This Spring we exhibited at two garden and home shows. Almost every attendee who stopped by to speak with us said that if they’re going to invest in a landscape lighting system, it had to be LEDs.
Earth Day 2013 is being celebrated on Monday, April 22nd – and with LED landscape lighting, you can be sure that you are doing your part to lower your carbon footprint on the planet not just on Earth Day, but during the rest of the year as well.
# of Halogen 35W PAR36 Bulbs Required for One Fixture in 11 Years
LED bulbs are green for a number of reasons, including the fact that they use on average 75- to 83-percent less energy than the comparable halogen bulb. LED bulbs also last longer (50,000 hours) compared to halogens (3,000 – 4,000 hours). During an 11-year period of time, a single well light in a landscape lighting system could use as many as 15 bulbs (shown in the photo at right) – and unfortunately all of them would find their way to a local landfill. We tried unsuccessfully to find a recycler who would accept glass halogen bulbs, but unfortunately there is no economical way today to recycle these bulbs. As a result, no one recycles them.
With LED bulbs, there are no defective parts being sent to the landfill annually, or ever. The bulbs can be returned to the factory to be rebuilt every 11 years or so, or the individual components can be recycled. Either way, it’s a win-win situation for the homeowner and Mother Earth.
Because the LEDs are more reliable, fewer service visits are required resulting in fewer vehicle miles and carbon emissions. One scheduled maintenance visit each year will ensure that LED landscape lighting systems continue to operate perfectly for many, many years to come.
With the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives line of products, the standard halogen fixtures can be retrofitted to LED. In other words, we’re re-purposing the fixtures to LED, we’re not requiring the homeowner to buy all new fixtures. Brand-new LED landscape lighting systems also require considerably smaller low voltage transformers and much less low voltage copper wiring than their halogen counterparts.
Whether we’re retrofitting a landscape lighting system to LED or installing a new LED system, we’ve been finding that the payback period for the investment (compared to halogen) occurs in a very reasonable timeframe (anywhere between one and four years typically). In a retrofit system, the primary factors are energy and maintenance cost savings. In a new system, the primary factors are component/labor cost savings (smaller transformer and less wire, less labor time), as well as the energy and maintenance cost savings.
For more information about Earth Day events in your area, please check the following:
Have a Happy Earth Day!
Filed under: Community Events, Green Energy, Landscape Lighting, LEDs, Lighting Retrofits | Tagged: Colorado LED landscape lighting, Denver LED Landscape Lighting, Earth Day 2013, LED bulbs are GREEN, LED outdoor lighting, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado, retrofitting landscape lighting to LEDs, sustainability | Leave a comment »
! For the 17th year in a row, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado will be exhibiting our latest outdoor/landscape lighting designs and products. Stop by our exhibit (Booth #1442) to see the latest energy-saving LED lighting products that will beautify your home and property, make them more safe and secure, and extend your outdoor living hours well into the evening.
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