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.

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.

• 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

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.

The goals of the National Night Out are to:

• heighten crime- and drug-prevention awareness
• generate support for local anticrime programs
• strengthen neighborhood spirit and police communication partnerships

Solidarity and support of NNO is commonly shown by the traditional display of outdoor lighting including front porch lights, landscape/architectural lighting and through the participation in front porch vigils and neighborhood get-togethers.

Landscape Lighting Makes This Home Safer and More Secure

As the owner of a lighting company, I’ve been trained and well-versed in the art of illumination to remove “dark and scary” spaces around the perimeter of a home and property. Local law enforcement repeatedly advises homeowners that lighting is a key component of crime prevention. The City of Golden’s Police Department states that:

it is a recognized fact that good lighting is a deterrant to crime. It not only makes the area safer for the homeowner, but also forces the intruder to work in an area where he may be exposed and reported to the police.

To participate in one of this year’s NNO 2011 events, please check one of the links below:

COUNTIES:     Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, El Paso,  Jefferson, Larimer

CITIES/TOWNS:  Aurora, Colorado Springs, Denver, Golden, Lakewood, Littleton, Lone Tree, Longmont, Parker, Sheridan, Westminster

Thanks in advance for your participation and for helping to make our communities safer.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado launched its line of induction fluorescent lighting fixtures and retrofits last week at the CAI Colorado Trade Show. In case you were unable to attend the show, I have included photos and a video about our exhibit and the exciting energy saving possibilities with induction lighting.

OLP of Colorado Exhibit at CAI Trade Show

A few attendees to the show had previously heard about this new induction fluorescent technology. However, most of the attendees who stopped by our exhibit were amazed by the 100,000 life of these induction lamps.

Induction Fluorescent Lights

They were also pleasantly surprised to learn that currently induction lights have twice the life and half the price of LEDs. When fixtures are hard to reach easily (wall packs on the sides of condo buildings or street lights through a community), maintenance costs become problematic – and having a fixture with a 100,000-hour lamp life becomes very attractive. Our corporate commercial lighting website has been updated to include energy lighting audits and retrofits – Switch Your Lights - and locally we have been approved and listed in the ReDirect Guide for green and sustainable businesses and products.

 

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives (OLP) of Colorado will be exhibiting the latest in ceramic metal halide, LED, and induction fluorescent lamp/fixture technology for a wide range of typical HOA lighting applications including area lighting (street, park, walkway); signage/monument lighting; and stairwell/building lighting.

The new induction fluorescent technology offers increased performance life (up to 100,000 hours) with dramatically lower operational (up to 50-percent energy savings) and maintenance costs. Further, it offers a vast improvement over High-Intensity Discharge (HID) fixtures with respect to nighttime visibility and color rendering.

One of the new programs that OLP of Colorado is offering is a Free Energy Savings Assessment – so that HOA’s and building owners can assess retrofit and replacement payback periods for different lamp technologies. So if you are involved with a community or an HOA, please plan to stop by and see us.

Induction Fluorescent Retrofits

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of attending a new and exciting commercial lighting training class at our company headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. The class focussed on new “green” lighting technologies (LED and induction fluorescent) for commercial applications such as area lighting (street, park, walkway, etc.), parking garage lighting, and wall and warehouse lighting. Almost all of these lighting applications can be found at apartment/townhome communities, business parks, parking garages, auto dealerships, warehouses, restaurants, etc.

Our company will be offering Free Energy Savings Assessments (Lighting Energy Audit/Payback Period) – and show how replacing outdated outdoor lamps (especially High-Intensity Discharge (HID) (high pressure sodium, metal halide) lamps) with our new LED and induction fluorescent retrofits can save a client up to 50% in their electrical bills.

Induction flourescent lighting has an extremely long performance life of up to 100,000 hours (over 22 years!) – that’s 5 to 8 times longer than the typical HID lamps. This technology offers a very high system efficiency with dramatically lower electrical bills and operational maintenance costs, and much better nighttime visibility. Additionally, federal government tax deductions provided through EPAct  (Energy Policy Act of 2005) for reducing building energy usage are in effect through the end of 2013 for interior applications such as parking garages, warehouses, and other commercial buildings. Additionally, many electric utilities such as XCEL Colorado  offer rebates for new green lighting installations or retrofits. OLP of Colorado will assist you in identifying all of the rebates, tax deductions and/or credits for which your particular project may be eligible.

Induction Fluorescent Lighting Compared to HPS

The photo above clearly demonstrates the excellent Color-Rendering Index for induction fluorescent lighting as well as its overall efficiency. Whether it’s for a completely new lighting installation or a retrofit opportunity, induction fluorescents are becoming more widely used. 

 

Most of our typical lighting installations in Colorado range in price between $3,500 and $6,500. Not surprisingly, most homeowners have no idea how many lights they may need or want – or what their investment range might be until we do the evening lighting demonstration.  And that’s perfectly OK because we do not want you to purchase a lighting system sight unseen.

Additionally, we do our nighttime demonstration for these other reasons:

• It is your house, not our’s – and you know best how you would like to have your house and property illuminated in the evening.
• Exact placement of the fixtures can be determined in order to safely light steps and other hazards, and to effectively light architectural features.
• We can show you several different lighting options that you may not have considered previously.
• The evening lighting demonstration is an event that your entire family can participate in and provide input to the lighting design.

Here is what you will see.

Landscape Lighting Makes Outdoor Living Spaces Warm and Inviting

A recently published survey conducted by the American Society of Landscape Architects asked residential landscape architecture professionals to rank the relative popularity of a wide variety of design features to be included in outdoor living spaces in 2011.  Lighting was selected by 96.2% of the landscape architects, making it the most popular feature to be included in upcoming outdoor living projects. Ranked below lighting were fire pits/fireplaces, seating/dining areas, barbecue grills, and installed seating. Based on our experience, we know that most homeowners also need landscape lighting after dark to safely reach their outdoor firepits and seating areas, and to have adequate  lighting for both barbecuing and dining outdoors.

Landscape lighting not only makes your outdoor setting warm and inviting but it also allows you to enjoy your outdoor oasis from day into evening.

OLP’s Exhibit Showcasing the Latest in LEDs

The 52nd Annual Colorado Garden and Home Show started yesterday, and Outdoor Lighting Perspectives is proud to be making its 12th appearance in this important show.  Our exhibit is centrally located in the Colorado Convention Center Exhibit Hall in booth # 1442.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Showcases the Latest in Internet-Based Lighting Control Automation(TM)

Several new products and services are being launched at this show including new internet-based Lighting Control Automation™, new LED products and LED retrofits, Do-It-Yourself Kits, and Lighting Energy Audits/Retrofits for both the residential and commercial markets. We can show you how to have beautiful outdoor and indoor lighting, while decreasing your carbon footprint and your monthly electric bills.

Residential and Commercial Lighting Products on Display at the Colorado Garden and Home Show

The show continues for eight more days – through Sunday, February 20th. With the 60-degree weather expected to last through much of this week, now is the time to start planning your outdoor projects for the upcoming year. So enjoy the show and we look forward to seeing you at the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives exhibit.