Come See Us at the 2012 Colorado Garden & Home Show

Posted on January 21, 2012 by outdoorlightingofcolorado

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!

Filed under: Community Events, Green Energy, Lighting Retrofits, Residential Lighting | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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

Posted on December 31, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado
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!
 

Filed under: Bulb Technology, Green Energy, LEDs, Residential Lighting | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

See Us at the 2011 CAI Rocky Mountain Chapter Fall Conference

Posted on November 4, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado

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.

Filed under: Christmas Lighting, Community Events, Energy Audits, Home-Community Security/Safety, Lighting Retrofits | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

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

Posted on November 2, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado
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.
 

Filed under: Christmas Lighting, Holiday Lighting, LEDs | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

How Do You Maintain a Solar Photovoltaic LED Lighting Installation?

Posted on October 22, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado
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.

Filed under: Green Energy, Home-Community Security/Safety, LEDs, Maintenance and Service, Solar Photovoltaic Lighting | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

Dove Ridge Entrance Lighting Project – and A Very Special Flyover

Posted on October 14, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado

 

 

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.
 
 

Filed under: Ceramic Metal Halide, Commercial Lighting, Green Energy, Home-Community Security/Safety, Security/Safety | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Outdoor Lighting Product Highlights – 2011 Colorado Fall Home Show

Posted on September 14, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado

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.
 

Filed under: Christmas Lighting, Community Events, Green Energy, Holiday Lighting, Landscape Lighting, LEDs, Lighting Control Automation, Residential Lighting | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Come See Us at the 2011 Colorado Fall Home Show

Posted on August 25, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado

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.

Filed under: Christmas Lighting, Community Events, Green Energy, Holiday Lighting, Landscape Lighting, LEDs, Lighting Control Automation, Residential Lighting | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

GE Lighting Revolution Tour Is Coming to Denver

Posted on June 25, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado

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.
 

Filed under: Bulb Technology, Ceramic Metal Halide, Community Events, Deck Lighting, Garden Lighting, Green Energy, Landscape Lighting, LEDs, Lighting Retrofits, Residential Lighting | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Can Line Voltage Lamp Posts be Converted to Low Voltage?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by outdoorlightingofcolorado

Retrofit Low Voltage Quartz Halogen Column Lights

In many of the older neighborhoods in Denver and along the front range, line voltage column lights or lamp posts had been used to illuminate the entrance walkway or driveway to a home. Over many years of time, this underground wiring has become corroded, frayed and/or cut – rendering the lighting fixtures inoperable.

One solution of course would be to trace and identify the defective wiring and either fix it or replace it completely. However, trenching and burying new line voltage wiring (18-inches deep in conduit or 24-inches deep for direct burial) can be very costly, not to mention the disruption and damage to the mature landscaping.

Fortunately, there is a much more cost effective solution for restoring power to these line voltage lamp posts and column lights – and that is by installing a low voltage transformer by the house – and running new low voltage wiring (6-inches deep) to the fixtures. The above photo shows an Outdoor Lighting Perspectives (OLP) installation along the 6th Avenue Parkway in Denver. In addition to not having any power to the columns, the existing fixtures were beyond repair as well. OLP installed two of its copper/brass BB-14 lanterns with 35W quartz halogen bulbs to replace the old fixtures. Not only did the homeowners save money by not having to replace the line voltage wiring, they will also be saving money over time by using more energy efficient bulbs.

LED vs. Incandescent Post Light Comparison

By using GE Vio LED technology, OLP can now provide a 50,000 hour lighting retrofit solution for new or existing lamp posts or column lights. In the photo, the fixture powered by GE Vio LED 7.2W total (left) is shown next to a regular 40W incandescent bulb. Fixtures having a frosted lens or globe work best as it allows for a better diffusion of the light.

 
So if you currently have any lamp posts or column lights that are having power issues, you may want to consider the less expensive option of retrofitting them to low voltage LED or quartz halogen – and saving additional money on your monthly electric bill.
 

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Garden Lighting, Green Energy, Installation Techniques, LEDs, Lighting Retrofits, Maintenance and Service, Residential Lighting | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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