apparent this winter, they are becoming more and more expensive, whereas the cost of renewables are dropping.

And while it is true a module and installation can cost more than £4,000, over its lifetime (about 25 years) the panel will save and make you about just under £8,000.

See how much you could save by clicking here.

Help the environment

Not only are you avoiding spending hard earned cash on energy bills, you are also helping the UK cut its carbon emissions.

This means there is less air pollution, and less damage to the environment.

Create a secure energy supply

Coal and oil take millions of years to form, and there is not an endless supply. To ensure a secure future for the next generation and the generation after that we need to find another way to power our country safely and reliably.

Renewable energy does this, and the sun and wind don’t run out!

How does the Feed-in-Tariff work?

Feed-in-Tariff explained:

The Feed-in-tariff is a government scheme that helps you (or your company) save money in three ways if you generate your own energy.

- Firstly, you save money by not paying electricity bills, because you have created your own energy.

- Secondly the energy company will pay a generation tariff (7.1p per kWh), which is a small sum paid per kW whether the energy is used by you or not.

-Thirdly the energy company will then pay you an export tariff of 4.5p after per kW for all energy not used that they can than export back to their grid.

This article was written by Lima Curtis who writes about matters of energy, the environment and business for many publications and sites including www.theecoexperts.co.uk. You can follow her on Twitter @limalovesnews

The post A Beginner’s Guide to Solar Panels. appeared first on SimplyLED.

Valentine’s day is the second biggest card-giving holiday of the year, but what is it really about?

It’s hard to pin point the exact origins of Valentine’s Day, but there are a few theories. One theory suggests that during the third century, Saint Valentine conducted secret marriages even though they were forbidden at the time. Young men in particular were not allowed to marry, as they were required as soldiers. Once it was discovered that Valentine had been conducting these illegal marriages he was sentenced to death.

Another theory describes how Saint Valentine attempted to help Christians escape from their Roman Prisons. It is also suggested that he sent a letter to a young girl whom he fell in love with whilst in prison (possibly the jailers daughter) and was said to have signed the letter “from your Valentine”, starting the Valentine greeting tradition.

In modern times, Valentine’s Day is celebrated with the sending and receiving of cards, flowers and presents. In the U.S.A approximately 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged each year.

All this talk of Valentine’s Day got us thinking at SimplyLED HQ…

We’ve been exchanging stories and discussing the worst chat up lines we’ve used and received in cards. Often highly cringe worthy and painful to hear, they can be quite amusing. Here is a list of our top 10 ten cringe worthy chat up lines:

10. If I could re-arrange the alphabet I would put U and I together.

 

9. Do you believe in love at first sight… or should I walk past again.

 

8. Whilst conversing with a girl, feel your jumper and ask, “what material is this?”  As she ventures a guess say “boyfriend material.”

 

7. Hi, I’m Mr. Right; someone said you were looking for me.

 

6. There is something wrong with my mobile. It doesn’t have your number in it.

 

5. Are you Swedish? Cuz you’re the SWEEDISH girl in the room!!!!!!!!!!! (Sweetest, gettit?????!!!!)

 

4. I’m invisible. (Really?/No you’re not) Well, can you see me? (Yes) How about tomorrow night?

 

3. I have a pen; you have a phone number… think of the possibilities.

 

2. Do you have any raisins? How about a date?

 

1. Are you a parking ticket because you got fine written all over you?

If any of these fantastic lines don’t seem to work for you, why not try some good old-fashioned romance? You’ll find it hard to go wrong with a bunch of flowers and a card. Why not add to our list and let us know the best (or worst) chat up line you have dared use receive? Tweet us, or comment under this blog with your favourites!

The post Valentine’s Day Chat-Up Lines; The Good, The Bad And The Down Right Cheesy! appeared first on SimplyLED.

While most of us have finally recovered and are back to normal after the festivities of New Year, in Chinese culture they are just starting the build up to Chinese New Year celebration. The Chinese calendar is dictated by a lunar calendar each month starting on the darkest day of the month. This year, Chinese New Year falls on the 10^th of February. It is a major event in their calendar, celebrated with food, celebrations, fireworks and much more.

In the Chinese calendar, each year is assigned to an animal. People born in this year are said to take on the characteristics of the animal. Legend says that Buddha asked all the animals to meet with him on Chinese New Year and 12 animals showed up, he named a year after each of the 12 animals. This year is the year of snake. People born this year are said to be “Rich in wisdom and charm, you are romantic and deep thinking and your intuition guides you strongly. Avoid procrastination and your stingy attitude towards money. Keep your sense of humor about life. The Snake would be most content as a teacher, philosopher, writer, psychiatrist, and fortune teller.”

Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days until the lightest day of the month. Families will get together and have large meals, especially on New Years Eve. Red is the colour for Chinese New Year. People wear red clothes, will decorate their houses with poems written on red paper and red envelopes containing lucky money are given to children. Red is chosen as it represents fire and is supposed to ward of bad luck. A lantern festival is held on the 15^th day with homes decorated in lanterns. People also carry lanterns in the local processions, decorated with images from nature and zodiac signs. The highlight of the festival is the Dragon Dance where a dragon is held by a line of dancers who animate the dragon as it dances around the streets.

So as Chinese New Year approaches and the year of snake is celebrated, why not bring some of the celebration into your home. Use our GU10 NxtGen Series 2 bulb in red toward off bad luck in your home. Celebrate the year of the snake using one of our LED Strip Lights, run a strip light around paintings and decorations to celebrate the Chineses New Year, or just to give another level of lighting to your room. Opt for an RGB Strip Light Kit to allow you to choose the colour, so you can have it red for Chinese New Year then any other colour or lighting setting for different occasions, a year round multi-functional decoration!

So if you are celebrating Chinese New Year we hope you have a fantastic time. We wish you all the best of luck with the new year we hope it is a prosperous successful year for you all.

The post Chinese New Year 2013- The Year Of The Snake appeared first on SimplyLED.

This weekend marks the start of Chinese New Year, a weekend celebrating the beginning of a New Year in the Chinese calendar.  The occasion is marked with large family feasts, fireworks, Chinese Dragon dances and the lantern festival. This year, according to the Zodiac calendar, we enter into the year of the snake- and to celebrate we are offering an 8% discount on selected Flexible LED Strip Light Kits.  Starting this evening from 5pm, simply add our 5m Remote Control Flexible RGB Strip Light Kit or our 5m Flexible Strip Light Kit to your cart and we will automatically apply an 8% discount.  Better still, add any other product from our site to your cart at the same time and we will apply the 8% discount to your complete order (providing you also have one of the above Strip Light Kits added too). No coupon codes needed!

Chinese beliefs state that any children born in the year of the snake will be intelligent, wise and cunning.  Chinese Zodiac symbols are applied to every year and as a result there are 12 symbols, which are applied in rotation. It is said that you will posses some of the characteristic of the symbol for the year you are born in. Have a look to see your zodiac symbol by clicking here.

Why not be inspired by the year of the snake and bring some of the spirit into your home using one of our LED Strip Lights.  Let the lights snake their way around your TV, cabinets or windows.  The potential uses of LED Strip Lights are endless.  Opt for one of our RGB Remote Control Strip Light kits to give you myriad colours and effects that are great for decorative lighting.  Or alternatively, choose a simple white LED Strip Light kit as a perfect replacement for under cabinet lighting.

In Chinese culture the number 8 is considered a  lucky number, so we have decided to launch our promotion a little earlier than the official start of Chinese New Year this Sunday.  This fantastic 8% off selected Strip Light kits starts Thursday 7^th Feburary at pm and will run all weekend until midnight, Monday 11^th February. There is no minimum purchase to receive the discount and no coupon codes.  If your LED lighting needs expand to other bulbs and fittings, don’t forget to add them into your cart alongside either of the promoted Strip Lights and we will take 8% off the total order value.

Don’t let this fantastic offer sssssslip through your fingers- grab your 8% discount off our amazing Strip Lights today!

Shop LED Strip Lights now >

Please note:

All SimplyLED products include a 14 day home trial.

You can return your LED Strip Light Kit within the 14 day returns period for a full refund.  However, if you received discount on other items in your order, the value of this discount will be deducted from your Strip Light refund.

The post A Sssslitheringly Ssssuper 8% off selected Strip Light kits appeared first on SimplyLED.

Laser pens are a commercially available product. They are a popular teaching aid, allowing a tutor to highlight and pinpoint exact areas, images or words on boards. They also have uses for campers and hikers, the bright beam can scare away animals without causing harm if used correctly. They can also even be used to signal their position if in need of help. However, now that these pens are available for almost anyone to buy they are being misused and utilised in dangerous ways.

The laser beams from the pens pose a serious risk to pilots and air crafts. A trend is occurring whereby people are shining the lasers towards planes. If the light shines into the cockpits it can distract the pilots, and if shone directly into their eyes it can cause vision problems. If these problems occur during landing or takeoff, they could have serious repercussions to safety of all passengers on board. Green laser lights pose the most risk, as the eye is most sensitive to green light.

Glasgow and Manchester appear to have been the main hotspots for pilots being targeted, but it is occurring more and more in other places as well. It is said that in the last three years there have been more than 4500 reports of pilots having issues with lasers being shone into the planes.

For the people using the laser pens, this may seem like an innocent, harmless prank and are most are likely unaware of the serious damage they could cause.To combat this growing issue, a law was passed in 2010 that allows anyone found shining laser lights at aircraft to be charged with a fine of up to £2000. A hefty sum to pay for what may seem a harmless prank at the time.

Above: An example of the dazzling effect inside the cockpit of an airplane targeted by laser pen.

Laser pens have many uses when used correctly, they have saved lives and helped teach, but always bear in mind the risks that come with improper use. If you see someone using one improperly, please remind them of the dangers they may be causing.

The post The Dangers of Laser Lights appeared first on SimplyLED.

A grid lighting system is one where by you control multiple ‘zones’ of lighting from one lighting system/ unit. Each lighting switch will control one section of lighting on either a dimmer or rocker (on/off) switch. Grid dimmer switches are largely used for commercial use, a common example being in offices.

Why use a specific dimmer?

If using a grid system you will need a compatible grid dimmer switch, it will come as an individual module, which fixes into the grid switch. Once connected, the dimmer will control the lighting level of any particular section related to anyone switch. When using dimmable LED bulbs you will require trailing edge style dimmer switch. Even on a grid system you will need an LED compatible dimmer switch. Using an LED compatible dimmer will ensure you do not experience any buzzing or flickering from the bulbs which can occur when using a traditional leading edge dimmer.

Where would I use one?

Grid systems are used mainly in commercial settings where you need versatile and flexible control over the lighting levels. Take for example a restaurant. Typically these will have lots of different areas of light and often they will need different levels of lights depending on how those areas are used. The bar and entrance may use simple on off switches as the lighting here will always stay at the same brightness, but other areas such as the dining tables may need to have adjustable lights to suit a particular mood or time of day. By utilizing a grid system with a mixture of dimmers and rockers, this could all be easily achieved and controlled from one spot and this makes grid systems a popular choice!

Grid systems are incredibly useful thanks to the versatility and control possibilities offered. Using a grid system, you can create separate sections within one room, all of which can be easily controlled from one place. By using LEDs in conjunction with a compatible grid dimmer, you can also reduce your energy costs as LEDs consume far less low power. This will dramatically reduce your energy bills. LEDs also offer you a range of colours, beam angles and dimming capabilities, allowing you to be more creative and inventive with your lighting design.

The post Grid dimmers and why would you use one? appeared first on SimplyLED.

Who Plays in it?

The Six Nations is a rugby tournament involving England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy.

Where is it played?

It is played in each of the six nations at their chosen Rugby Grounds:

England – Twickenham

France- Stade de France

Wales- Millennium Stadium

Italy- Stadio Olimpico

Scotland- Murrayfield

Ireland- Aviva Stadium

How does it all work?

It is an annual competition whereby each nation plays each other once. A win gives the team 2 points, a draw gives 1 point and a loss gives 0 points. Once all the games have been played, the nation with the most points wins. On the occasion of a draw. the winner is then decided by the point’s differences in matches, if teams match on both, the winner is decided by the team who scored the most tries.

Trophies

The overall winner wins the Championship Trophy, a sterling silver trophy made of 15 panels representing team members and 3 handles representing the three officials:

above: The Championship Trophy.

If England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales wins all three of its matches against the other slightly ore local rivals, they wins the Triple Crown Trophy. The current holder of this is Wales from 2012:

above: Wales’s Sam Warburton with the Triple Crown Trophy after their 19-12 victory against England at Twickenham.

Calcutta Cup, this is awarded to the winner of the Scotland vs England match. It has been awarded annually since 1879:

above: The Calcutta Cup.

Some other Trophies that are up for grabs include:

• Cantenary Quaich, this is awarded to the winner of the Scotland vs Ireland match.

• Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy, This is awarded to the winner of the France versus Italy match

• Millennium Trophy, This is awarded to the winner of the England versus Ireland Match

Helpful Facts!

• The winner of the 2012 Championship Trophy was Wales
• In 2013 the RBS Six Nations starts Sat 2^nd Feb 2013 kicking off at 1.30pm with Wales Versus Ireland
• The Tournament continues until Sat 16^th March 2013
• If a nation wins every match it is called  “Grand Slam”
• The women’s Six Nations Championship also happens at the same time

So know you know a little bit more about the Six Nations Rugby Tournament wow your friends, family and colleagues with your new found knowledge. Good luck to all nations involved we look forward to some edge of your seat nail biting actions in the next coming weeks!

The post The Six Nations Rugby Tournament appeared first on SimplyLED.

As an example, did you know that swapping just ten Halogen GU10 bulbs for ten NxtGen Series II LED GU10 bulbs would save you over £100 during the course of a year in electricity costs alone? That’s not to mention the fact they last up to 20x longer than a standard Halogen lamp!

Using the Energy Saving Calculator you can work out exactly how much you could save by switching to LED lighting. For someone living in a 4 bedroom house which has 17 GU10 bulbs fitted, switching to NxtGen Series II GU10 LEDs throughout, would save an incredible £180.96 per year in comparison to the traditional Halogens most home owners have fitted!

So what are you waiting for?

If that wasn’t enough to convince you, starting today we are offering you the chance to win the OWL+USB and ten of the NxtGen Series II bulbs! We’ve mentioned the huge savings that can be made by switching to LED and to be in with a chance of winning this hoot of a prize, we want to know what you would spend the free money that you will save on.

What you need to do:

• Head over to the Energy Saving Calculator and enter your relevant details. Once finished, make a note of your estimated savings.
• Have a think about what you would spend your free money on… Towards a holiday perhaps? Or even some newer, more energy efficient white goods?
• Be as inventive as possible and email your answer to: promo@burtonsons.co.uk Please add ‘OWL Giveaway’ in the subject line and don’t forget to include your full name and contact details*.

Once we have selected the best answer, we will send one lucky winner a FREE OWL +USB Energy Monitor & 10 of our premium, NxtGen Series II Non-Dimmable bulbs!

Remember, there’s no purchase necessary so feel free to share this post with your friends and contact us through our Twitter or Facebook accounts. You can also subscribe to our newsletter and found out about future offers and promotions by subscribing on our homepage.

Shop for Wireless Energy Monitors by clicking here.

*By entering this competition and submitting your email address, you will automatically subscribe to our weekly mailing list. You can easily subscribe from this mailing list once you have entered by following the appropriate links in the footer of our newsletter. We will not share you information with any third parties.

The post Win A Hoot Load Whilst Saving With LEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

How do they work?
The OWL Micro+ and OWL+USB both have clips, which you fasten around the outgoing cable from your electricity meter. Once connected, the transmitter device registers the small electromagnetic field produced by the wire as electricity passes through it. Using this magnetic field, it can then tell how much electricity is being used. Once you have entered your tariff and other relevant information the OWL Micro+ and OWL+USB will display how much electricity you are using on its LCD screen.

The OWL Micro+
The OWL Micro+ comes with a battery operated transmitter device and this clips onto the outgoing wire from your fuse box. The main monitor and LCD display however, can then be placed almost anywhere in your home as the data from the transmitter is sent to the monitor without the need for wires. The display shows you in real time, how much your electricity is costing you. It is a quick and simple way to see the cost benefits of using energy efficient lighting and appliances.

Shop OWL Micro+ by clicking here.

The OWL+USB
The OWL +USB includes the same easy to read display and sleek design of the Micro, but with the added benefit of data logging and the ability to transfer this data to a PC (Not compatible with Apple Macintosh).  The data can then be presented in graphs or numerical format and provides a simple way to monitor electricity consumption over a set time period.

Shop OWL +USB by clicking here.

One fantastic feature found in both OWL monitors is the ability to choose how you want to view your energy savings. The OWL monitors are able to display energy in KW used, but if you decide to enter your actual electricity rate (which you can find on your bill), the OWL monitors are able to display exactly what your energy is costing in £s. This simplifies monitoring your energy even further and means you can easily see how much you are spending in a realistic and straight forward way.

Not only will these help you save money by raising awareness, they will also help cut your energy consumption, lower your carbon footprint and ultimately help you run a greener, more efficient house. So why not try one out today and see what you could save?

Click here to shop for Wireless Energy Saving Monitors.

The post Our NEW range of OWL Wireless Energy Monitors appeared first on SimplyLED.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO have developed ceiling lighting panels which replicates the quality of lighting found outdoors. The panels consist of red, green, blue and white LEDs. What’s more interesting though, is not only can the panels produce daylight quality light, but they can also be set to replicate the light found in changing weather conditions (reminiscent of the enchanted ceiling found in the Great Hall of Hogwarts). Coincidentally, as if by magic, when a series of workers were tested, productivity was increased upwards of 15% when the panels where installed. This was in comparison to the traditional fluorescent static lighting previously installed. Although the initial outlay may appear expensive (nearly 1,000 Euros per panel) the increase in productivity seen when the panels were installed, may make all the difference to your business. Alongside this, the happier, more relaxed workers and the positive atmosphere created in your office will also have a favorable impact.

An example of the LED ‘Sky Light Panels’ offered by Fraunhofer.

LED lighting can dramatically change any office, without the need for these particular LED light panels though. Using coloured LEDs can also have a positive impact on a workers mood. Why not use calming, coloured lighting in areas where workers can go to relax during break periods? A short respite from work can improve productivity and workers will be able to enjoy their break, ready to return to work feeling calmer and with a clearer mind. The bright, clear lighting produced by LEDs will also help any workers with eyesight problems. They will be able to enjoy reduced strain when reading from screens and paper work. This will help avoid the unnecessary discomfort caused by working in dimly lit offices.

We all know how frustrating it is to work under flickering fluorescent lighting; with LEDs this is a thing of the past. You will also notice the instant start up time, as LEDs do not have to wait hours to reach full brightness. This is unlike other energy saving lighting options such as CFL and means work can start as soon as you arrive in the office.

LEDs have major advantages for business owners.  Their low power consumption means they will see considerable savings each month, meaning more can be invested in other areas of the business. The longer average life span offered with LED lighting will also ensure reduced bulb replacements, saving more money and time.

Having a comfortable, well lit office is key to having happy employees. Working in bad conditions will drop moral within workers, leading to more time spent doing less productive work. Workers who enjoy coming into their office in a morning will have a more positive outlook, and produce better work.

The post The Sky’s The Limit With LED Office Lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

• Place an order at SimplyLED between 15:30 on Tuesday 29^th January and 23:59 on Monday 4^th February and a 15% discount will automatically be applied to your order.

• Refer a friend and once they have purchased, send us a copy of their order number and your order number to promo@burtonsons.co.uk

• We’ll then *refund you an additional 5% of your original total order value, ensuring that you get a total 20% discount!

To ensure that you don’t stop at just one referral we’ll be offering the best referrer during Win Win Week the opportunity to kit a room in their home out with LED lighting – free of charge*!

Start shopping for your LED lighting here >

*Referral fees will be processed after recommended friend has passed their 2 week home-trial period. Value of LED light bulbs for best referrer to be no more than £100. Maximum of 20% discount to be given on any one order. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion.

The post Win Win Week Promotion appeared first on SimplyLED.

How does it work?

The technique, known as the Deep Penetrating Light (DPL) System, allows the wavelengths from both red and infrared LED light to penetrate deep into the body through, skin, tissue, muscle and even bone. The wavelengths help ease pain and speed up the healing process. The wavelengths also help increase circulation, block pain-transmitting chemicals, encourage the production of endorphins and help replace damaged cells. These effects, when combined, speed up the healing process in the body and help to ease the pain.

Has it been proven?

NASA first discovered the healing benefits of this technology when they used red LED light therapy in an experiment to show plant growth. The technology was also used to speed up the healing process of astronauts in outer space. The use of LED lighting in the treatment of injuries seems to offer an improvement in the healing process of bone marrow transplant tissue too. If further testing proves successful, this could see a massive breakthrough in both the healing and pain relief of future cancer patients.

What else is it useful for?

Not only do the possible medical applications of this LED light technology point to a brighter future in pain management, but it also has applications in the cosmetic industry where this technology is already being used. Companies and salons are offering LED light technology for anti aging treatments.  The technology can also be used in patients who wish to minimise the appearance of scars or in the treatment of acne. LED lighting technology also has the potential to be used by farmers to repair crops after damage from bad weather.

At the moment some of this technology is still experimental, but you can purchase small LED light treatment systems for yourself, although the benefits have not been 100% proven in effective pain relief. But for people who do not wish to use any invasive form of pain relief this technology could be a massive break through.

The post LEDs offer Drug Free Pain Relief appeared first on SimplyLED.

Many reasons have been put forward for the decline of the Roman Empire.  Plagues, deforestation, and poisoning caused by the adding of lead-based sweetener to wine have been blamed. In reality, no single event caused it.  Many factors contributed to an unstoppable spiral of political and cultural instability. Foreign invasion, reduced tax revenue, and an inability to pay Rome’s numerous far-flung legions culminated in the end of an era.

Could anything have stopped this fall into darkness? It’s hard to know what single innovation might have halted the decline. But, given that the Romans were both resourceful and inventive, LED lighting would certainly have helped. Imagine how much more wondrous and impressive their empire might have been with the benefits of modern LED lighting.

Many modern-day conveniences we take for granted were invented by the Romans. Under-floor central heating was one, and their hygiene systems were second to none. These included public baths, internal sanitation, running water, and even showers. It was the Romans who first made socks, used umbrellas, cut parchment and cloth with scissors, had a postal system, wore bikinis, and even glazed their windows with mass-produced glass.  With this innovative track record, you could be forgiven for wondering if they’d had a hand in the development of LED lighting.

A Roman Aqueduct. Segovia, Spain.

In terms of constructional innovation the Romans were superb. They invented quick-drying concrete which could set under water. This allowed them to build massive aqueducts and move water for hundreds of miles to irrigate their vineyards. The doors to their homes had locks and keys and their cities had pavements, storm drains, even pedestrian areas.

Despite this technology, the Roman’s lit their homes with dozens of ineffective, dangerous, and costly oil lamps. Many city-dwelling Romans lived in apartment blocks, and fires caused by oil lamps were commonplace. LED lighting could have saved countless lives!

Imagine LEDs lighting the way for Roman legions as they marched along their long, straight roads, and visualise tall aqueducts glittering with thousands of twinkling LEDs. Imagine the Coliseum awash with an ever-changing LED lightshow as many modern buildings are today. Picture a Roman society where families could shop in the LED-lit streets of Pompeii or bathe under a brilliant canopy of light at the public baths in Bath. What a spectacle the gladiatorial games would have been, the chariots ablaze with LEDs as they raced to the cheers of the excited crowd. And how superb Hadrian’s Wall might have looked stretching into an LED-lit distance.

In truth, it’s unlikely even LED lighting would have stopped the fall of the Roman Empire. But the brightness and beauty of LED lighting would certainly have slowed down its decline into darkness.

And who knows? Maybe LEDs could have saved Rome from burning – even if they couldn’t have stopped Nero’s fiddling.

The post Would LED Lighting have saved the Roman Empire? appeared first on SimplyLED.

Features of NxtGen LED Lighting

NxtGen LED lighting comes with many new features that are not commonly found in older LED bulbs. They use an integrated LED driver, and come complete with thermal and surge protection. This means that they will cut out rather than overheat and burn out and that they can withstand small surges in power that would have blown older LED bulbs rendering them unusable.

The chipset used has been updated to provide high levels of luminosity without affecting the energy efficiency of the bulb. Authentic NxtGen LEDs meet all CE and RoHS standards. They are manufactured to a high standard, using materials that have a low carbon footprint.

Avoid Buying Fake NxtGen LED Lighting

Unfortunately, the lighting market has become flooded with fake NxtGen LED lighting. These fake bulbs are made using substandard materials and components including first generation chipsets and drivers.

They deliver very poor light levels and tend to burn out very quickly so buying them is definitely a false economy. Spotting them is very difficult, which is why it is important to buy LED lighting from well-established retailers who have contracts with the big LED bulb manufacturers.

Genuine NxtGen LED lighting is never marketed as NextGen LED, NxtGeneration LED, Next Generation LED or New Generation LED. The naming sounds similar, but are not the same at all. Bulbs labelled and marketed in this way do not meet the same standards as genuine NxtGen bulbs.

Genuine NxtGen lighting is only available in GU10 LED, MR16, E27 and E14 configurations. All other configurations are definitely not made to the same standards. Only the GU10 LED format comes in a dimmable as well as a non-dimmable configuration. You can also buy NxtGen red, green and blue LED bulbs, but only in the GU10 LED configuration.

The post NxtGen LED Lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

GU10 refers to the type of bayonet that is fitted to the LED bulb. This bayonet is the one that is most commonly used for downlights and other kinds of spotlights.

The base is made from ceramic and has two small round metal posts that connect the bulb to the actual electricity supply via the light fitting. It was first introduced by Havells Sylvania in 1997 and has quickly become the industry standard. Given that the many homes, businesses, and public buildings now have some down lighting or spotlight lighting installed, it is now one of the most commonly sold bayonet types.

Why Fit GU10 LEDs?

GU10 LEDs use far less power than standard GU10 bulbs. It is possible to replace a 50-watt bulb with a 5-watt GU10 LED bulb. They give off the same level of light, but consume far less power. Users are able to cut the cost of running each light by up to 80% simply by switching over to LED bulbs.

They last far longer than standard bulbs do, which means that they have to be changed less frequently. This is not only convenient it also saves money and reduces the user’s carbon footprint. LED bulbs also contain no harmful chemicals, so can be easily disposed of without harming the environment.

Types of GU10 LEDs

All GU10 LEDs are built the same. However, some give out more light than others do. The colour of the light given out also varies something users need to bear in mind when buying them. Most LEDs are not dimmable, but it is possible to buy a dimmable version too.

The post What are GU10 LEDs? appeared first on SimplyLED.

King George made the monarchy into the glittering establishment we know today.  Excess was the order of the day and the King’s loyal subjects came to expect a constant show of extravagance from their monarch. King George was an avid entertainer, treating his guests to lavish dinner parties at his spectacularly lit royal table. 

Learning about these fascinating periods of history makes you wonder what people like King George III and his dandy son the Prince of Wales, would make of today’s LED lighting .  Would LEDS have changed the life of these royal revellers for the better, or resulted in even greater excesses?

King George, or Farmer George as he was known, was a man of eclectic tastes. He took a deep interest in all things agricultural. He also loved music – enjoying everything from Handel to hand bells.  George was ahead of his time, often seeing things in a different light.  One imagines he would have embraced LEDs technology, particularly welcoming its spectacular and dramatic effects and how it would have impressed his guests.

The Regency period was a time of culinary excess in the upper ranks of society. George III and his eldest son the Prince of Wales (who was to became Prince Regent), led the way.  Style was everything and the dandies of the day would go to extreme lengths to outdo each other. Having access to LED lighting, of course, would have made King George a very hard act to follow.

King George’s eldest son (the Prince of Wales) once hired the greatest and most expensive chef in the world, Marie-Antoine Carême, to prepare a flamboyant dinner for visiting Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia.

That evening Carême created 127 individual dishes for the delectation of the dinner guests. The evening’s pièce de résistance was a 4ft-high, internally lit Turkish mosque constructed entirely out of marzipan and spun sugar. Had it been illuminated with LEDs, it would have been even more grandiose! It took seven hours to consume the vast array of food, which included roast swan, pineapples, songbird pies, beetroot pudding and parmesan ice-cream.

Vast quantities of alcohol were consumed at the meal, from champagne and wine to beer and cider. Perhaps it was this as much as anything that caused the dozens of silver candelabra to shine as if lit by bright and steady LEDs. George’s sparkling parties were the talk of London society.

Of course, one is bound to wonder about the downside of LED lighting in the days of George III.  There would have been no candle smoke to mask their malodorous unwashed bodies.  Deodorants had yet to be invented and personal hygiene was not a priority for these Regency bucks! 

 

After a spectacular reign of almost 60 years, George III suffered his first attack of insanity which would plague him for the rest of his life. The Prince of Wales was made temporary regent, an arrangement which became permanent in 1810.  Farmer George’s bright light was finally extinguished at Windsor Castle on 29 January 1820 marking the end of an era.

The post George III and his lavish LED lighted parties appeared first on SimplyLED.

After months of research Graham Horne, owner of the One Salon in Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes made the decision to upgrade his lighting from 50-watt halogen bulbs to energy efficient LED lighting. This decision was forced due to rising energy prices, the inefficiency of halogen bulbs and the cost of having to buy 2-3 replacements every week! A reduction in the salon’s energy costs had become essential.

The Solution

During the Autumn of 2010 Graham made several enquiries to wholesalers, eBay merchants and a number of local suppliers only to discover that the bulbs on offer were inadequate and expensive. After searching online Graham discovered SimplyLED.co.uk an online retailer based in Milton Keynes. After an initial meeting with Director Jon Burton, Graham was confident that high quality LED lighting could be delivered at an affordable price and with a lumen output equivalent to a 50-watt halogen. Impressed with the quality of SimplyLED’s bulbs, their affordability and the customer service he had received, Graham placed the One Salon’s order straight away and installed his 6-watt GU10 LEDs the next day.

In November 2012 SimplyLED revisited the One Salon to catch up with Graham and hear about the positive impact his LED lighting has had on the business, his staff and most importantly his customers.
Before the upgrade the One Salon was running 75 energy inefficient 50-watt halogen light bulbs for 10 hours per day. This resulted in a lot of excess heat, energy and expense for the salon. By upgrading to LED lighting the One Salon has noticed a significant decrease in their annual lighting bill and if we run the salon’s data through the SimplyLED Energy Saving Calculator the savings that have been made are very impressive! £1,602 per year and £25,632 over the lifetime of the bulbs. This more than covers the initial investment in LED lighting and frees up more cash for the salon to invest in other areas of the business.

The positive effect of the upgrade has been felt in other areas of the business too. During the summer months when temperatures in the UK rise the One Salon have noticed that their salon is much cooler; resulting in a more comfortable environment for their staff and customers.This is because LEDs run cool and due to their efficiency only expend 10% of their energy on heat. This keeps the salon cool, keeps productivity high and removes the need for air conditioning units – saving even more energy!

Above: NxtGen Series II GU10 LED from SimplyLED.

In fact Graham has been so impressed with the positive impact that this switch to LED lighting has had on his business that he has recently upgraded his LEDs to the SimplyLED NxtGen Series II range. Through technological advancements SimplyLED have been able to deliver a superior GU10 LED, consuming only 5-watts of electricity, whilst delivering a superb lumen output. The result of this upgrade is that the One Salon have managed to reduce their total energy consumption by an additional 75-watts, saving even more on their energy bills.

Due to the technical nature of the work we carry out, particularly on colouring, extensions and wedding hair, the highest quality in lighting is essential. The NxtGen Series II bulbs that we now use in our salon deliver this. – Graham Horne, Co-Owner

What of the original LED bulbs? Aren’t they meant to last for 15 years? We asked Graham if he’d be recycling these and his response was that they still function as well as they did the day he purchased them – as a result he’ll be using them to reduce his home lighting bills.

SimplyLED.co.uk are committed to helping salons in the United Kingdom reduce their energy bills. If you’re interested in saving money on your lighting bills and would like to brighten up your salon with the latest in LED lighting technology then we’d love to hear from you.

You can download a PDF detailing this case study by clicking here.

The post The One Salon LED Lighting Case Study appeared first on SimplyLED.

Inspiration           

Inspired by Dorothy’s shoes in The Wizard of OZ, she could click her heels and be transported back home. The designer liked to idea of being able to click your heels and be taken anywhere, and this is exactly what the shoes do (lets hope it isn’t to far away, Kansas to Oz would be quite some walk).

How do they work?

Within the heel of the shoe is a GPS system, it features an antenna, housed in the back of the shoe, which allows the wearers movements to be tracked, (practical if not the most fashionable look). The user simply uses the custom made mapping software to upload their chosen route to the shoe, then once the heel is clicked the GPS is activated and the user can start their journey. The flashing LED lights direct the wearer to their chosen destination. The shoes also feature a “Progress Bar” which shows how far away from their destination the wearer is.

Nicholas Cooper gets to work on making the shoe design and integrating the lights at the front to the GPS at the back.

Where Can I See One?

The prototype shoe was commissioned for and displayed as part of the Northamptonshire Global Footprint Festival.  It was then displayed in London. It created such a stir that it has gone on display in New York in an event showing all the latest gadget technology.

For those of us severely lacking in any sense of direction these shoes seem like the perfect product, but unfortunately they are only a prototype. Showing the possibilities of modern technology including LED lights and the traditional craftsmanship of good shoe making. It leads to thinking what else could features this sort of technology, could we have GPS jewelry with rings on each finger showing the direction for travel? Using this technology, nearly any type of clothing or accessories could be used. For now I guess we will have to stick with online map software and good old sign reading to get us around.

The post I Don’t Think We Are In Kansas Anymore! appeared first on SimplyLED.

The answer? LED’s! Mining companies are now using LEDs to make working environments safer. Lighting supplier Azolite are supplying mines with Flame proof LED lights. Previously fluorescent lights had been used in the mines, but they are not practical for their job. The fluorescents are sensitive gas tubes made of glass. So transporting and installing them in narrow deep mines is difficult as great care has to be taken not the break them leaving glass littering the mines, a dangerous hazard for the mine workers. Also due to the gas contained in the fluorescent lamps, specific procedures and care have to be taken when disposing of them adding more complicated work for the mine workers.

Thought was given to the creation of the new lighting for mines. They need to be practical, functional and safe to use in the mining conditions. The LEDs plastic housing makes it safer than the glass tube as it is stronger so wont break if knocked or flung around. They are practical as the LEDs long life span means workers wont have to take time out of their mining to change bulbs. Changing bulbs can cause massive disruption to the workers as setting up ladders and equipment takes up time and space limiting the work in the area of the maintenance work. The LEDs will over all cut costs dramatically in any mining plant due to their lower power consumption, which also aids to cut the company’s carbon footprint.

LED’s are undoubtedly improving working conditions for miners but you can’t help but think, perhaps if the miners of Copiapó mine had been using LED lighting their ordeal may have been easier and over quicker. The reliability of the LEDs mean it’s more than likely the LED lighting would have survived the mine cave in. The strong light from the LEDs may have helped rescuers find them quicker. Also having consistent light may have kept the miners from having any eye problems they developed from being trapped in the darkness for 69 days. 

All this shows that LEDs have many uses. They could save lives and improve the functionality of mines with safer and reliable lighting. Not only will the companies save money on their electricity and maintenance bills, but also workers will require less time off from injuries caused by faulty and broken fluorescents. Another way LEDs are improving lives and working conditions.

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LED Striplight Kits save Energy

There is a growing trend for consumers to use LEDs in their homes and businesses rather than halogen, standard incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. The reasons behind this change in preference are varied, but without a doubt, the main reason for the increasing popularity of Light Emitting Diode bulbs is related to their energy efficiency.

The fact that the cost of electricity has soared in the past few years has lead many people to think very carefully about how they use power. The press, government and the power companies themselves are constantly reminding people of how small changes like turning appliances off completely rather than leaving them in standby can save them money. This has lead homeowners and business owners to look at how they use power in detail, and take several different steps to save power. Most people now know that LED bulbs use 75 to 80% less power than incandescent bulbs. Also, on average, they last 25 times longer than standard bulbs.

However, one of the other reasons their use has grown so quickly is the quality and range of the light emitted by LEDs. The fact that LEDs give off anything from a bright stark white light to a muted, soft light in many different colours is one reason they are so widely used.

Decorative Led Striplight Kits

Using LED lights, it is possible to give a room its own unique look and feel, its own ambience. There are so many different ways to use them.

For example, LED striplight kits can be used under kitchen cabinets to cast a warm light direct onto the kitchen counters. This creates a practical workspace as well as a warm, cosy feel to the kitchen.

LED striplights can be cut to size, go around corners and come in a range of colours. They are perfect for decorating a room, defining a space or highlighting an architectural feature or a sculpture, picture or painting.

The post LED Striplight Kits appeared first on SimplyLED.

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The interest in LEDS among Germans is significant.  According to reports, the German LED industry is set to grow by 27% each year until at least 2018.

Reducing power consumption with LED lighting        

Germany’s total power consumption is about 500 trillion watt-hours. The replacement of incandescent bulbs with LEDs can cut this figure substantially. German engineers believe the energy saved would be equal to the amount produced by a large power plant over the course of a year.

This type of energy-saving fact is giving impetus to the drive in Germany to launch LED lighting projects. For example, a competition called “Towns in a New Light” provides money for outdoor LED lamps. There has been so much interest in the competition that 141 towns took part. The 10 winners are now in the process of installing municipal LED lighting in their streets.

LED lighting and German cars

German cars have a global reputation for technology and style, and the manufacturers are always keen to improve vehicle energy-efficiency and appearance. LED lighting is proving to be just what they need.

LED headlights are now a feature of some Audi and BMW models. The headlights save money by using less power from engines. They also reinforce the distinctive look of the cars.

Car park LED lighting

The use of LED lighting is also extending to car parks in Germany. A car park in the centre of Bremen needed a complete overhaul of its lighting system. 725 LED fittings now ensure the car park has better illumination and greater security.

German design and LED lighting

LED lighting has also grabbed the attention of German designers. They are using LEDs to combine functionality, creativity and cost cutting.

For example, the Reichstag in Berlin is one of Germany’s most notable buildings. When asked to replace the lighting of the façade, designers chose a combination of LED strip lights, uplighters and floodlights. The effect is to spread an even, soft tone over the classical features of the Reichstag at night, and to keep unsightly shadows to a minimum.

LED lighting at the Reichstag has also cut costs and pollution.  The average electricity charge per hour for the façade is now slightly more than one euro, a large reduction on the previous bill. And the saving to the environment, compared to the former traditional lighting, is 23,100 kg of carbon dioxide each year.

In Munich, another classical building has also had an LED lighting facelift. The façade in this instance belongs to Dallmayr, an upmarket delicatessen similar in standing to Fortnum & Mason in London.

The aim of the LED lighting is to show the building to best effect at night. LEDs highlight classical features such as the columns and ornate windows. They also provide a warm white tone to complement the honey-yellow colour of the building’s stonework.

Clearly LED lighting and German innovation and technology is a marriage made in heaven.

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How does he do it?

Using small singular LEDs in the evening light, he draws in the air his skeleton designs. Using a remote control on the camera he opens the shutter then sketches his design using a variety of colours. The camera captures the light trails creating these sketches onto the photos. Darren is careful to wear black so as not to be seen in the photos. This makes the skeletons appear to exist by themselves. He draws sketches by hand to begin with and spends time researching the location so he can have a good idea of how the final piece will look. In a short explanation found on his website however, he notes how he can never see how the work will look until he has completed the long exposure and sees the final photo. He gets the proportions for the skeletons using his own body as a guide. Once he has etched out all his characters, he uses the cameras remote to close the shutter, capturing the final image. Each image can take between two to seven minutes to create.

Where does he do it?

Darren scouts outs venues in day to day life. If Darren spots somewhere that he thinks will make a good location, he will capture it on his phone of compact camera and refer to it later in the research process. He will sketch up an idea and return after dark to create his work.

What People Think?

There seems to be a mixed reaction to the photos. Darren would like them to be seen as part of a story. Most of his work suggests a narrative, so this should not be hard to achieve with a little bit of imagination. Through his website and exhibitions, Darren has received some great feedback, with some fans describing them as ‘Inspiring’. There isn’t a lack of skeptics those with some  whiles some other will be highly sceptical and assume that they are made using Photoshop to enhance the image.

We think this is an awesome fun use of LED lighting. This could be easily recreated by using finger LED lights and a slow exposure camera, you can create your own effects and scenes. Great for personalised photos that can be used to make cards and gifts. It could also be a great way to get young children interested in photography, using a different method from the usual point and click. It shows them new possibilities with a camera, getting them interested in art and photography. Why not give it a go yourself and see what designs you can come up with.

The post A Glowing Skeleton Party appeared first on SimplyLED.

Why Use MR16 LEDs

In most cases, five-watt MR16 LED bulbs can be used to replace a standard 50w bulb. They give off the same level of light, but consume a lot less power. Rather than consuming 50 watts of electricity, they consume just 5 watts.

Every light that has a LED bulb fitted rather than a standard 50w bulb costs up to 80% less to run. In addition, these LED bulbs last up to 25 times longer than a standard bulb, so need replacing less frequently. They cost more to buy, but over the life of the bulb actually cost less than any other kind of bulb on the market.

Most people choose to replace all of their bulbs gradually as they wear out. They do not always have the funds available to buy new LED bulbs for their whole home or business. However, buying an LED bulb multipacks can considerably reduce the cost of replacing bulbs throughout an entire home or business.

The fact that MR16 LEDs last so much longer also makes them a good option for lighting in difficult to reach areas. LEDs run at a different temperature than standard bulbs, which is another reason they are so energy efficient. Less of the energy is given off as heat, so less of it is wasted. It also means that they are ideal for lighting a feature or painting. Because they give off less heat they do far less damage than standard lighting does.

Tips for Buying MR16 LEDs

Try to replace like with like. Look for bulbs that generate similar levels of light to those you already have installed. That way you should not notice any difference. Consider installing task lighting, such as strip lighting rather than standard lighting in some areas, such as your kitchen. LED strip lighting will illuminate the working area more efficiently as well as creating a nicer ambience.

The post MR16 LEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

Marks and Spencer’s

Marks and Spencer’s have made a “Sustainable Learning Store” located on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield. The store is built to be sustainable and uses varied energy saving methods. The store uses 100% LED lighting; from the main store to the car park, even the back of the store uses LED lighting. The store saves approximately 20-30% on its light energy consumption compared to traditional store lighting. The LEDs also save the store a considerable amount of money with their reduced maintenance costs, as the LEDs should last the lifetime of the store. The increased durability means there is no need to purchase replacements or to pay for new bulbs to be installed. You can view the projects case study in full, here.

Cheesecake Factory

The USA restaurant chain was looking for ways to become more energy efficient. They started by changing the lighting in all of their restaurants to low wattage bulbs, saving them money in electricity due to the lower power consumption. But they are now trialing ultra efficient LED lighting in areas of the restaurants to aid a further reduction in their power consumption. LEDs offer a superior quality of light and will typically last between 30,000 and 50,000 hours. This means that maintenance costs are also reduced when compared to a traditional energy saving (CFL) bulb that typically has a 6,000-15,000 hour lifespan.

Walmart

Walmart is a mega giant when it comes to superstores in the USA and worldwide. With so many large stores and electricity being their second biggest expenditure, it made sense for them to upgrade to LED lighting. They started by using LED freezer units in one store in Texas. They found they had a considerable saving on electricity due to the LEDs low wattage and power consumption. Also the LEDs produce very little heat, meaning the freezers didn’t have to work so hard to keep their consistent temperature, in turn saving even more electricity. They then extended their use of LED lighting to their car parks, again making the most of the LEDs low power consumption and minimal maintenance. The bright light produced from the LEDs helped keep the car parks feeling safer and more pleasant for customers using the facilities. Their next step now, is testing LED’s for use as overhead lighting to in their stores. Doing this would give them massive savings on their energy bills and help reduce their carbon emissions quite considerably as a company.

Starbucks

The international coffee chain Starbucks, is discovering the benefits of changing from incandescent and halogen lighting to low energy LED lighting. In the USA and Canada, Starbucks have implemented LED lighting into over 1000 stores. Each store is now using 7% less energy than previously, which is equivalent to the energy used by one average household per year. So a massive saving to both the environment and their company. The companies’ flagship coffee shop in Times Square, New York noticed a massive saving of $11,750 per year in energy savings and maintenance costs, once LEDs were installed. The benefits Starbucks have found using LED lighting is plain to see.

Google

The popular internet search engine has taken the world by storm, becoming a house hold name and leaving us wandering; what did we do before we said “I’ll go Google it”. With their recent move to new offices in London’s St. Giles, they also made a smart choice and invested in LED lighting. Designers used LED’s for both the functional office lighting and for decorative lighting. LED’s were chosen for their low energy consumption, keeping the company inline with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) requirements. The Google offices are known for their unconventional aesthetics, such as “Snuggle Rooms”. LED lighting was used in many different ways to set the mood in the offices with suspended lighting, tube lighting and many other styles laid out in an unconventional office plan.

All of these businesses have seen the advantages of switching to LED lighting. From the savings in their electricity with thanks to the LEDs low energy consumption, to the environmental benefits found by using less electricity. Hopefully in years to come, more businesses will start to reap the benefits offered by LED lighting and they will become commonplace for both decorative and practical lighting. LED’s have multiple applications and their versatility is a major factor to their appeal. They can be placed almost anywhere in the appropriate housing, so the possibilities are almost endless. So next time you are out doing your food shop, or sitting having dinner in a restaurant, have a look round and see if you can spot any LEDs in place.

The post Top Five Companies Using LED Lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

We here at SimplyLED have had a fantastic year! In 2012 we launched our NxtGen product which I know many of you are big fans of. We have run many successful and popular promotions that I’m sure many of you have taken full advantage of. We have worked continuously to bring you new and up to date products and will continue to do this for many years to come. In this year we have seen many new customers join us on their journey to making the switch to LED lighting, we have also seen many loyal customers returning time and time again to us. We are hugely grateful to all our lovely customers.

As we approach the New Year we all start thinking of our New Years resolutions. Here in the office we are all starting out with good intentions of our news Year resolutions here are a few from our staff for 2013

• Loose weight by eating healthily (starting 7^th of Jan once all Christmas food and drink has gone)
• Not eat Mcdonalds breakfasts any more
• Join a gym
• Save money towards a house deposit
• Use less post it notes (I admit this is me, my desk looks like its snowed post it notes)

It doesn’t have to be big, often the smallest and simplest resolutions are the easiest to keep. We will keep you updated with how these resolutions go. What are your New years resolutions, tweet us yours and we will retweet the best ones we receive.

We hope you manage to see through your resolutions this year and have a fantastic year. Thank you again to all our customers, here is wishing you all the best for 2013.

The post Happy New Year From SimplyLED appeared first on SimplyLED.

This paper LED is made by using nano-crystals of zinc oxide built into paper. The nano-crystal, though sounding fancy, is an inexpensive common substance. Did you know that it can be found in sunscreens? Lead researcher professor Magnus Willander says “ This is the first time anyone has been able to build electronic and photonis inorganics semiconducting components, directly on paper using chemical methods.” Basically saying this is the first time an inorganic material has been built onto paper without needing a cover or extra protective layer

These paper LEDs are not the first type of flexible LED material. OLEDS  (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) have been around for years, but unlike paper LEDS they are expensive due to the multiple parts in an OLED. They are built up using layers of organic light emitting material, which is then covered for protection. This covering makes OLEDS bulkier than paper LEDS.  Although flexible and light weight, they are still no comparison to these new paper LEDs. OLED’s are  already being used to create TV screens and car displays, which are flexible and light weight. These new paper LEDs, if made commercially available could do even more, they would be thinner and lighter meaning they could be placed almost anywhere even in the trickiest of spaces.

Paper LEDs, if made commercially available, could have a wide range of applications, from lighting the work place and home to decorative glowing wallpaper, even light up curtains. They could, for example, be easily placed in babies cribs to provide a comforting night light, or used to decorate a room to provide both decoration and practical lighting, without having to fuss with wiring and equipment for overhead lighting. In fact the paper LEDs could be applied almost anywhere. Who knows by Christmas 2020 we could all be sitting round the table with glowing cracker hats!

The paper LEDs could have more important uses; the military could make the most of the thin, flexibility of the paper LEDs. It could easily light shelters and temporary bases, without having to carry heavy lighting across difficult terrains. In fact any temporary construction could benefit from the light weight, flexible paper LEDs. It would be a perfect choice for hard to reach places such as oil rigs. They also would be beneficial in areas where weight is an essential factor, such as planes and ships. The paper LEDs light weight allows for an improvement in performance.  With its ease of transportation, flexibility and light weight the possibilities are endless.

It may be some time until we see the paper LEDs a common place in day to day life, but we can see the possibilities. So next time you are looking at your wallpaper, or wrapping your Christmas presents. Consider the possibilities of how it would look you were using Paper LEDS!

The post Is Your Cracker Hat Glowing? appeared first on SimplyLED.

History

It’s hard to place the exact origin of having evergreens within the home at this time of year. There are many places it is said the tradition came from. In ancient times, evergreens were hung above windows and doors as it was said to keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits and sickness. It is also said that on the winter solstice; the longest night and shortest day of the year, people bought evergreens into their home to celebrate the sun regaining strength with longer days. The Egyptians were said to celebrate a God named Ra and the solstice celebrates his recovering from illness with the evergreens representing his victory of life over death.

The Christmas tree as we know it was first used in Germany in the 16^th century, where they bought the trees into their home and decorated with candles, fruits and nuts. This tradition then spread to America with the immigration of Germans to America. At first the religious leaders condemned the Christmas decorations, but once Queen Vitoria was pictured standing in front of a tree, their popularity rose to today’s levels. Now a days Christmas trees are far from the simple evergreens they once were, with highly technological advances, and abstract trees now available. There is now such a variety of Christmas trees on offer, it’s hard to know what to go for. So here are my top 10 Christmas trees

10. Short of space

If you live in a small flat or are short of space, this Christmas tree wall design is a great alternative to the traditional. Simply tape out your tree design on a wall and pin your lights and decorations in place around it. All that’sleft then is to lay you presents underneath. A great space saving idea!

9. Girl’s just wana have fun

Being a complete girly girl, I love the idea of a pink Christmas tree. It shows personality and looks great in a modern living room. Decorate with pink, white and purple baubles to keep the colour tone going. Why not go for pure white or pink lights to compliment too.

8. Block party

This year Brussels have looked away from the traditional Evergreen tree, an instead towards an abstract light and sound installation. The piece named “Xmas 3” performs a light and sound show every evening until 30^th December. It has caused massive controversies in the population with some liking the new modern take, whilst others hitting hard, saying it is taking away the values of Christmas. I will leave you to form your own opinions on the matter.

7. Not just another nutcracker

For me the ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ is the summary of all things Christmas. My favorite adaptation of the ballet has to be the Royal Ballet’s version of story. Their production in particular, wows audiences with the growing Christmas tree on stage. As Clara enters her dream world with her nutcracker soldier, the tree grows as if by magic from the ground, giving the illusion of Clara shrinking. A stunning illusion, that makes the show even more magical.

6. Breaking conventions

This little beauty came from my very own home. We’re slow to get started with our Christmas decorations normally but this year we started by lighting our Yucca tree with blue LED lights. Although a simple idea, it makes a great focal point in the room. This is such a quick but effective way to make any room Christmassy, decorate any plant with lights if you’re short of time or space. You could even try using one of our LED Striplight kits, which come with everything you need to get started.

5. Pac Man revolution

I found this amazing tree design on my search; it’s an interactive tree based around the retro game, Pac-Man. It defiantly isn’t your conventional Spruce tree seen at Christmas, but I think it’s fun and different. You can also be sure it will get all ages interested in the tree, whether it evokes memories of playing the original game in the 80’s to today’s youngsters, many of who will still be playing the games on tablets and mobile phones.

4. Rockin’ around the Christmas tree

Even with all the fancy new Christmas trees, I think you can’t beat a traditional tree. If you have the space in your home a conventional Christmas tree decorated in Red and Gold like the one in this picture always look beautiful. But it doesn’t always have to be a large tree. A small artificial tree when decorated well, can still look just as beautiful.

3. London Calling

A day spent in our beautiful capital at Christmas will always help put you in the festive spirit, from the Christmas markets on Embankment to the Christmas Grotto in Harrods, there’s always something to see. The Traditional tree in Trafalgar Square, London is always a must see. The tree, gifted to Britain for the last 60 years for our help in World War II, is now part of the British culture. The tree is generally between 20-25 ft high and decorated with hundreds of white lights. This year it has come from the forests around Oslo, Norway.

2. New York, New York

The Rockefeller Centre is known for its stunning and staggeringly sized Christmas tree, and this year it has not disappointed. The 69-100 ft tree is decorated in over 30,000 multicoloured LED lights. It is topped with a Swarovski Star, especially designed for this unique tree. The tree is a New York tradition, having been placed there every year since 1933. Impressing tourists and New Yorkers every year.

1. Home is where the heart is

This is my personal favorite. It is a highly sentimental tree, every decoration has a meaning or story behind it. Every year each child and grandchild has a new decoration bought for them for the tree. This means that each decoration has a sentimental value and history. The decoration can vary from named baubles to decorative snowmen and reindeer, even to photo baubles where photos of family members have been placed in clear baubles. I personally think this makes the tree so special, as it holds meanings for everyone in the family with personal favorite decorations or memories of receiving each decoration. As you can see the decorations do not stop here with stockings, pictures and all manor of Christmas decorations all around the house. But the tree is in the centre of it all showing the whole family, encased in one very special tree.

 

These are my personal top ten trees, but I’m sure you all have your own preferences as to what makes the perfect Christmas tree. What ever your choice we all hope you have a fantastic Christmas and feel free to tweet us your picture of your Christmas trees and decorations.

The post My Top Ten Christmas Trees appeared first on SimplyLED.

This month we spoke with Stuart, our Customer Services Manager.

Q. Explain your role at  SimplyLED.

A.  As the Customer Service Manager, I am responsible for organizing our
Customer Service team, and keeping our Customers happy! I am also involved
in dealing with our suppliers, sourcing products and managing stock levels.

Q. What do you hope to achieve in this role over the next 6 months?

A.  Over the next 6 months I hope to build on the skills I have learned
since starting the role.  I also hope to implement some innovative ideas to
help improve our Customer Service!

Q. If you could eat anything in the world right now what would it be?

A.  A nice big Roast Dinner, with extra Yorkshire Puds.

Q. What is your favourite film and why?

A.  Rocky 3. The training Montage is stuff of legend!

Q. On Saturday I will be …

A. Venturing to a Casino with some friends. Having a few drinks and just
having a good time!

Should you wish to get in touch with Stuart or any of our Customer Services team you can give him a call on: 0845 459 8010. Alternatively you can reach Stuart by email: info@burtonsons.co.uk or even head over to one of our social networking accounts and have any of your technical questions answered.

We hope you enjoyed meeting another member of our ever-growing team! Be sure to check back this time next month to meet another member.

The post Meet the Team: Stuart appeared first on SimplyLED.

It isn’t certain just how Boxing Day got its name or what exactly is being celebrated on the day after Christmas Day. We do know it is the feast of St. Stephen.  “Good King Wenceslas”, looking out that night saw a man gathering wood as the snow fell, deep and crisp and even. Moved, the King gathered some leftover food and wine and carried them through the blizzard to the peasant’s door by the light of a flickering lantern. It’s unlikely King Wenceslas started Boxing Day, but he might have helped towards it. During Advent, Anglican parishes placed earthenware money boxes in churches. The churchgoers were expected to place donations in box for the needy of the parish. On the day after Christmas these boxes were opened and their cash contents distributed among the poor.

Another explanation about the origins of Boxing Day is a little more recent. Back in the days when many people had servants, employers distributed presents to their employees on the day after Christmas. The servants, who had spent Christmas day attending to their masters, also got to return home to be with their families and friends. Many would take their boxes to share with their families – hence the term Boxing Day.

These days not many people have servants, but until recently it was common for people to give Christmas tips to their milkman, dustman, coalman and their paper boy.

The religious significance of Boxing Day has been superseded by a host of other traditions.  Of course, just as candles have been replaced with money-saving LED technology, so these new traditions have little in common with the past.    Boxing Day is still a family time. It’s often the day that mother-in-laws everywhere look forward to and many son-in-laws dread! Cold meat is a favourite Boxing Day lunch and the inevitable turkey is likely to feature on the menu for several days to come.

For those that manage to avoid a visit to the in-laws, Boxing Day has become synonymous with sport. Horse racing is particularly popular with meets all over the country, and many football teams also play on Boxing Day. Boxing Day hunts are still a traditional part of the day, but the ban on fox hunting means the hunters and their hounds must follow an artificial trail.

Boxing Day is also an opportunity for the eccentric British to show their true colours.  Activities like swimming the English Channel, diving into the Serpentine and taking part in fun runs are a popular alternative to the family gatherings.

Of course, another more recent Boxing Day activity is shopping.  Sales used to start in January, but the overwhelming passion for retail therapy means many sales now start on Boxing Day. But perhaps queuing at the sales is preferable to visiting the mother-in-law!

The post The traditions of Boxing Day appeared first on SimplyLED.

The white-berried Mistletoe was used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter solstice celebrations. To this day lovers everywhere share kisses under the mistletoe, hoping it will bring them happiness and good luck for the coming year. Other trees also offered comfort during the dark winter months. Decking the halls with boughs of holly was believed to stop the dark and evil from entering the house and holly branches were often placed above doors as protection. Of course, in these times of LED lighting there’s no need for darkness, but holly, mistletoe and ivy are still used as traditional decoration.

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Santa Claus. His story began with the 4th century Saint Nicholas, but it wasn’t until 1822 that Clement C. Moore wrote the poem The Night Before Christmas and the jolly, plump man in a red suit we all know so well was born. Rudolph didn’t appear until 1939, when the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward department store asked one of their employees to create a Christmas storybook to give away to customers. Rudolph with his glowing red nose, as bright as any LED, was the result.

Perhaps the sparkling centrepiece of any Christmas celebration is the Christmas tree. In 16th-century Germany, fir trees were decorated with apples, roses, gilded candies, and coloured paper. But it was reformist Martin Luther, coming home one winter’s evening and noticing the stars twinkling through the branches of a fir tree, who first adorned Christmas trees with tiny candles. Much later, Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, brought the Christmas tree to England. Today, millions of pounds are spent each year on trees, decorations and LED fairy lights.

LEDs have also revolutionised that most recent of Christmas traditions, the Christmas light outdoor spectacular. This tradition started in America in the fifties and has recently spread to Europe and the UK. Some outside light shows are breathtaking and many exponents of the art have begun to use LEDs and computerised control systems to make them even more exciting and affordable.

 

Most major cities now use LEDs for their traditional Christmas lighting. This year New York’s Rockerfeller Centre’s Christmas tree has been lit with over 45,000 LED lights. LEDs have proved so effective even the Queen has chosen LED lighting. Since 2006, the winter night-time illumination of Buckingham Palace has been almost exclusively LED powered.

From Yule logs to Christmas cards, stockings to candy canes, mulled wine to Christmas crackers – each and every one of us has a favourite Christmas tradition. Whatever yours may be, we’d like to wish you a very merry Christmas.

The post The traditions of Christmas Day appeared first on SimplyLED.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, 
my true love sent to me 
Twelve Striplights flashing, 
Eleven Dimmers Dimming, 
Ten B22’s Lighting, 
Nine Floodlights Flooding, 
Eight Candles glowing, 
Seven Spotlights beaming, 
Six Torches guiding
Five GU10’s, 
Four MR16’s, 
Three E14’s, 
Two Drivers, 
And a partridge in an LED Tree!

Merry Christmas to all our SimplyLED customers! Ok, so you may have had to fudge a few lines on our 12 days of Christmas carol, but still the message is there, it’s finally Christmas!

We have had an amazing year and we thought it’s about time we stop and say thank you to all our lovely customers. Without you, we really wouldn’t be where we are today!

So we hope you have a very Merry Christmas, however you decide to celebrate this festive season. We hope you enjoy eating that little bit too much turkey and a few too many of those chocolates.

Have a truly magical day and I hope Santa brings all you wished for this year.

All the best this festive season, thank you all for an amazing year and Merry Christmas from all the team at SimplyLED!

The post Merry Christmas From SimplyLED! appeared first on SimplyLED.

Other sources of energy, such as solar panels, wind farms and hydro power stations are currently available and where accessible, these can be used to help combat climate issues, yet more can be done. Governments have seen the benefits of energy efficient lighting such as CFL (compact fluorescent lighting) and LED and thankfully these are much more readily available than many of the ‘alternative energy’ options.

Thanks to the massive savings that can be achieved, both financially and in terms of energy used, most Governments are actively encouraging consumers to upgrade to efficient lighting, with many choosing to gradually phase out the manufacturing and selling of traditional, inefficient incandescent bulbs altogether. Of the countries involved in the phase out, some have decided to ban all inefficient bulbs in one go, whilst others have decided to opt for a gradual phase out over a defined period of time.

The benefits of wide spread low energy lighting use are clear to see; Thanks to their ultra high efficiency, even a 5 watt LED will happily replace a 50 watt halogen and match it for brightness, whilst using 90% less energy!

Some people are still unsure about taking a step away from the use of incandescent lighting however. Many people are used to the light output and colour of the incandescent bulb and are wary of investing into a new technology, particularly as the initial investment seems expensive.  Although the initial upgrade to lighting such as LED may seem expensive, when you combine both the energy savings offered with the extended lifespan (35,000 hours on average from LED compared to just 1,500 offered from Incandescent/ Halogen) the bulbs will soon pay for themselves and the benefits vastly outweigh the initial investment.

Better still, with CFL’s and LED’s now manufactured to fit almost every available fitting the ability to upgrade has never been made easier.

Our ‘Info Graphic’ shows when various countries will begin their phase out of the incandescent bulb; some have already started. In 2008, Switzerland and Australia began the phase out, placing a ban on any manufacturing of new inefficient incandescent lighting. The U.K was the 7^th country to follow, with our phase out ban starting in 2011.  Countries such as the USA and China are implementing a gradual phase out, starting with 100 watt and above incandescent and working down gradually to the lower wattages.

It is hoped that by 2017 the production and manufacturing of high wattage incandescent bulbs will be stopped world wide and as pre- installed bulbs fail, more people will move to the other energy efficient options offered. Eventually low energy bulbs will become the norm in all lighting and this in turn will also help reduce the cost of investing in technology such as LED. The savings to individuals and the planet will be sizeable and will help us all become more eco efficient.

What are your experiences of the incandescent light bulb phase out?

The post Incandescent light bulb phase out appeared first on SimplyLED.

Our own dispatch times from our warehouse should remain unaffected on the whole, with the exception of days when we will be closed.

Our Christmas opening times, which will affect both our Customer Services and Warehouse are:

Christmas Eve – 09:00 – 12:30
Christmas Day – Closed
Boxing Day – Closed

New Year’s Eve – 09:00 – 12:30
New Year’s Day – Closed

All urgent inquiries should be directed to our email support: support@simplyled.co.uk where we will respond as soon as possible.

Thank you for you patience and we hope you enjoy a very Merry Christmas!

The SimplyLED Team

The post Our Christmas Opening Times & Delivery appeared first on SimplyLED.

1) Customise with cloth

Use cloth and other materials of your choice to improve your interior. Choose a sleek cream or neutral colour or choose a funky pattern and follow the instructions in the above link to jazz up your interior. From car seats to doors, choosing a good fabric can improve the look of any car.

2) Have your say

Use LEDs in the window to display a friendly message to other drivers, or use it as a free advertising opportunity for your company. Take a look at the link above for a range of LED displays.

3) Take a seat

Upgrade your car seating for ultimate comfort. Whether you’re replacing broken existing seats or for ultimate luxury, it’s an easy upgrade. Purchase ones with heated seats or back massaging and vibrating back elements to ease the tension of long traffic delays.

4) Step it up a gear

Make a dated or plain car interior instantly look more expensive and professional with a new steering wheel and gear stick head. Choose sleek silvers and black, or deep wood for a sophisticated look. For a more unique look, go for bright colours and designs such as a skull pattern or a light up LED gear stick head.

5) Blast it out

Let people know that you’ve arrived with a new stereo and speaker system. Update your stereo to the latest technology; with MP3 capabilities and USB stick holders, you can have your entire music collection at your fingertips. Update your car speakers to give out the best quality sound possible, nothing will ruin your favorite song like bad bass response from your speakers.

6) Diamonds are a girls best friend!

Get creative, use gems to jazz up your car interior. If you’re bored of looking at the same old gray dashboard, add a bit of sparkle and glitter to your life using this simple trick. Buy affordable stick on gems from any local arts and crafts centre and stick them in patterns across your dashboard. Place just a few to achieve a sprinkled effect, or completely cover for a true glittery masterpiece.

7) Set the mood

Use LEDs to set the mood in your car. Fixed or colour changing LEDs placed around your car will help create mood lighting. Place above vanity mirrors and in the ceiling for an impressive overall lighting effect. You could also place strip lighting under your seating for passengers in the back to see. See the article in the above link to see how LEDs are being used in car interiors.

8) Are we there yet?

If you’ve got little ones filling up your back seat and you are fed up of hearing “Are we there yet?” or “I’m bored” there is a solution. Install LCD screens to the headrest of the front car seats, set it up to a DVD player and it will provide hours of entertainment, helping keep you sane on long drives.  See the above link for an easy to follow ‘DIY’ video.

9) Change it up

Whether you’re bored of your current seat fabric or it’s just in need of some TLC, this great article will show you how to reupholster your car seats. Just choose your favorite fabrics and go.

10) Blast from the past

Whether it’s the swinging 60’s or the retro 80’s that was your preferred era, why not take your car back in time. Apply the ideas above by upholstering chairs and replacing accessories to take you’re car back to that time and make your drive home more interesting.

These are a few fun and simple ways that you can update and customize your car interior and make it stand out from the crowd. The possibilities are endless as to how to customize your car to suit your personality. Next time you are stuck in traffic have a nosy at the cars around you to see what other people have done.

The post The Top 10 Ways To Customise The Interior Of Your Car appeared first on SimplyLED.

Our 12% discount will be applied to every order automatically so there’s no need for a coupon code and there’s no minimum spend! All prices include VAT and Free Next Working Day Delivery within the UK so the 12% discount will be applied to the price you see!

Click here to Start Saving >

We know that Christmas is a hectic time, the hours of trudging round shops, standing in queues to buy toys and gadgets we have never even heard of before; filling up our shopping baskets whilst emptying our purses and banks, Christmas can be a bit of a strain. But we want to help take some of the strain out of the Christmas rush. That’s why we’re offering a 12% discount on all orders tomorrow. Switch to LED lighting and start saving!

Whilst the 12% discount is an early Christmas present we’re also celebrating the last ever repetitive date we will see in our life time: 12/12/12. Here’s a couple of ideas to get you started:

5m Remote Control Flexible RGB Striplight Kit

This striplight kit would make a great gift and its versatility makes it perfect for almost any occasion. Why not try it around windows and mirrors or even around the outside of a television or computer monitor? The remote control puts you in complete control!

GU10 High Power Remote Control Colour Change LED

Coloured LED bulbs will add that extra bit of zazzle to your Christmas decorations this year. Simply replace your GU10’s with these colour changing bulbs and use the remote control to choose your colour. Great for turning any room into the ultimate Christmas Grotto; these also make a great unusual present for someone. If you want to buy something a bit different from socks and ties this bulb is a great alternative!

Mains Voltage IP65 Fixed Fire Rated Downlight (GU10)

If you are doing last minute house renovations before Christmas, now is the perfect time to stock up on all your lighting needs. These IP65 Fire Rated Downlights are perfect for your bathroom, their subtle and sleek finish helps you create a modern and fresh lighting look. Used with our GU10 NxtGen Series II bulbs they help to create the ultimate ,sleek modern look. Being IP65 rated means they are waterproof so can be placed above baths and shower units without any risk to the bulb or your electrics.

These are just a few ideas of how to make the most of our early Christmas present. Remember though it is for one day only so make the most of it and spread the word!

Please note: This offer is not available to our Trade Customers. Please contact us for more information.

The post An Early Christmas Present from SimplyLED appeared first on SimplyLED.

Rylan – X Factor Week 7

The psychedelic suit, perfect for the Duran Duran/Bros medley, took us straight back to the eighties. With high, futuristic shoulder pads and shiny white fabric, the suit flashed memories of the eighties jumpsuits. Yet the addition of the LED striplights brought the outfit into the 21st century. Set on a dimly lit stage with dancers wearing crash helmets displaying “Girls On Film- Rylan” using LED displays, the LED striplight had its shining moment. Outlining the 6 ft 4 singer, the multi coloured striplight attached to the suit moved with Rylan as he danced his way through the routine.

The LED striplight worked so well for this performance due to the qualities of the striplight. The light weight and flexibility offered by the strip meant it didn’t effect Rylan’s movement as he performed a tricky routine using treadmills. LEDs also produce very little heat so despite being attached to fabric, there was no fire risk. Not to mention the multiple colours and bright light output of the striplight meant it stood out and was more reliable than glowsticks or a UV based fabric or paint, had they been used instead.

The designers on X Factor created this outfit by placing the self adhesive strip onto the suit and attaching the strips to 12v batteries. It is a simple trick to create a truly individual outfit. The battery packs are easily concealed and could be tucked into the outfit without messy wires hanging out.

The outfit got us thinking about what else LED striplights could be be used for? Could we soon see the introduction of LEDs on the sides of glasses or on shoes? The possibilities are endless! So keep your eyes out for any other unusual uses of LED striplights.

The post Rylan’s Super Bright X Factor Striplight Suit appeared first on SimplyLED.

Across the terraced fields 20,000 LED lights have been set bordering each paddie in the fields. Set against the backdrop of the ocean the twinkling pink lights are a spectacular view. It is no surprise that the Shiroyone Senmaida rice paddies now feature in the Guinness Book of World Records for all to see this unique view. They are also registered as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) as of last year highlighting its importance to local agriculture.

The terraced fields are located on the Noto Peninsula. The area is rich with biodiversity and is an essential habitat and breeding ground for many organisms. Traditional farming methods are used here to preserve the land and life style, such as drying rice sheaves on wooden stilts; in the area communities work together to continue these traditions.

The fields already create stunning scenery with the stepped field looking into the horizon of the ocean, yet the 20,000 LED lights create a breath taking view. The use of the modern LED technology creates a beautiful harmonious hybrid of traditional, historical landscape and farming with stunning modern design. Yet the modern technology does not detract from tradition. The LEDs highlight to the rest of the world the hard work and commitment of local communities to continue the traditional methods used in these rice fields.

If you like this idea and want to re-create it yourself here are a few simple ways you can use LED lighting.

• Place colour LED’s in IP65 rated fittings around the edge of plant beds in your garden. This will look great at anytime of the year, great for summer evenings spent in the garden, or looking out onto the garden on those colder evenings.
• Create this effect indoors by placing LED Striplights around coffee tables or TVs, giving a burst of colour to any room.

The Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Paddies have shown the world how beautiful yet functional a historical area such as this can be. It has also shown the possibilities in the applications of LEDs. LED’s are becoming more popular in the design of landscapes and architecture, with more people seeing the benefits of using LED technology with its incredible versatility yet functional designs. In the future, keep a look out for other places where LEDs may have been used to enhance a design and what the LEDs bring to the design.

The post The Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Paddies Sparkle with LEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

1. Before you fly make sure you are fully rested, that you have had plenty of sleep and feel relaxed before you fly.

2. Before your trip adjust your sleeping pattern to match closely that of where you are traveling to. This way when you arrive at your destination you will be closer in sync to your destination’s time zone. So if your travelling East get up earlier and go to bed earlier, and if your going west get up later and go to bed later.

3. Make the most of a stop over on your journey, if possible have a shower and try to refresh yourself so you feel fresher on the next leg of the journey.

4. Keep hydrated on the flight. Drinking large amounts of alcohol or not taking on enough fluid during the flight dehydrates your body, making you more tired than necessary. Try to avoid caffeinated drinks as this can effect your sleep.

5. Although sleeping tablets and other remedies may provide short relief for the flight, they can have long-term effects, which can actually enhance the effects of jet lag. They do not allow your body to adjust to a new natural sleeping pattern – prolonging the effects of jet lag.

6. When you come to sleep on your journey be prepared for a good sleep, eye masks, ear plugs and blankets can help you sleep well making sure you get the most out of your sleep.

7. As soon as you board the plane set your watch to the time zone you are going to, this allows you mentally to get used to the change in time, so when you land you feel more adjusted to the new time zone.

8. Once you arrive at your destination spend as much time in daylight as you can, if you are on a business trip keep curtains open to try and see as much daylight as possible.

9. Once at your destination try to anchor your sleep, try to get at least 4 uninterrupted hours of sleep in your destination’s night time. This allows your body to become familiar to a new sleep time.

10. Use an LED travel Kit, this device uses earpiece to shine bright light into the photosensitive regions of the brain, for part of your flight. It substitutes the mood elevating effects of the sun, tackling the effects of Jetlag.

So next time you embark on a long haul journey don’t forget these tips and tricks to help you beat the jet lag and make the most of your trip!

The post Top 10 Ways To Beat Jet Lag appeared first on SimplyLED.

LED lighting in Denmark

The Danish authorities are committed to LED technology. In December 2007, the government contributed half the money for a programme to develop intelligent light emitting diodes (InLED). Over the course of three years, the programme has created a best-selling LED bulb and two further award-winning bulbs.

Travellers to Denmark are likely to find LEDs in many locations. The Copenhagen Opera House, for example, has had LED lighting since it opened in January 2005. Copenhagen also has various LED lighting systems in its streets.

The HQ of the lighting company, Martin Professional, is in the second-largest Danish city, Aarhus. The glass façade of the building has LED display panels mounted behind it. When visitors approach the building, the LED lighting reacts by changing colour and creating patterns. Movement inside the building also triggers the LEDs to respond with eye-catching images.

LED Lighting in Sweden

In Sweden, LED lighting has combined with some of the popular winter sports. At one of the country’s most well-known ski resorts, Åre in Jämtland, lighting designers have created a programmable outdoor LED system. Visitors can ski the slopes at night with the aid of atmospheric illumination. They can also take guided tours on which the LEDs conjure up a world of myth and magic based on a children’s story about a local giant.

One reason for choosing LED lighting in Sweden is to combat greenhouse gas emissions. Because air travel is notorious for contributing to such emissions, Swedish authorities have insisted on eco-friendly initiatives at the country’s largest airport, Arlanda. The airport uses biofuel for heating and LEDs for lighting.

LED lighting has also helped Sweden win awards. The Swedish capital, Stockholm, received the accolade of the first European Green Capital in 2010. This was largely thanks to the LEDs in many of the city’s streets, tunnels and car parks.

For the Swedes, the choice of LEDs for any lighting project makes sense. Sweden generates 45% of its energy from renewable sources. Low-energy LED lighting is a natural complement to this strategy.

LED lighting projects in Norway

Like Sweden, Norway is keen to promote LED lighting in its streets. Local authorities have undertaken several lighting projects in the past few years. As a result, Norwegian road users now drive under the beams of tens of thousands of LED lamps.

Other LED lighting projects in Norway include the fittings at the Olavshallen Auditorium in the city of Trondheim. The brief was to replace all the standard 100-watt lamps in the venue with low-energy LEDs. The new bulbs had to be fully dimmable and the installation work had to take place over the course of one night. The project team met these requirements without a hitch, and the LED lighting has proved a great success here as it has across the rest of Scandinavia.

The post LED lighting continues progress in Scandinavia appeared first on SimplyLED.

Today, buildings must aspire to be low energy and environmentally-friendly. LED lights fit the bill perfectly. LEDs are low energy, and yet produce more brightness per watt than any other bulb. They do not contain toxic mercury vapour – unlike low-energy CFL bulbs. And each LED bulb lasts for around 50,000 hours, reducing building maintenance costs.

What’s more, LEDs lights are flexible. They open up new creative possibilities. As a result, architects and lighting engineers are using LEDs around the world to remarkable effect.

LED lights and Tower Bridge

In 2012, Tower Bridge featured in media reports as a symbol of London during the Olympics. Once night fell, LED lights illuminated the bridge, replacing the traditional static floodlights and cutting the electricity bill by 40%.

LED lights on the Montparnasse Tower

For some time, the Montparnasse Tower in Paris endured criticism for being one of the world’s most unattractive buildings. To help answer the critics, the Parisian authorities decided to replace the exterior lighting.

Philips used LED lights to create a low-energy system to enhance the building’s appeal. These lights change to match the seasons. The Montparnasse Tower is now an appealing part of the Parisian landscape.

The Empire State Building’s new LED lights

Like Tower Bridge, New York’s Empire State Building is a landmark recognised by people everywhere. In keeping with this status, the building has a comprehensive external lighting system. Previously, the bulbs were just white, and the only way engineers could create a coloured pattern for the building was to place gels on the lamp fittings.

LED lights have solved this problem. The Empire State Building now has one of the most advanced LED lighting systems available. The LEDs enable lighting engineers to bathe the building in a striking array of colours.

LED lights on Switzerland’s Hurdbrücke Bridge

The Hurdbrücke Bridge in Zurich holds one of the busiest roads in Switzerland. The Swiss authorities though, were unhappy with the cost of the lighting, and the amount of light pollution affecting the surrounding areas.

LED lights now illuminate the road, and adorn the underside of the bridge. The quality of light is much better than before; the LEDs have curtailed light pollution; and energy costs have dropped significantly. The lights have also improved the appearance of a bridge used by tens of thousands of people each day.

LED lights and Luminous

The Darling Harbour authorities in Sydney wanted a feature to encourage visitors and improve local trade. The result is Luminous, the biggest interactive lighting system in the world.

Luminous uses LED lights. Each window of two buildings in Darling Harbour has independent, colour-changing LEDs. A computer controls the lights to create pictures across the buildings. The effect is similar to the way individual pixels combine to produce images on a TV or computer monitor.

Visitors can use smartphones to connect with the Luminous computer. In this way, the LEDs provide an interactive experience between people, lighting and architecture.

The post LED lights open up new possibilities for architecture appeared first on SimplyLED.

LED lighting and Bright Tomorrow

The US Department of Energy introduced the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize in 2008. The aim of the prize is to encourage LED lighting manufacturers to create effective replacements for standard light bulbs.

In 2011, the prize went to Philips for its LED replacement of the conventional 60-watt screw-in incandescent bulb. The Philips LED bulb uses just 10 watts to produce 900 lumens of brightness.

NIST LED lighting standards

In 2008, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched two standards for LEDs in the US. These apply to LED bulb testing methods, and LED colour specifications. The US Department of Energy, together with NIST, also began the Energy Star programme for LEDs the same year. When American consumers see Energy Star certification on LED lighting, they know the product is high quality and saves energy.

If you travel around the US, you’ll encounter LEDs on virtually every road in cities and towns. This is because LED lighting has replaced most incandescent bulbs in traffic signals.

The usage of LED lighting in street lights is also catching on fast. In 2008, Anchorage in Alaska introduced LEDs into 4,000 street lights. This was the start of a programme to replace all 16,000 street lights in the area. A year later, Los Angeles began a five-year project to convert the city’s 140,000 street lights to LEDs. In 2010, the city of Seattle commenced a similar five-year scheme.

Offices and shops have also followed suit, spurred on by the energy and maintenance savings associated with a change to LED lighting. Well-known chains such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks are using retrofit LED bulbs in many of their existing premises. They have also specified LED lighting in new developments.

US cities can be crowded and hectic places, none more so than New York. But LED lighting is helping to improve the environment in which people live and work.

For example, the United States Custom House building in New York’s Lower Manhattan was beginning to show its age. To make matters worse, the lighting gave the building an unkempt, dingy appearance at night.

LED lighting has now transformed the façade of the Custom House. Shadows have gone, and the building looks less scruffy and more genteel. The electricity bill for lighting the exterior has also fallen by 43%.

Visitors to US tourist attractions may also come across the effects of LEDs. In Washington, LED lighting features in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a popular venue for locals and tourists alike. As part of an experiment with the US Department of Energy, the Smithsonian authorities have replaced all the incandescent bulbs in one gallery with LEDs, and are monitoring energy costs and the return on investment. Over the course of a year, the cost of electricity to light the gallery has fallen from $2,984 to $816. As a result, the new LED lighting installation has paid for itself within 16 months.

Judging by this, the future is certainly brighter thanks to LEDs.  Have you joined the lighting revolution yet?

The post The importance of LED lighting in the USA appeared first on SimplyLED.

This month we spoke with Shannon, one of our many Customer Service members.

Q. Explain your role at  SimplyLED.

A.  I’m a customer service & sales advisor. My job roll entails answering any telephone inquiries from customers, placing orders, dealing with refunds/replacements, adjusting stock and responding to emails.

Q. What do you hope to achieve in this role over the next 6 months?

A. Whilst in this role I look forward to completing my customer service NVQ qualification and developing further in this position.

Q. If you could eat anything in the world right now what would it be?

A. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups- Yum!

Q. What is your favourite film and why?

A.  I would have to say ‘Four Lions’. No matter how many times I see that film, it I still cry with laughter.

Q. On Saturday I will be …

A. Starting my Christmas shopping, visiting the cinema (Hopefully to see Twilight, Breaking Dawn Pt. 2), and then I’m off out for a friends birthday meal.

Should you wish to get in touch with Shannon, you can give her a call on: 0845 459 8010. Alternatively you can reach Shannon by email: info@burtonsons.co.uk or even head over to one of our social networking accounts.

The post Meet the Team: Shannon appeared first on SimplyLED.

Extended from 15:00 – 22:00 today only (Friday 30th November 2012)!

Click Here To Start Shopping

The History of Black Friday

Black Friday as a term has much speculation as to its origin. One suggestion is that it was started in Philadelphia in the U.S.A, with police officers naming the day after Thanksgiving – Black Friday. They named this day Black Friday due to the high volume of pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Another reason for the name is said to be because it is known as the busiest shopping day of the year in the U.S.A. Shops regular boost their income and go into ‘the black’. Black Friday is also the start of the Christmas shopping season.

Finally shop assistants refer to this Friday as Black Friday because of the hectic atmosphere and the requirement to work longer hours.

What Happens on Black Friday

On Black Friday many non-retail employers will give employees the day off, even though it isn’t classed as a public holiday. Many people use this day to visit friends and family as part of their Thanksgiving celebrations, but many use the day to start their Christmas shopping.

Retail stores across the country extend their opening hours, some even open the evening of Thanksgiving and stay open all night and all of Black Friday. The extended opening hours help to increase the profits to be made from shoppers.

The majority of retail stores will offer exceptional offers and discounts on products to entice customers into their shop. The promise of cheap products cause the manic and rush that is associated with Black Friday. Companies may offer free gifts, or cut prices dramatically for a day to kick start the Christmas shopping season.

Online Black Friday

In recent years online retailers have started to adopt the idea of Black Friday to entice shoppers and boost sales. Retailers such as Apple and Amazon will offer shoppers considerable discounts on items to help boost sales. They have also started a new phenomenon called “Cyber Monday”. Cyber Monday is the Monday after Black Friday where online stores continue their discounts and sales, it is known as the busiest day of the year for online shopping.

International

In the last few years online retailers have exported Black Friday to other countries, for example Amazon and Apple will this Friday hold their own UK Black Friday. They will be offering massive discounts across their products for UK customers to enjoy discounts similar to our American Counterparts.

In Canada shops do not observe Black Friday to the extent of American shops, so this day sees many Canadians who live close to the American border hopping over to enjoy the retail discounts and promotions. Canada much like the UK tends to hold their sales on Boxing Day.

SimplyLED Black Friday

This year SimplyLED will be holding our very own Black Friday on Friday 23^rd November 2012. We will be offering 10% discount on all orders placed between 00:01 to 23:59 on Friday.

No need to worry about fussing around with coupon codes or calling for discounts, the 10% will be automatically placed on your order at the checkout. Orders placed both online and on the phone will receive the discount; there is no minimum or maximum order amount! So here are a few ideas for making the most of your savings on this special event!

Striplights

If you ordered 3 LED RGB Remote control striplight kits, you could save a massive £10.49! These striplights will look great around the house at Christmas. Decorate windows, shelf and cabinets with these multi coloured, flashing lights. Use the remote to choose which flashing setting and colour you want, or set it to random for when you can’t decide. They are perfect for getting you into the Festive spirit.

LED Floodlights

Why not use this opportunity to invest in some LED Floodlights? Great for securing your home or business in winter with the darker mornings and evenings. They keep you and your property safe and their robust IP65 casing means they will withstand whatever weather the British winter decides to throw at us this year.

GU10 NxtGen Series II Dimmable

Stock up on our GU10 NxtGen Series II bulbs? On a pack of 20 dimmable bulbs you will save £22.98 on top of the already discounted multipack price!  Take this opportunity to make that final switch over from your energy gobbling halogens to energy efficient, long life LED bulbs.

There are massive savings to be had in our online store, so make the most of the 10% off everything whether you are converting the rest of your house to LED bulbs or wanting something new for Christmas, now is the perfect time to buy them. Take a look at our website and see what savings you can make.

Feel free to spread the word; we’ve got specially designed banners on Twitter and Facebook.

Should you need any help or friendly advice feel free to give us a call on: 0845 459 8010 or e-mail us at: info@burtonsons.co.uk.

Have a happy and successful Black Friday!

The post 10% Off Everything This Black Friday appeared first on SimplyLED.

Our Energy Efficient, Slimline LED floodlights will seem just as bright as their equivalent halogen counterparts, whilst saving a considerable amount of energy. They are IP65 rated making them perfect for use outside and for long periods of time, in all manner of weather conditions. The floodlights utilize a 100 degree beam angle which will give you a wide spread of light, perfect for covering large areas with a strong consistent beam.

The floodlights have many potential uses; from lighting your sports pitch to lighting vulnerable parts of your home. You will never have to come home in the dark again! Thanks to their slim line build and dark finish, unlike traditional security lights, this product will blend in to the exterior of your property.

The long life span of LEDs and reduced need for maintenance makes them the perfect choice for those hard to reach areas of your home.

For high usage areas or events, this product is an essential and will pay for itself in no time!

We are releasing 4 of the Slimline Floodlights ranging in wattage they are:

• 11 Watt – 70 Watt equivalent -800 Lumens
• 36 Watt- 250 Watt equivalent- 2400 Lumens
• 60 Watt- 400 Watt equivalent- 4000 Lumens
• 80 Watt- 500 Watt equivalent- 5600 Lumens

As you can see LEDs are far more efficient at producing the same bright light output you achieve from their equivalent Halogen floodlights. Once fitted and in use, you will be even more impressed by how clear the daylight coloured light is!

The post LED Slimline Floodlights appeared first on SimplyLED.

10. Sean Paul – Gimme The Light

Gimme the Light” is the first dancehall single from Jamaican artist Sean Paul.

9. Jay Sean – Hit The Lights

This is a club song featuring American artist Lil Wayne. It’s a very upbeat song and was hit on all of the summer islands.

8. Katy B – Light On

This is a very upbeat dupstep tune. It will definitely get you dancing!

7. Busted – Sleeping With The Light On

This song was written by a pop rock band called Busted and was released in 2003. It isn’t there usual style of music.

6. 5ive – When The Lights Go Out

This was very popular back in 1998 when it reached number 1 in the uk charts. 5ive were a very popular boy band and always released a catchy song like this one!

5. Leanne Rimes – You Light Up My Life

This is a beautiful ballad which was originally sung my Debbie Boone. It has also been covered by Whitney Houston and Westlife.

4. Mcfly – Shine A Light

This is a collabaration between McFly and Taio Cruz. Most people wouldn’t put these 2 together but I think this is a great song!

3. Jessie J – Laserlight

After Jessie provided guest vocals on Guetta’s track “Repeat”, he offered to return the favour, and as such, the pair wrote “LaserLight” for the platinum edition of Jessie’s debut studio album, “Who You Are”I really like this song as its very current. Jessie J is a very popular artist and this collaboration with David Guetta has proved a hit!

2. Beyonce – Green Light

“Green Light” is an R&B-funk song with lyrics detailing a break-up song in which the female protagonist gives her love intrest the permission to move out it is written in the key of A minor, “Green Light” samples the “uh-oh-oh-oh-oh” vocals which music critics noted to have a flagrant resemblance to Knowles’ own 2003 hit single, “Crazy in Love”.

1. Kayne West ft Rhianna – All Of The Lights

“All of the Lights” was well received by music critics, who complimented its detailed production and dramatically-themed style. The single was a moderate international success, reaching number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. It won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 54th Grammy Awards. As of December 2011, the song has sold over 1,561,000 digital units in the US.

I hope you’ve enjoyed watching these videos and if you think I’ve missed any greats please leave me a comment below.

The post My Top 10 Songs With Light In The Title appeared first on SimplyLED.

LED lighting provides some of the most energy efficient and cutting edge lighting fixtures available. These units generate far less heat than incandescent bubs and due to their streamlined appearance, they can be used in a variety of locations and are found in a number of unique designs.

These devices can be mounted in areas where conventional lighting may be difficult to install and LED fixtures bathe any room in a clean, natural light without the harshness of many types of fluorescent or conventional bulbs. If we then combine these amenities with the environmentally-friendly and cost-saving features that LED lights provide, it is no wonder that so many households are switching to this alternative light source. There are numerous qualified electricians in Northern Ireland that are highly knowledgeable in determining which fixtures may represent the best options for your home or office.

Not in Northern Ireland? Take a look at other Recommended Electrician in the United Kingdom.

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The LED water wall

Poitiers in west central France is host to an innovative artwork: an interactive water light graffiti wall. The technology behind the wall is an LED lighting system.

When you apply a water pistol, wet brush, damp sponge or wet finger to the wall, LED lights behind the water come on. You can therefore use water to create graffiti.

But unlike conventional graffiti, pictures and designs on the water light wall can be temporary. You simply switch the graffiti off. This fun LED installation regularly attracts interest from children and professional artists alike.

Municipal LED lighting projects

Practical instances of LED lighting on historic buildings can be seen throughout France. For example, the city of Brest in the north-west of the country dates back almost 1,000 years, but the authorities have embraced the latest LED technology.

The city’s Pont de Recouvrance was Europe’s biggest vertical-lift bridge. As part of a recent renovation project, Brest’s street lighting department decided to replace the costly neon bulbs. The chosen alternative was an LED lighting system.

LED lamps now provide focused light on the walkways of the bridge, while coloured LEDs illuminate the bridge’s structure. The LED lighting is low energy and saves money. It also prevents light pollution in the surrounding areas.

Paris and LED lighting

The French capital is eager to keep up with the country’s provincial cities. Paris therefore has a number of LED lighting schemes, including the Montparnasse Tower, bridges across the River Seine, and a long-term project at the Louvre Museum.

The work at the Louvre began in 2012 and extends until 2023. During these 11 years, Toshiba is installing LED lighting on exterior features such as the pyramids in front of the building. The company is also using LEDs to illuminate works of art such as Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

The aim is to reduce energy bills by up to 73%. At the same time, the Louvre gains a well-designed LED lighting system to complement its status as one of the world’s most famous museums.

LEDs replace traditional street lamps

Other municipal LED lighting schemes in France include the replacement of traditional street lamps. Cities and towns are turning to LEDs because the bulbs cut energy bills, last for years, and reduce light pollution.

French inventors have even gone one step further. They have come up with an idea for an LED street lamp powered by a wind turbine and a solar panel.  The LED bulb can produce light for four days without the need for a battery recharge.

The private sector in France also appreciates the energy-saving benefits of LED lighting. Generali is a major insurance company with an office on the Champs Elysées. When Generali decided to renovate the property, it replaced all the standard lighting with LEDs.

The Generali Building became the first office in the world to use nothing but LED lighting. The result is low maintenance costs, reduced electricity bills, and highly effective illumination.

C’est magnifique, n’est-ce pas?

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 Middle East energy-saving initiatives

The Middle East region covers a broad geographical area. However, many countries within it know the potential of LEDs to contribute to energy-saving initiatives.

Cairo Tower

In 2009, the Cairo Tower, one of Egypt’s most famous landmarks, received a facelift. This came in the form of colour-changing LEDs. The bulbs extend the full height of the tower and emphasise the distinctive latticework exterior.  What’s more, the system uses 80% less electricity than standard lighting.

Qatar’s energy-saving video display

Visitors to Qatar may well have seen the Aspire Tower in Doha. The building is notable for the huge video screen wrapped around it.

A standard screen of such a size would have been costly to run. But the screen on the Aspire Tower uses energy-saving LED technology. It also produces images of outstanding quality.

Energy-saving street lights in Saudi Arabia

Like most other Middle Eastern countries, Saudi Arabia has a lot of sun. In some areas of the country, the local authorities are capitalising on this and introducing solar-powered street lights.

To make these street lights as effective as possible, LEDs have proven to be the most suitable choice. LEDs are low power, require little maintenance, and yet cast a strong, pleasant light. In Saudi Arabia, outdoor, solar-powered LEDs are now an accepted energy-saving alternative to traditional lighting systems.

LED lighting in Kuwait

In Kuwait, the Avenues Cinema uses energy-efficient lighting to create a spectacular effect in the foyer, where colour-changing LEDS light the large columns. The aim is to excite filmgoers and generate a feeling of anticipation.

Elsewhere in Kuwait, 12.8 million LEDs provide the light for 28 display screens at the Stock Exchange. Using LEDs in such an installation not only saves energy. The LEDs give off very little heat. This means the air-conditioning system for the trading floor of the Stock Exchange can use a minimal amount of power.

Energy saving in Dubai

In Dubai, architectural lighting is a feature of many buildings. Within the past few years, Dubai architects and designers have consistently chosen energy-saving LEDs for the latest construction projects.

For example, Dubai hosts the world’s largest shopping centre. Here you can find a number of LED lighting systems, including specially created fittings illuminating the fashion catwalk. And next door to the shopping centre is the Burj Dubai Lake Tower Hotel. The hotel foyer alone has 5,200 one-watt LEDs.

The above are just a sample of LED projects across the Middle East. The region is building a reputation for energy-saving initiatives, and not surprisingly, LED lighting is leading the way.      

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Wallpaper has been around for several hundred years and is still popular. LEDs are far more recent, but thanks to their low-energy, long-lasting qualities, they are increasingly in demand.

Designers have decided to see what happens when they combine wallpaper and LEDs. As a result, various LED wallpaper ideas are under discussion and development. Some are even available now. Broadly speaking, these ideas use three techniques. The first places tiny LEDs into sheets of paper; the second actually prints LEDs on paper; and the third uses panels of light.

LEDs in wallpaper

Architects Paper is an award-winning company specialising in creative wallpapers. Among these are handmade, luxury and technical styles. This last category includes magnetic wallpaper, and wallpaper incorporating LED bulbs.

Each strip of the company’s LED wallpaper has integrated lamps. These emit points of light, and create a repeating pattern. You can control the patterns on each length of wallpaper separately, and can adjust the LED bulbs’ colour and brightness.

Printed LED wallpaper

Printed LED wallpaper uses a different type of technology. In a doctoral thesis, Gul Amin of the University of Sweden has shown how it is possible to print white LEDs on sheets of paper. In this way, LEDS can form part of a wallpaper design.

The method of creating the LEDs is unusual. It requires tiny amounts of zinc oxide and a conducting polymer, polydiethylflourene (PFO).

As for the wallpaper, the manufacturer must first coat this with a resin called cyclotene. The resin acts as a protective, water-repellent barrier.

Once everything is ready, the printing can begin, although the technique used is more akin to spraying. In fact, scientists involved with this research have now suggested spraying LEDs on other treated surfaces such as fabrics and plastics.

Printed LED wallpaper would suit a range of creative purposes. Designers could create innovative lighting displays on surfaces at home, in offices and in public areas. However, anyone keen to replicate the idea should note the process is unique, and has a patent pending.

LED panels

In 2011, the lighting and electronics manufacturer Philips struck a partnership deal with the Danish company Kvadrat Soft Cells. The companies intend to produce flexible acoustic wall panels with built-in LEDs.

The panels will replace conventional wallpaper. The result will be glowing LED walls with a colour-changing function. Proposed extra features include linking the panels to an audio system to enable the LEDs to change colour and create patterns in response to music. The acoustic fabric of the panels will absorb exterior noise and reduce internal echoes.

According to Philips and Kvadrat Soft Cells, the likely customers for the panels are office, hotel and shop designers. But with so many homeowners being energy-conscious and excited by design, we don’t think it will be long before the best dressed homes will be wearing LED wallpaper too.

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In October 1962, a scientist working for the General Electric Company, Nick Holonyak Jr demonstrated the first Light Emitting Diode (LED) capable of producing visible light. Prior to this, LEDs could only emit invisible infra-red light similar to those used in modern TV remote controls.  The new development which used a mixture of gallium arsenide and gallium phosphide, was limited to producing a red light, but Holonyak knew that his invention would change the world of lighting forever; in the February 1963 issue of Reader’s Digest, Holonyak predicted that the LED would eventually replace incandescent bulbs.

Take a look at this presentation on the BBC’s website: LED at 50: An illuminating history by the light’s inventor.

Unlike earlier types of bulbs which relied upon incandescent light sources, LEDs utilised a relatively new technology called the semi-conductor which had been developed for use in transistor. The semi-conductor allows for direct conversion from electrical energy to optical energy without any intermediate process, which explains why LEDs are the most energy efficient form of lighting.

As a new technology, LEDs were very expensive- In 1962, one diode would cost around $260, and this high cost limited their practical uses. Later in the decade, further developments led to mass production which allowed manufacturers to incorporate them into their products. Although the LEDs were rather dim and not practical for use in direct sunlight, the technology proved to have major uses for alphanumeric displays such as those in early handheld calculators.

A former graduate student of Holonyak,  M. George Craford, invented the first yellow LED and improved the brightness of red and red-orange LEDs by a factor of ten in 1972. These improvements, combined with the ever decreasing cost led to the continuing rise in the use of LEDs; first in expensive equipment such as laboratory and electronics test equipment, then later in appliances like TVs, radios, telephones, calculators, and even watches.

The rapid pace of development that occurred throughout the 1960’s and into the 70’s seemed to decrease in the following decades.  It wasn’t until 1995 when the first high-brightness blue LED was demonstrated by Shuji Nakamura of Nichia Corporation, that the possibilities of LED lighting took on a new dimension as scientists once again scrambled to achieve the next progression – white light that could provide a suitable replacement to traditional incandescent bulbs.

High-powered white LEDs continued to evolve through the nineties and up to the current day.  The light produced by the latest LED bulbs such as our NxtGen Series, is virtually indistinguishable from their incandescent counterparts, but also have the benefits of being up to 90% more energy efficient and lasting for years longer.

Holonyak himself is surprised that it’s taken so long for LEDs to reach this point, but with the growing awareness of climate change and rising energy prices, we can be certain that it won’t be long before they provide the most common form of lighting for commercial and domestic applications.

What are your thoughts on LED lighting? Please feel free to leave your comments below.

The post A Brief History Of The LED appeared first on SimplyLED.

The Scottish Highlands, famous for its mountains, hills, lochs, forests and a diversity of wildlife, are enjoyed by many as a holiday retreat. It’s also an area of natural beauty that rivals anything in the rest of Europe.

Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, is a cultural city of global importance, and hosts major annual arts festivals, including the world’s biggest, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Scotland’s most heavily populated city, Glasgow, is one of Britain’s great industrial cities, and is home to some of the best Victorian architecture in the British Isles, which includes Scotland’s most famous museum, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Please search the list below for information on LED lighting electricians in Scotland.

Need an electrician in another part of the UK? You’ll find them here.

If you discover that your area is not covered by a recommended electrician but know of someone we could add to our lists then feel free to get in touch: 0845 459 8010; alternatively you can email us: info@burtonsons.co.uk.

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LEDs are robust and less likely to be damaged than traditional bulbs, ideal for excited children determined to have some Halloween hijinks. With a huge range of LED accessories, torches and costumes available, there’s no reason why your little devil shouldn’t cause quite a stir whilst having enough light to make his or her way safely around the neighbourhood.

All Hallows Eve, Halloween or Trick-or-Treat as it’s become known, is traditionally a time for darkness. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for fun and light at your Halloween festivities. Halloween parties have become more popular in recent years, with both adults and children joining in with the spirit of things.

As always, carved and interior lit pumpkins are a big part of the Halloween party scene, and the lengths people will go to make their pumpkin the biggest and best is astounding. American pumpkin artist Ray Villafane is arguably the best pumpkin carver in the world, with designs so realistic it’s hard to believe they’re made from a hollowed-out squash. Whilst many people think pumpkins are vegetables, they’re actually fruit. But fruit or vegetable, it makes little difference to Ray – he’s a pumpkin-carving genius.

Until recently a candle would have been used to provide the interior light which gives the pumpkin its eerie illumination. But in these technologically illuminated times, LEDs provide a safe, versatile alternative, ensuring burnt fingers or a singed vampire cape are things of the past. LEDs are available in a full spectrum of colours including black (ultra-violet). Some even change through a rainbow of colours every few seconds. They provide a more portable alternative to a guttering candle flame and are small enough to fit snugly inside any pumpkin lantern. You can even buy LEDs which flicker just like a real candle, for those who prefer an old-fashioned touch without the inherent inconvenience and potential dangers.

It’s a great time for decorating the outside of your home too. Transforming your semi into Dracula’s castle or your vegetable garden into a graveyard is all part of the fun. Atmospheric lighting can really help bring your haunted house to life. One resident of Riverside, California, uses music and LED lighting to really get the Halloween party rocking. Kevin Judd, the man behind this ingenious and spooky light show, switched from the incandescent bulbs to mainly low-energy and long-lasting LEDs some time ago. As a result, both Kevin and the environment are happy: “power consumption is a lot less than in previous years,” Kevin said.

So, whether it’s a ghostly glow or a shimmer of spectral light, LEDs can make your Halloween really shine bright – even if the full moon does decide to hide behind the clouds.

The post Happy Halloween appeared first on SimplyLED.

The region also contains Birmingham, which is the second most populated city in Britain. The city proudly celebrates both its history as an industrial powerhouse and a glamorous and thoroughly modern metropolis. Staffordshire is the home of the renowned Potteries, and the picturesque market town of Stratford-upon-Avon is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

Should you need an electrician in the West Midlands, please take a look at our comprehensive list of recommended electricians below:

Not in the West Midlands? Check out our recommended electricians in your area.

If you discover that your area is not covered by a recommended electrician but know of someone we could add to our lists then feel free to get in touch: 0845 459 8010; alternatively you can email us: info@burtonsons.co.uk.

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Nottingham is the most famous town or city in the East Midlands region, notably for its associations with Robin Hood. Nearby Leicester is associated with King Richard III, whose body was found in the city recently. The East Midlands is also an area known for its impressive architecture, especially the cathedrals at Lincoln and Peterborough, and the timber and stone buildings of Stamford.

Derby, Leicester and Nottingham are all within easy reach of each other, and, along with Lincoln, Stamford and Peterborough, are vibrant modern towns and cities. They have also retained their historic charm, while offering much to the modern visitor in terms of entertainment, culture and shopping.

If you are looking for a LED lighting electrician in the East Midlands, please view the list below.

Not in the East Midlands? Check out our recommended electricians in your area.

If you discover that your area is not covered by a recommended electrician but know of someone we could add to our lists then feel free to get in touch: 0845 459 8010; alternatively you can email us: info@burtonsons.co.uk.

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Where you may not expect their impact to be felt would be in the more traditional and niche market areas. One area where LEDs have found a new home recently is in the games table market; many of us will have contributed to the games table market at some point in our lives, whether we’ve owned a football table or pool table in our home or even knocked a few balls around in our local pub.

A company called Liberty Games who are the market leader in the home games table market have introduced LEDs in to their games tables with a high level of success. One of their most popular product lines is the ‘Aurora Football Table’, this boasts blue LED’s embedded into strategic points around the play surface. Once the sun goes down these LEDs (which run off a standard double AA battery pack) bathe the pitch in a cool blue colour and effectively ‘floodlight’ the pitch. Not only have the LEDs enhanced the overall look of the table but they provide a genuine user enhancement.

From the success of the Aurora football table Liberty Games also experimented with embedding LED’s into the pocket liners of their pool tables. Once again the LED’s modernised the look of the tables which appealed to customers and increased sales volumes, but in a dark room or room with low light the LED’s helped to floodlight the play surface replicating the effect of overhead lighting. Sales of LED enhanced tables outstrip their non illuminated counterparts by 3 to 1 according to Liberty Games M.D. Jamie Stanford.

The LEDs have a genuine dual usage for the designers at Liberty Games, not only can they sharpen up the look of what is a very traditional design, but they also serve to enhance the game play in low light conditions. As the technical director at Liberty Games explains, due to the standardisation of a football table or pool table, we are quite limited in the design flair that can be introducted. The bottom line is that a pool table has to have the same size pockets and cloth type in the same way a football table must have rods, players and goals. For this reason LEDs have allowed us to make a radical style jump which has caught the eye of our customers.

Liberty Games are now looking to introduce LEDs into their arcade machines range. For this application the LEDs will generally be used to make the outside of the cabinet look more modern and appealing for customers, however they are already using LEDs inside the cabinets to illuminate dark areas to assist technicians when performing service. Most have been linked to door switches and of course the light source can be relied upon for years to come.

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This Sunday marks the official end of British Summer Time (BST) and although many of you may feel that the Great British summer ended long ago with our brief spell of sunshine between the rain drops, it does in fact end this Sunday the 28^th October 2012. Excellent news for those of you wishing to enjoy the extra hour in bed (and one extra hour until dreaded Monday morning comes around). But why do we have British Summer Time and what is the meaning behind it?

UK time is based of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which was established in 1884. In the same year British Summer Time (BST) was also established marking the transition from summer into winter. The Summertime Act of 1972 set the current method of calculation for the beginning and end of BST. The dates have been changed numerous times, but the current dates were set in 2002 to allow UK BST to harmonise with the rest of Europe’s summer time. Currently BST is set to go from the last Sunday in March to the Last Sunday in October, Here is a list of the BST dates for the next 3 years.

The clocks are technically changed at 2am, so 2am then becomes 1am giving us an extra hour of daylight in the morning. The advantages of the clocks changing is to maximise daylight hours. This holds advantages mainly to businesses based outdoors that rely on daylight such as farming. But for the majority of  people it means an extra hour in bed.

There is much debate around BST at the moment as to whether we should change to fall in line with our European friends and follow Central European Time. If we changed to Single/Double Summertime (SDST) in winter we would have GMT + 1 hour and in summer we would have GMT + 2 hours; this would give us lighter evenings.

This proposed change is backed by road safety campaigners, who argue that changing to SDST would save 80 lives and 212 accidents on the roads each year due to the lighter evenings that would result. The bill is also strongly opposed due to the argument that changing to SDST would cause considerable disruption particularly in Scotland and the north of England where darker mornings would effect the amount of tasks outdoor workers could do and in the north-most part of the British isles the sun would not rise until 11:00.  Read a full report of the proposed bill to change to BDST here.

It’s important to remember that a lighter morning means an extra hour of darkness in the evening. Therefore it’s worth considering an investment in some LED floodlights for outside your home on a sensor to come on when you get home from work or even some LED light bulbs set to a timer to come on at 16.00 keeping your house safe.

For now though BST works in our favour, so this weekend enjoy your extra hour in bed, maybe treat yourself to a lazy breakfast or make the most of just catching up with the Sunday papers.

The post Enjoy The Lie-In – The End Of British Summer Time appeared first on SimplyLED.

Q. Explain your role at  SimplyLED.

A. I’m the newest addition to the SimplyLED customer service team and spend my days taking calls, responding to emails and generally helping to maximize the customer experience. Occasionally I help the online marketing team by writing a few blog articles.

Q. What do you hope to achieve in this role over the next 6 months?

A. I’m working hard to expand my product knowledge in order to assist with the building of relationships with our lovely customers. I believe that it helps to know who you’re dealing with inside a company.

Q. If you could eat anything in the world right now what would it be?

A. A home made chilli con carne and nachos a favourite from my time at University.

Q. What is your favourite film and why?

A. My Favourite seems to change all the time but you can’t beat a classic like Elf. No matter what time of year I watch it, it always puts a smile on my face

Q. On Saturday I will be …

A. Catching up with friends and family, (avoiding the gym at all costs) and enjoying a nice long lie in!!

The post Meet the Team: Hannah appeared first on SimplyLED.

Types of light pollution

Light pollution generally comes in four forms:

• Sky glow
• Over-illumination
• Spillover
• Glare

LEDs resolve many of the problems associated with these causes of light pollution.

Sky glow

When you look up at the sky on a cloudless night, you should be able to see the stars with complete clarity. If you’re unable to do so, you’re not alone. 99% of people in Western Europe and North America, and 66% of the earth’s total population, do not have an uninterrupted view of the stars.

Sky glow from traditional lighting systems is the cause of the problem. When you look into the sky at night, artificial light intrudes and obscures your view. This light comes mainly from outdoor light sources. The most common of these are street lights and floodlights. The light cast from buildings adds further to the glow.

LED lighting is far more efficient than traditional equivalents. LED fittings cast directional light at specific areas. Take street lights as an example. Recent projects in streets around the world have shown how LED lighting prevents sky glow. It does this by using lenses rather than reflectors to focus light on roads and pavements. LED lighting also provides the right level of brightness for the least amount of power thanks to the best lumens to watt ratio of any bulbs.       

Over-illumination

The cause of over-illumination is design. Many architects, in attempts to create distinctive buildings, have given offices, public facilities and even homes unnecessary artificial light.

LED lighting can achieve remarkable effects with considerably less light pollution and energy. Architects, public authorities, and private companies are beginning to realise how LEDs can transform their buildings and protect the surrounding environment.

Spillover

Spillover is the annoying light you encounter from the buildings and areas around you. An example would be a security light on a neighbour’s wall. Not only does it illuminate the neighbour’s garden, it lights up some of your property as well. Directional LED security lights, on the other hand, do not intrude on someone else’s ground or building.

Glare

Glare is upsetting and potentially dangerous. When you move from a dark area into an excessively lit one, you can suffer from glare. For a few seconds, you may be unable to see properly. If you’re driving, this could lead to an accident.

LED lighting does not cause glare. The quality of its light isn’t harsh and uncomfortable. It produces a soft, warm effect, yet still creates the brightness you need.

The LED lighting solution

Light pollution is an example of wasted energy. In North America alone, analysts believe light pollution wastes $10 billion each year. Research shows it also causes an imbalance in night-time ecosystems, and has a detrimental effect on health.

LED lighting is a sensible, cost-effective solution. When combined with intelligent design and planning, LED bulbs cut light pollution and enhance the quality of people’s lives.

The post How to reduce light pollution with LED lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

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They Are More Energy Efficient

Traditional incandescent light bulbs are highly inefficient. Only about 10% of the energy used to power the light bulb actually goes to producing light, and the remaining 90% is emitted as heat.  On the other hand, LEDs produce virtually no heat, and so use far less energy to produce the same amount of light. Our 5w NxtGen II GU10 LED bulb is equivalent to a 50w Halogen.

They Last For Ages

If you’re tired of having to regularly replace blown halogen bulbs or have some lights in awkward places such as above stairs or in high ceilings, LED bulbs really offer an advantage over regular incandescents.  With a lifespan of 30,000 hours or more, you can forget about having to change the bulb for well over a decade!  LEDs deteriorate slowly; unlike incandescent and CFL bulbs, which can blow with no warning- leaving you in the dark!

They’ll Save You Money

Being 90% more efficient that Incandescent lighting, and having a far greater lifespan, LED lighting will save a significant amount on your lighting costs.  We calculate that the average home (with 20 halogen bulbs on for four hours per day) will save around £170 in electricity costs each year.  This means that the bulbs will have paid for themselves in around 14 months, leaving you to enjoy over ten years of substantial savings!

They Light Up Instantly

Everyone hates how CFL bulbs take ages to “warm up”.  In fact, it’s one of the main criticisms we see on Twitter about traditional energy saving lighting. Even once they are bright enough, the colour of the light is often less than satisfactory. LEDs offer an alternative; instantly illuminating your room with brilliant warm or bright white light depending on your choice of bulb.

They’re Better For The Environment

Over a quarter of carbon emissions come from the home and much of this comes from lighting. By lowering your Carbon Footprint with LED lighting, you are helping to protect the environment for future generations. LEDs are also kinder to the environment as they contain no hazardous metals such as mercury. When the time comes to replace the bulbs, we provide a responsible recycling service to our customers and you’ll be pleased to know that over 95 per cent of an LED bulb is recyclable.

What are your top reasons for switching to LEDs? Share your success stories in the comments below.

Thanks for reading my article, I’ll see you in the comments.

The post My Top 5 Reasons To Switch To LED Lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

 When you install an LED system from Philips Lighting, or a similar lighting company, you gain several money-saving advantages.

• LED bulbs use a fraction of the energy of traditional lighting.

• The bulbs last for an average of 50,000 hours. If you run LEDs for 12 hours each day, you shouldn’t need to replace them more than once every 12 or so years. This reduces maintenance costs.

The environmental credentials of LEDs are also worth considering. Cutting your use of energy means you reduce your company’s carbon emissions.

Ernst & Young opts for Philips LED Lighting

These advantages were in the minds of Ernst & Young executives when they reviewed the energy and maintenance costs of the company’s New York headquarters. Ernst & Young’s Times Square building has 32 floors and 5,200 employees. The annual cost of lighting ran into seven figures.

Ernst & Young brought together a team consisting of the lighting design company One Lux Studio, Philips Lightolier Energy Services, and JAS consulting. The team agreed to replace the lighting in Ernst & Young’s HQ with a solution from Philips Lighting.

Ernst & Young’s lighting team decided on certain criteria for the project. The lighting system had to make the best use of the energy-saving benefits of LEDs. It also had to create the right levels of light for each area, whether this was a private office, a conference room, an open office area or a communal area.

The team came up with an efficient Philips Lighting solution to meet these criteria. The solution used bespoke LED lamp fixtures to match the size of areas and rooms, and the need for lighting in each. The result was a better quality of light than before.

The team also considered the LED lighting control systems for the building. By so doing, it was able to give Ernst & Young more control over the use of energy.

Finally, the team liaised with the area’s labour union. This way, it ensured the installation of the Philips Lighting solution went as smoothly as possible on each of the building’s 32 floors.

The result of installing a Philips Lighting solution in the Ernst & Young HQ is an annual energy and maintenance saving of $1 million. Actual energy use has fallen by 2.9 million kWh per year.

These are considerable reductions. Thanks to Philips Lighting, Ernst & Young has also cut its carbon dioxide emissions by around two million pounds a year. This drop in the pollution level is helping Ernst & Young with its application to gain Energy Star status.

 All in all, a Philips Lighting solution has proved to be precisely what Ernst & Young had in mind when it began its lighting project. Companies around the world can follow this example. By replacing conventional lighting with LEDs, they can cut energy costs, maintenance expenditure and pollution.

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Here’s the view from our booth at Nandos Xscape in Milton Keynes. Looks great but unfortunately we couldn’t see any energy efficient LED lighting. Someone from Nandos please get in touch with us, we can help you out and save you a lot of energy as a result.

The post Awesome #Nandos Lunch – But No LEDs appeared first on SimplyLED.

Here are my top 10 videos featuring cool uses of lighting starting from 10 and counting down to number 1!

10. Girls Aloud- Sound Of The Underground

Girls Aloud Debut song “Sound of The Underground” was a massive success snatching the Christmas number one title back in 2002. The video uses incandescent bulbs suspended on long wires around the girls performing in a cage. The camera angles give brilliant shots of these bulbs giving the video a look of a derelict location, yet being bizarrely on trend, with a later boom in performance art videos using independently suspended bulbs for artistic effect. The only thing that would make this video better is the use of LED lighting instead of those nasty incandescents.

9. One direction – Live While We’re Young

The latest video from the 1D boys “Live While We’re Young” is a lively video of the boys having fun. Parts of the video show the boys at night having an outdoor party, the use of glow sticks in this video makes the video colourful and fun.

8. Misha B – Home Run

X-factor semi-finalist Misha B released her debut single “Home Run’ in July 2012. The catchy dance tune entered the UK R & B charts at number 2. The Video uses UV Lighting, special body paint and costume to light up the dancers in vibrant colours with patterns covering their body, mixed with the rhythmic dancing it gives the video a tribal feel.

7. Katy Perry- Wide Awake

Katy Perry famous for her fun and cheesy videos shakes things up with this effort. The video is all about the light and dark with Perry holding a hand held lamp and using warm lighting tones to create the fairytale atmosphere.

6. Lady GaGa – Bad Romance

The Queen of all that is bizarre in music land does it again with her video to “Bad Romance” released in 2009. The video features her and a collection of dancers in what appears to be a health institution. The producers of the video have used different lighting throughout the video. From floor and wall light panels giving a box effect to yellow back lighting showing GaGa’s outline dancing.

5.  Usher – Yeh

The master of smooth Usher shows off his precise and individual dance skills in his video for “Yeh”. The video shows the capabilities of using Laser lights to create awesome effects and brings a party atmosphere to the performance. The blue tones just add to the icy coolness of Usher!

4. Cheryl – Call My Name

Cheryl has come on leaps and bounds since her days of leather skirts and halter tops in Girls Aloud, and so have her videos. “Call My Name” is filmed on the infamous road featured in the Films Grease’s drag race scene. Lighting has been used very cleverly here having the dancers seemingly lit by the car headlights gives it the look of a spontaneous dance off.

3. Ellie Goulding- Lights

“Lights” quite aptly named for this list is one of those songs that make you want to get up and dance. The video features Goulding dancing around with laser lights and beams of light emitting from behind her giving her the look of an angelic creature.

2. Kayne West ft. Rihanna and Kid Cudi – All Of The Lights

This vibrant and busy video uses multiple types of lights flashing and coloured, from spotlights to police siren lights. The video to “All Of The Lights” is fast paced and the colours defiantly striking! A great tune that just doesn’t get old.

1. David Guetta ft. Chris Brown, Lil Wayne – I Can Only Imagine

The space ship has landed or so it seems in the video to “I Can Only Imagine”. The panel lighting and silver walls give a distinct feel of an alien space ship. Yet if these guys were abducted by aliens I wouldn’t mind being on that ship.

Well that’s my personal top ten music videos, next time you are watching the music channels or in the gym keep your eye out for new and interesting uses of lighting in music videos and see what a difference it can make to the song. I hope you’ve enjoyed watching these videos and if you think I’ve missed any greats please leave me a comment below.

The post Ten of the Coolest Music Videos that Use Lighting appeared first on SimplyLED.

The authorities in Zurich, Switzerland’s biggest city, needed to improve the deteriorating condition of the Hurdbrücke Bridge. The bridge is a very busy road: more than 70,000 motorists use it every day to travel between the north and south of the city. It also provides a convenient route to other areas of the country.

The authorities decided to renovate the bridge, but had two qualifications. The work must enhance the quality of life in the district around the bridge, and must lower the maintenance and energy costs.

These qualifications applied as much to the lighting as to the general repair work, a point the Zurich authorities made when they asked the Dutch company, Royal Philips Electronics, to propose a lighting solution. Bearing in mind the emphasis on quality, low maintenance and low energy, Philips suggested LEDs.

The benefits of LED lighting were clear.

• LED bulbs cast a clear bright light as good as any other type of lighting system. In fact, LEDs have the best lumens to watt ratio of any bulbs.

• LEDs last for an average of 50,000 hours. This life expectancy is many times greater than traditional bulbs.

• Because LEDs use very little power, they cut electricity costs dramatically.

• LEDs are friendly to the environment. In comparison, low-energy CFL bulbs contain harmful mercury vapour.

For Philips and the city of Zurich, LEDs for Hurdbrücke Bridge were the preferred option. LED lighting would save money on maintenance and energy, and the quality of the light would improve the appearance of the bridge and the surrounding areas.

As part of the LED lighting project, Philips attached 1,750 LED lamps to the underside of the Hurdbrücke Bridge. The lamps were the company’s high-performing LEDline2 luminaires.

The LEDs stretch for one and a half miles, and provide light for the district’s roads, cycle paths, tramlines and pavements. They use just 25kWh of energy over a period of 1,654 hours each year, thereby cutting Zurich’s energy bill significantly.

The lamps along the road on the Hurdbrücke Bridge are from Philips’ Koffer range. This LED lighting system has succeeded in cutting power costs by a third.

When taken together, the LED lamps below and above the Hurdbrücke Bridge have made the LED lighting project the largest of its kind in Switzerland. The project is also proving to be very successful.

Apart from reducing energy and maintenance bills, and enhancing the look of the bridge, the directional LED lighting has cut light pollution. Critics blame cities and towns for not doing enough to limit the amount of light they create and waste. The Hurdbrücke Bridge LED lighting project is helping answer this criticism.

With the success of the Hurdbrücke Bridge renovation and similar initiatives worldwide, LED lighting is the best choice for municipal projects. LEDs also make perfect sense for use in every domestic and commercial setting.

The post The largest LED lighting project in Switzerland appeared first on SimplyLED.

LEDs in Barcelona

One impressive sight drawing people to the city of Barcelona is the Torre Agbar (Agbar Tower). Completed in 2004, the building stands between Carrer Badajoz and Avinguda Diagonal.

The tower rises gracefully from the ground, but what makes it a must-see attraction for visitors is its LED lighting system. 4,500 LEDs create computer-controlled images from the foot of the Torre Agbar to the top. Light pollution is negligible, and the total energy bill for the LED lighting is equivalent to less than 32 hair dryers!

Elsewhere in Barcelona, in the city’s Hospitalet de Llobregat area, is the Fira Gran Via Exhibition Centre. When you walk through the entrance hall on your way to attend one of the events here, you cannot fail to notice the 360⁰ LED lighting.  The display has a circumference of almost 100m, and is 1.5m high. Almost everyone pauses to watch the videos on the display, but if the entrance hall becomes crowded, you can also obtain a good view from the first floor.

The circular display is not the only imaginative use of LED lighting at the Fira Gran Via, however. When you proceed to the exhibition pavilions, you will see innovative LED displays at most of the entrances.

LED lighting in Madrid

When it comes to LED lighting, Spain’s capital does not allow Barcelona to take all the glory and attention. In Madrid, you can read the temperature from a giant LED thermometer.

The thermometer is on the side of the Gas Natural building at Calle de Corazón de Maria 38, and consists of 3,200 LEDs. These replaced a previous giant thermometer lit by halogen bulbs. The LED lighting has cut maintenance costs, and reduced the bill needed to power the thermometer by 85%.

Spanish nightclubs get in on the LED act.

LED lighting has also made its mark on Spanish nightclubs. Apart from the bulbs’ low power and maintenance costs, LEDs provide a colour-changing flexibility ideal for creating atmosphere and excitement.

One example of LED lighting used to spectacular effect is at the Galliano club in Vigo. When you step into the club, you experience a sequence of flashing LED tubes synchronised to the beat of the music.

You may, of course, prefer to stay outside on Spanish nights and enjoy the warmth. If so, you may well find your way illuminated by LED lighting.

The Spanish Renewable Energies Foundation is promoting the replacement of traditional street lights with LEDs. In the Balearic city of Ibiza, for example, most lamps in public areas now have LED bulbs. The annual saving for the city’s power bill is €90,000.

Some Spanish streets have a wireless LED lighting system. The LEDs use significantly less electricity than standard bulbs, and have motion detectors and timers. This means the LED lighting is on when needed, and does not illuminate empty roads in the middle of the night.

LED lighting is now so popular in Spain, you’re almost certain to see it in one form or another when you visit. LEDs are helping to keep Spanish maintenance and fuel costs for lighting down. They also provide an excellent quality of light.  If you’re planning a trip to Spain, you couldn’t ask for anything more.

The post LED lighting enhances the Spanish experience appeared first on SimplyLED.

In the 21st Century, the area’s most important city, Newcastle upon Tyne, has become renowned for its culture and entertainment. The other cities in the North East are Durham and Sunderland.

Durham is home to one of Britain’s finest cathedrals, one of the country’s best preserved castles, and it’s also home to one of the UK’s most prestigious universities. Sunderland boasts the Empire Theatre, which is the biggest theatre in the North East, and the quirky walrus statue, which marks ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’ author Lewis Carroll’s association with the city.

If you need a LED lighting electrician in the North East area, please look through the list below.

Not in the North East? Don’t worry, we’ve got recommended electricians in your area too.

If you discover that your area is not covered by a recommended electrician but know of someone we could add to our lists then feel free to get in touch: 0845 459 8010; alternatively you can email us: info@burtonsons.co.uk.

The post Recommended Electricians in the North East appeared first on SimplyLED.

This month we spoke with Luke, our in-house Graphic Designer, here at SimplyLED.

Q. Explain your role at  SimplyLED.

A. As the ‘In-House Graphic Designer’ for SimplyLED, my day-to-day tasks vary greatly but often include; producing artwork for various marketing campaigns and design for print, helping manage the company’s website, photo-editing, packaging design, brand management and online marketing strategies.

Q. What do you hope to achieve in this role over the next 6 months?

A. Whilst in this role, I have helped launch and market lots of new and innovative products including our NxtGen LED Series back in February, which saw huge success & critical acclaim. I look forward to our future product launches and continued growth and success with the company.

We recently launched NxtGen Series II! You can read more about this launch here.

Q. If you could eat anything in the world right now what would it be?

A. Although at the time of writing this, it is only 11am, if I could pick anything in the world to eat right now, I would have to say Kataifi. It’s a delicious, syrupy pastry ‘nest’ which encases coarsely ground almonds and walnuts- Yum!

Q. What is your favourite film and why?

A. As a bit of a film geek, it’s hard for me to single out just one favorite of all time. I am a big Tarantino fan though, so amongst a handful of other films, one in particular that stands out would be Pulp Fiction. Tarantino’s classic fragmented story telling structure is brilliant and perfect for this film and Samuel Jackson’s portrayal of Jules Winnfield, particularly his ‘‪Ezekiel 25:17‬’ scene is simply fantastic and has got to go down as one of the most terrifyingly cool movie dialogues ever!

Q. On Saturday I will be …

A. Depending on the weather, I plan to spend this weekend playing golf, visiting the gym and cracking on with some ‘save the date’ cards I agreed to design for my cousin who is getting married next year. I am also off to Dubai in 2 weeks time so it’s about time I got organised for that!

Should you wish to get in touch with Luke you can give him a call on: 0845 459 8010. Alternatively you can reach Luke by email: luke@burtonsons.co.uk or even head over to one of our social networking accounts. You can also follow Luke’s personal twitter account: @lukejamesdesign

The post Meet the Team: Luke appeared first on SimplyLED.

The famous balcony scene from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a notoriously difficult scene to light. Too bright and Juliet is a silhouette, too dark and she is in shadow. Traditional stage lighting rigs which use halogen lamps or high-intensity discharge lamps can be harsh. A good and controllable alternative is LED lighting. LED instruments can contain a number of different coloured LEDs, often red, green and blue, and by adjusting the intensity of each LED colour group, different colours can be achieved. This makes it easier to attain just the right subtle wash of romantic colours to show Juliet in her best light.

Stage lighting can almost go unnoticed by theatregoers; it is often an unappreciated art. Without it, not only would the action be harder to see, a complete element of the performance would be lost. Lighting helps tell the story and underlines mood and theme, directly affecting the emotion and subtext of each scene, turning day to night and happiness to horror.

Good lighting has always played an important part in the theatre. In ancient Greece, the home of tragedy and comedy, most plays were staged in daylight. This simplified production and took full advantage of the sunshine. Of course, that’s fine in sunny climes, but Shakespeare’s London was a different kettle of fish. The Globe Theatre staged both afternoon and evening performances, and the stage lighting of the time was far removed from today’s LED technology.  It encompassed everything from the candles of the footlights, to the use of torches, lanterns, and even cloth and paper coverings to allow more control from scene to scene.

Today’s LED stage lighting tools would seem like magic to those early lighting experts. Gone are the candles, gaslight and incandescent lamps used in Victorian theatres. Today a combination of technology and creativity allows lighting designers to let their imaginations run wild. Light has become part of the performance, and the work of the lightboard operator is very much an interactive dance requiring its own choreography.

Fresnels, ellipsoidal spots, follows, par lamps, and of course the super trouper are all essential to the success of any performance. LED stage lights come in three main types – PAR cans, striplights and moving head intelligent lighting. In LED PAR cans, a round printed circuit board mounted with LEDs is used in place of a PAR lamp. Moving head types can either be a bank of LEDs mounted on a yoke or more conventional moving head lights with the bulb replaced with an LED bank.

LEDs are increasingly replacing conventional theatre lighting fittings, and some shows, such as Radiohead’s recent tour, have used only LED lighting. LEDs have become popular for lighting cycloramas, or as top, side or back lighting. And as far as performance is concerned, incandescent lighting simply can’t compete with LED. An LED using as little as 4.5 watts still produces the same lumen output as a 50 watt halogen, making it cost effective in any brightly lit theatre.

Today’s Romeos no longer have to worry about sweating and make-up running down their faces – thanks to the environmentally sound, durable, safe, and low-heat LEDs.  Which goes to prove LEDs can be romantic too.

The post LED lighting and the theatre appeared first on SimplyLED.

We would love to put this feedback to use and share your stories and reviews! We are inviting all of our customers who have recently purchased a NxtGen Series II product to submit a short testimonial video showing our product and to thank you for your video (which only needs to be around 30secs to a minute) we are giving our customers £20 for their video testimonials.

We want as much user generated video content on our site as possible!

You can send us a video of you talking into the camera or even a ‘walk around tour’ of your property if you’d prefer.

Show off your LEDs and talk about the difference they are making!

Send your video to videos@burtonsons.co.uk along with your most recent order id, your name and telephone number. We would ask, were possible, that all videos are filmed in landscape (like this example) and ideally in an standard video file. If we decide to use your video on our website or YouTube channel, we will then send you a cheque for £20!

Click here to view some video testimonials already submitted by our customers.

Happy filming!

* Please note, in most cases we can only offer one £20 cheque per order, per testimonial.

The post NxtGen Series II- We want your testimonials! appeared first on SimplyLED.

Like many other car manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz is exploring green alternatives to petrol and diesel-fuelled vehicles. One of the company’s latest ideas is the F-cell.

The F-cell draws its power from hydrogen fuel cells. As a result, the vehicle releases next to no emissions, hence increasing its green reputation.

Sadly, Mercedes-Benz has yet to produce the F-cell commercially. The vehicle is still a prototype, and industry commentators believe it may not appear in dealer showrooms until 2015. One significant problem is the current lack of hydrogen refuelling sites along the world’s roads. Even so, Mercedes-Benz has said it is ready to put the car into production, and wants to let the world know about the F-cell and its potential.

The best way to do this, of course, is through advertising. Mercedes-Benz therefore approached an advertising agency with a brief to promote the F-cell’s green credentials.  The agency considered this and suggested the F-cell is ‘invisible’ because it has such a low impact on the environment.

With this in mind, the structure of a TV ad began to be developed. The concept the advertising agency came up with was to film the Mercedes F-cell prototype driving in and around the city of Hamburg, but to render the car as invisible as possible. Occasionally, the viewer would be able to see parts of the vehicle as it progressed. The ad would also feature pedestrians staring at the ‘invisible’ F-cell in puzzlement.

The difficulty was how to achieve this novel effect. Bit once again, LEDs came to the rescue.

Mercedes-Benz discovered a team of scientists in Japan using LED optical camouflage. The general principle of the camouflage derives from feature films and green-screen technology.

The Japanese scientists said their technology could help. Mercedes-Benz therefore placed a curtain of LEDs on the driver’s side of the F-cell to create a flexible digital display. At the same time, the advert’s film-makers fixed a digital video camera on the passenger’s side of the F-cell vehicle. The camera transmitted the images it filmed to the LED digital display. The result made the F-cell almost invisible from the driver’s side when the car toured the streets of Hamburg.

The Mercedes invisible car video is an unusual and highly creative piece of TV advertising, and it’s interesting to note how LED technology made the advert possible. LEDs, of course, also complement the concept of the F-cell car. After all, both are eco-friendly and kinder to the environment.

LED lighting is the greenest form of lighting available. It is also versatile, long lasting and energy efficient. So although you may have to wait for a chance to test drive the ‘invisible’ F-cell at a local Mercedes-Benz dealer, you can take advantage of LED technology now in your home and office.  But unlike the Mercedes invisible car, when you choose LEDs, the advantages will be very clear to see.

The post How LEDs helped make a Mercedes-Benz car ‘invisible’ appeared first on SimplyLED.

With electricity prices constantly soaring in Wales, why not let recommended electricians in Wales advise you on cost-effective measures through LED-lighting installation and maintenance that will considerably cut down your energy bills much to your delight. The reputable electricians fulfill the statutory requirement in Wales of Part P of the Building guidelines, and have public liability insurance. If you reside in Wales and require a competent electrician for your LED-lighting, browse through our inventory of recommended electricians.

Not in Wales? Then check out our recommended electricians in your area.

If you discover that your area is not covered by a recommended electrician but know of someone we could add to our lists then feel free to get in touch: 0845 459 8010; alternatively you can email us: info@burtonsons.co.uk.

The post Recommended Electricians in Wales appeared first on SimplyLED.

Bristol and Plymouth are the most populous cities in the South West, with Bristol being a lively mix of the old and new, while Plymouth is one of the most famous seaports in the UK. The region’s most outstanding city in cultural terms is Bath, which is a World Heritage site.

Significant holiday resorts include Bournemouth in Dorset and Torquay in Devon. Major attractions for visitors to the South West are also the archaeological sites of Stonehenge and Avebury, which are both in Wiltshire, Exmoor and Dartmoor national parks in Devon and the Cotswolds and Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.

LED lighting electricians available in the South West area are listed below.

Not in the South West? Fear not, we have recommended electricians in your area, just click here.

If you discover that your area is not covered by a recommended electrician but know of someone we could add to our lists then feel free to get in touch: 0845 459 8010; alternatively you can email us: info@burtonsons.co.uk.

The post Recommended Electricians in the South West appeared first on SimplyLED.

Look no further for qualified, reliable and dependable electricians within the South East. Stretching from the shores of White Isle, up through the hearty home counties, across to the to the glamorous shores of Essex and down to the tip of the Kentish coast, there are recommendations for electricians for every stretch of the South East.

Not in the South East? Don’t worry, you’ll find all of our recommended electricians here.