Archive for the 'Reviews' Category

LED Light Bars and LED Strips: Which Are Best for You?

Published
by
Christine
on February 10, 2010
in LED Lights and Reviews
. 0 Comments

waterproof_flexible_led_strip_light_13_mediumhigh_power_brushed_aluminum_under_cabinet_led_light_bar_1_mediumLEDs are great for all kinds of applications, and as the technology improves, almost every type of LED light fixture is becoming available, from bulbs to spotlights. Some of the most widely used types of LED lights come in the form of bars and strips; in some ways, these are some of the original LED light fixtures! And since LED light bars and LED strips are both long, skinny versions of LEDS, it might seem hard to know when to use each type of fixture.  Here are a few of the differences between these types of fixtures, and the applications that are best for each.

  • LED light bars only come in pre-set lengths, while you can purchase LED light strips by the foot, allowing you to buy as much as you need for your project. However, you can link LED light bars together using the “daisy chain” method, up to 5 bars in a circuit.
  • LED light bars are housed in sleek fixtures that are pleasing to the eye. LED light strips usually have exposed circuits and wiring, so they are less suitable for visible applications.
  • LED strips are flexible, and so can be used in hard to reach and strangely-shaped areas.
  • Both fixtures come with a waterproof option, and so can be used outdoors in damp conditions, or in some cases, even in a pool!
  • LED Light strips provide a more seamless glow, while LED light bars provide directional lighting that sometimes can have dark spots between each light. Both types of lighting are attractive and functional, depending on the application.
  • Both LED Light Bars and LED strips are good for directional and under cabinet applications, to light things like counters, stairs, the tops of shelves, bookcases, coves etc.
  • Both LED light bars and LED strips are easy to install. The Light strips require and LED driver, which are low voltage, easy to use and don’t require any changes to your current wiring. LED light bars require certain accessories that are equally easy to use, like extension cables and splitters.

If you have further questions about uses for both of these extremely practical and beautiful lighting options, feel free to contact us directly!

Warm Up to LEDs; They’re Not So Cold, Afterall!

Published
by
Christine
on February 4, 2010
in LED Lights and Reviews
. 1 Comment

One of the most common complaints I hear about LED lights is that the light they emit is “too cold” looking. Usually this means the light gives off a blueish hue and has less of the yellow, warm glow we are used to from incandescent bulbs. The fact of the matter is that while perhaps the first LEDs on the market did only come in one “bright white” color that looks cold in some instances, LEDs are the most versatile lighting option available when it comes to choosing a color. First of all, many LEDs (like our full color LED light products) are digitally programmable, meaning you can customize them to be any color (or lots of different colors!) imaginable using your computer, or a controller you can purchase online from us. This kind of lighting is great for nightlife or party situations in which you want a lot of bright color, or the ability to shift the mood at a moment’s notice

But besides bright colors, LEDs are also perfectly capable of providing the warm, cozy glow you crave (and are used to from your incandescent lights). Our Dynasty Warm White LED Light Bulb, for instance, delivers 50 lumens of warm light while using only 1 watt of electricity! Not to mention our Flexible LED Light, one of our most popular under-cabinet LED light products, which is available in warm white or in neutral white.

As you can see, the idea that LEDs only produce light in the cool color spectrum is a myth. In fact, LEDs are one of the most colorful and diverse options available on the lighting market today! Besides that, they’ll also save you tons of money and time over the long haul, since they last 10 times longer than most incandescent bulbs, and use a fraction of the energy!

I Heart the iPad (or at least its LED backlight…)

Published
by
Christine
on January 29, 2010
in Creative-Uses, LED Lights, National News and Reviews
. 3 Comments

safari_20100127Everyone’s talking about the iPad. It’s Apple’s newest contraption that will offer direct competition to the Amazon Kindle, a tablet or digital book device that came out a few months ago. Unlike the Kindle, however, the iPad offers much more than a little bit of reading. The device not only allows the user to read, watch movies, view and store photos, send emails and create basic documents,it also boasts a multi-touch, full color screen. And, like with the iPhone, the iPad will come with access to a full menu of apps. So why should you carry an iPad around instead of your laptop or iPhone? Why, in this over saturated, over techy world, do we need yet another gadget? Well, I’m not sure that we do. But here’s the argument most are making: First of all, this new genre of “tablets” offers a tweener level of accessibility and content creation. Tablets are, by definition bigger than a phone but smaller than a computer. They’re light enough- the Pad weighs in at 1.5 pounds- to carry around with you but big enough to make browsing the web and looking at content a lot easier than it is on your phone. In fact, Apple is so excited about the iPad, they’re calling it “magical.” That seems a little hyperbolic to me. I mean, what are they going to call the iUnicorn when it comes out next year?

 

But, one of the things that does make the iPad stand out in my opinion is its use of LEDs. Unlike the iPad, the Kindle doesn’t contain any interior lighting system. While this does allow the Kindle to have an exceedingly long battery life, it also means you can’t really read it in the dark without a night light. The iPad, on the other hand, contains a 9.7 inch backlit LED screen which is bright enough to make reading, working or movie-watching a joy. And, of course, the use of LEDs means the iPad didn’t have to compromise  weight or energy efficiency for high tech and high-powered lighting.

“Bright” Just Got Brighter

Published
by
Christine
on January 20, 2010
in Company News, LED Lights and Reviews
. 0 Comments

Sometimes, “bright” just isn’t bright enough. I can think of plenty of times when I’ve wanted just a little more light, whether it be when I’m chopping ingredients for a salad in the kitchen, or working on an especially tedious project in the garage. Luckily, here at Elemental LED, we carry just the product for those times when you need to illuminate your life a little more than usual: our High Density 12V Brighter Flexible LED Strip Light. First and foremost, this LED strip lighting offers all of the benefits of our standard Brighter Flexible LED Strip Light. It’s flexible and discreet, so it can fit in almost any nook or cranny, and is perfect for cabinet lighting, cove lighting, interior applications, exhibitions, project lighting, etc. Unlike our standard strip lighting, however, the  High Density LED Strip Light boasts  twice as many high-powered tri-chip LEDs as the standard, so it is four times as bright! While the standard Brighter Flexible LED Strip Light weighs in at 180 lumens per foot, the High Density 12v Brighter Flexible LED Strip Light packs a wallop at 290 lumens of brightness per foot! This means the light is brighter and also can travel further, so it’s great for lighting larger projects over a bigger area. Amazingly, though there are 3 LEDs for every 2 inches of strip lighting on the High Density LED Strip Light, the product uses only 4.4 watts of electricity per foot! Even better, this product is rated to last 50,000 hours, which is the equivalent of leaving the lights on 24 hours a day for 6 years ! This is great news for those of you who need high-powered lighting at a low cost to you and to our planet’s natural resources. So if you thought LEDs couldn’t fulfill your every lighting need, think again! Your prospects just got brighter with the High Density 12v Brighter Flexible LED Strip Light!

Are LEDs Really Brighter Than CFLs?

Published
by
admin
on March 26, 2009
in LED Lights and Reviews
. 0 Comments

Ok, so we know that LEDs last longer than the competition-60 times longer than incandescent lights and 10 times longer than compact florescent lights-but what about brightness? Are LEDs as bright as their counterparts?

It turns out that because LED light functions differently than incandescent or florescent light, there’s no quick and easy answer to that question. LED light is directional, meaning it shines in one focused direction, whereas halogen, incandescent or florescent light spreads out in every direction; it’s omni-directional. This disparity makes a big difference when talking about “lumens per watt,” which is how light output is typically measured.

At the outset, it would appear as if CFLs function at a slightly higher lumen-per-watt ratio than LEDs. Take a look at the average numbers:

Incandescent: 14 lm/W
CFL: 61 lm/W
LED: 57 lm/W

However, these numbers do not take into account fixture efficacy, which usually will reduce CFLs number by half. It works like this: typically, lights are mounted in a recessed fixture. In the case of CFLs, this type of fixture allows some light to escape behind the fixture as it’s reflected back into the ceiling, so that not all light is shining where it’s supposed to, out into the room. What a waste of light! LED lights, on the other hand, do not encounter this problem no matter what type of fixture they’re in, since their light is already directional by nature. Therefore, although CFLs may have a higher lumen per watt number in theory, in reality they’re not actually functioning at that output level when mounted in a recessed fixture, which most usually are.

So in this case, the efficacy of the bulbs while they are INSIDE the fixture is as follows:

LEDs: 57 lumens per watt (lm/W)
CFL’s: 30 lumens per watt (lm/W)

Looks like LEDs win again!