Outdoor Lighting of Colorado's Blog » Green Energy

$2 Off Admission at the 2012 Colorado Garden & Home Show

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:00:27 +0000

Courtesy of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, click on the following coupon, print it out, and take it to the ticket window at the 2012 Colorado Garden and Home Show. With this coupon, you will save $2 per ticket (two tickets maximum) on admission to the show. We’re located in Booth #1442, so stop by and say hello.

Come See Us at the 2012 Colorado Garden & Home Show

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:28:36 +0000

It’s hard to believe, but the 2012 Colorado Garden and Home Show opens on Saturday, February 11th – just three weeks from today! The show runs every day between February 11th through Sunday, February the 19th.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives (OLP) invites you to visit our exhibit in Booth #1442 (same location as last year) to see the latest in landscape and outdoor lighting products and services, as well as lighting controls/home automation. At this show, we will also be launching a new 5W PAR36 LED bulb retrofit that will revolutionize the landscape lighting industry. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for additional information.

The show’s hours are Saturdays (from 10am to 8pm); Sundays (from 10am to 6pm); and Monday through Friday (from noon to 8pm). We look forward to seeing you at the show!

Say Goodbye to 2011… – and Energy-Inefficient Incandescent Bulbs

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:38:27 +0000

: Incandescent Light Bulbs Are Being Phased Out

Happy New Year from Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado! As we bid the year 2011 goodbye, we can also do the same for the energy-inefficient incandescent light bulbs.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 goes into effect on January 1, 2012, and the stated purpose of the act is “to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other purposes.”

A popular misconception is that all incandescent light bulbs will be banned. The act will be phased in beginning in 2012 through 2014, and it will require a 25-percent increase in light bulb efficiency. In addition, various specialty bulbs such as appliance bulbs, colored lights, plant lights, and 3-way bulbs are exempt from these requirements. So too are incandescent bulbs currently less than 40 watts or more than 150 watts. Many manufacturers and stores still have 100W bulbs in stock – so it may take quite a while before these bulbs are no longer available.

The good news is that there are many new energy-efficient bulbs available including the “high-efficiency” incandescent bulbs (also called energy-efficient halogen bulbs), the compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), and of course the Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs). LEDs are definitely the future in lighting, and their price is gradually decreasing as their quality continues to improve as well.

During the next month we plan to launch a second company that will meet the “eco” needs of homeowners and small business owners alike – including the demand for green products in the home and the workplace. So stay tuned and until then – Happy New Year!

See Us at the 2011 CAI Rocky Mountain Chapter Fall Conference

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:09:59 +0000

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado will be exhibiting at the Community Association Institutes’ (CAI) Rocky Mountain Chapter Fall Conference on Saturday, November 5th. The conference is being held at the Denver Marriott West in Golden from 7:00 am until 12:30 pm, and OLP of Colorado will be lcoated at booth number F7.

The fall conference will be attended by property management firms, homeowners, HOA managers, and vendors and it includes the annual meeting, educational breakout sessions, and the exhibit hall. OLP of Colorado’s exhibit will include the latest in energy saving lighting retrofits as well as holiday lighting decorating capabilities.

If you’re involved with the management and governance of home owner associations, we look forward to seeing you at the conference.

Cody the Airedale Says That It’s Starting to Look a Lot Like Christmas

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:57:23 +0000

: Cody – Santa Claus

With two snow storms during the last week, Cody the Airedale, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives’ (OLP) Director of Security and Fun, says that it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas. In fact, OLP and many other Colorado contractors have already started to install Christmas lights for homes, businesses and communities – in preparation for the lights to be turned on during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Is your home going to be ready for the holidays? OLP’s holiday lighting service includes the design, installation, take down and storage of dazzling holiday displays. In other words, your holiday lighting will magically appear year after year without you having to climb ladders ever again.

Along with a digital photo of your house, we can use our holiday lighting software to show you how your house will look after dark with the design in place.

OLP has the latest in LED technology including snowfall lights, LightLinks, wreaths and garland, mini-lights, C7s and C9s, and amazing 3D sculptures of all sizes. If you prefer the look of the traditional incandescent lighting, we can provide that as well.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, we can also sell any of these products on a retail basis – and many of these products can be seen at our main office. A very important thing to assess at this time is whether your home or business has available and easily accessible outlets that have remaining capacity to handle the additional load of the holiday lighting.

If we can help you with any of your holiday lighting needs, please give us a call or send us an email.

How Do You Maintain a Solar Photovoltaic LED Lighting Installation?

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:46:40 +0000

: Genesee Entrance Monument – Solar PV LED

Outdoor Lighting Perspective’s solar photovoltaic (PV) LED lighting system has been operational at the Village of Genesee’s entrance monument for two years now. A few weeks ago we completed the Year Two annual maintenance for the system – and it continues to illuminate the monument nightly with the free energy captured by the sun.

The solar PV LED system consists of the following: a 3.7W LED lighting fixture supported by a strut to provide downlighting (Genesee is dark-sky compliant); a solar mast that supports the 16- by 20-inch solar PV panel and equipment bay; the equipment bay contains the solar gel battery and system controller. Every solar PV LED lighting system should be checked and maintained on an annual basis, and this is especially true for a mountain installation where the site can experience very high wind loads.

To see some of the issues we faced at this year’s maintenance visit, please watch the video below:

As you could see in this video, we did have to replace the LED fixture on this visit because the electronics had become corroded due to moisture entering the fixture. We suspect that a seal had failed perhaps due to the buffeting by the high winds. The on-site checklist that we follow for this type of maintenance is shown below:

Confirm that the current levels of the solar array and load do not exceed the controller ratings.
Tighten all terminal connections. Inspect for loose, broken or burnt wire connections. Be certain that no loose strands of wire are touching other terminals.
Test that the LED fixture is working.
Inspect the equipment bay for signs of dirt, insects, moisture, and/or corrosion.
Ensure that the air flow around the controller is not blocked.
Check that the controller functions and LED indicators are correct for the system conditions at that time.
Clean the PV array and reconfirm that the array is oriented correctly.
Re-confirm that the correct battery type is indicated.
Check and re-tighten as needed the ground wires by the fixture as well as by the PV array.
Inspect and re-tighten as needed the mounting system for the fixture.
Re-touch paint as needed on the solar mast and equipment bay.

As with any type of lighting system, annual and preventive maintenance will ensure that the lights will be on when you need them.

Dove Ridge Entrance Lighting Project – and A Very Special Flyover

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:40:59 +0000

Dove Ridge Entrance Lighting

On the 27th of September, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives completed its latest community entrance lighting project for the Dove Ridge HOA. Each of the three monuments had two existing metal halide floods (75W bulbs), and at each monument we replaced them with a single 39W Ceramic Metal Halide(CMH) LC-10 fixture.Not only did these new fixtures create more effective and aesthetic lighting, it also provided energy savings to the HOA of 72-percent.

Dove Ridge Entrance Lighting - 2nd Monument

CMH bulbs, unlike regular metal halide bulbs, experience no color shift over their expected lifetimes (roughly 18,000 hours for the CMH bulbs). You might be asking – what exactly is color-shift? If you’ve ever been to a nighttime high school football game or a little league baseball game, I’m sure that you’ve seen the metal halide lights that have experienced color shift. The newer metal halide bulbs appear to be pure white, while the older ones can appear to be pink, green or blue.

Oh, and about the flyover. On the 27th, President Obama was coming to Denver to speak at a high school that afternoon only a few miles from our office. As it turns out, I had to meet up with our crew at the Dove Ridge site in the early afternoon – and Dove Ridge is located about two miles from the Buckley AFB. When I heard a large plane overhead, I looked up and said to the crew – there goes Air Force One! It’s certainly not every day that Air Force One flies over one of our lighting job sites.

Outdoor Lighting Product Highlights – 2011 Colorado Fall Home Show

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:29:02 +0000

OLP of Colorado Exhibit

Just in case you missed the 2011 Colorado Fall Home Show, not to worry – I have included the highlights and a short video tour of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado’s exhibit including all of our new product introductions.

As an attention-getter, the new LED Snowfall lights were unequalled and they drew young and old alike.

LED Retrofit for Gas Lantern

The Solas Ray LED retrofit kit for gas and electric lanterns also drew a lot of interest as did the new Lighting Control Automation(TM) upgrade for internet-based lighting control with a SmartPhone or tablet.

For more information, please watch the short video tour below:

I hope that you enjoy the tour – and please contact us if you have any questions about these new products.

Come See Us at the 2011 Colorado Fall Home Show

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:06:09 +0000

The 2011 Colorado Fall Home Show is the only home show that is being held through the end of this year – so please come on down and visit the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado exhibit (#514) at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. Discounted coupons for attending the show are available by clicking here.

SHOW DATES AND HOURS

Friday, September 9 (10:00 am to 8:00 pm)
Saturday, September 10 (10:00 am to 8:00 pm)
Sunday, September 11 (10:00 am to 5:00 pm)

LED Snowfall Lights

Our exhibit will be showcasing the latest in holiday and Christmas lighting products (LEDs, snowfall lighting, kinetic laser, garland, etc.); smart phone and internet-based Lighting Control Automation(TM); and the latest in LED and halogen landscape/architectural lighting. In addition, we will also have an LED fixture on display that simulates the look of a gas carriage lighting fixture.

We hope to see you at the show – please stop by and say hello.

GE Lighting Revolution Tour Is Coming to Denver

outdoorlightingofcolorado — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:34:02 +0000

The GE Lighting Revolution Tour is coming to Denver (Auraria Campus) on Wednesday, July 6th, 2011. As part of a 45-city tour throughout the U.S. and Canada, GE is showcasing the latest in lighting technology including LED, Ceramic Metal Halide, linear fluorescent, and compact fluorescent bulbs.

: BB07 Path Light Powered by GE Vio LEDs

On display in the GE exhibit is their Vio LED technology that powers Outdoor Lighting Perspectives’ (OLP) copper path lights (BB07s and BB07.5s) as well as the BB04 flood lights and BB08 deck lights. OLP’s BB07 path light uses two of the Vio 3.6W LEDs – and by far it is the brightest and truest color path light available today. In fact, GE had some of these OLP fixtures on display at their exhibit at last May’s Light Fair in Philadelphia.

: BB08 Deck Light Powered by GE Vio LED

The Vio LEDs are available with a (Color Rendering Index) CRI of 70 or 85 and at three different color temperatures (3000K, 3500K, and 4100K). The LEDs are rated to have a 70% lumen depreciation after 50,000 hours of operation – and are totally mercury free.

To see the truly amazing lighting effect with this new LED technology, plan to visit the GE exhibit when it comes to Denver or contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado for a complimentary evening lighting demonstration.