All About Light Bulbs

Incandescent, CFL, LED - with so many types of light bulbs to choose from, how do you know you’re choosing the best type of light bulb to brighten your home? What are the benefits of using one light bulb over another? Lighting Concepts can provide you with those answers and many more! Here are some types of popular light bulbs, where they’re typically used, and their pros and cons.

Light Emitting Diodes, LED for short, are durable light bulbs with long life spans and low energy consumption. These bulbs are never to hot to touch, and they aren’t made with mercury. You can usually find LED bulbs in styles like diffused bulbs, track lighting, recessed lighting, spot lights, and outdoor flood lights.

Compact Florescent Lights, often referred to as CFL, are similar to LED lights because they don’t produce as much heat as other light bulbs. These popular light bulbs are the best choice if you’re looking for efficiency and life span. They use anywhere from 50% to 80% less energy than the incandescent light bulbs. They are also environmentally friendly, reducing pollution in the air and water! These eco-friendly lights can be used in mostly any type of light fixture, and the bulbs are available in a variety of shapes. One of the disadvantages of CFL’s is that they are made with mercury.

Most people are familiar with incandescent light bulbs. These bulbs light up using electricity to heat a tungsten filament, which glows inside of the bulb. These bulbs are becoming more unpopular, since compared to LED’s and CFL’s they hold more disadvantages than advantages. For example, the bulb becomes hot after being lit for awhile and it can be hot to touch. They also have short life spans. Some advantages of using incandescent bulbs are that they cost less than CFL’s and LED’s, and they also fit almost any type of light fixture.

These are only three of the many light bulbs to choose from. Visit LightingConcepts.com to learn about the other light bulb options we have available for customers.

Celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month in your Backyard

There’s no need to travel in order to celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month. You can celebrate at home, right in your own backyard. Set up the lawn furniture, fire up the grill, and switch on the outdoor lights because these backyard activities will keep you busy outside well into the evening.

Having a water balloon war is a great game for kids or adults to play during a hot July night. The rules are exactly like the rules of dodge ball, but played with water balloons instead of balls. If the game doesn’t last as long as expected, fill up more balloons and play again!

Play a traditional game of hide-n-seek, but add tag into the game, making it Hide-N-Seek Tag. Just like hide-n-seek, whoever is “It” must find the players who are hiding, but they also have to tag them before the hiders reach home base. Before beginning the game everyone should decide on a spot in the backyard that qualifies as home base.

Instead of playing games you can get creative with some wood and nails, and create a fort for your children and their friends to play in. Not that good with carpentry? You can use cardboard boxes too! Get the kids involved and let your imaginations lead the way.

Design paper airplanes with crayons and fly them in the backyard. If you have a second floor deck, let the airplanes loose and see whose airplane makes it further. If you have a driveway an old fashioned game of hop scotch is always fun to play.

Some backyard activities for adults include sports like kickball, volleyball, softball, football and any other sports you enjoy. You can also sit at a table and play a card or board game.

Whatever you do this July to celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month, LightingConcepts.com hopes you have fun, and enjoy the outdoors!

Bring the Family Together Under Outdoor Lights

July is National Family Reunion Month, and family reunions usually mean outdoor parties. This year don’t just cut the grass, impress your family with your backyard by planting flowers, plants and trees, providing comfortable lawn furniture, and adding outdoor lights in just the right places.

Which flowers you plant depends on the time and care you plan on putting into taking them, and how much experience you have with growing flowers. Flowers that require less care are perfect for beginners and those with not much time. Some low maintenance flowers include Coneflowers, Sea Thrift, Siberian Irises, Black-Eyed Susans, and Stella D’oro Daylilies. Search the internet or visit your local greenhouse to discover more low maintenance flowers. You can also ask about shrubs, bushes and trees which don’t require much care.

The next thing you’ll want to think about is lawn furniture. When choose furniture for your backyard or patio consider how many people you’ll be accommodating, the amount of time you’ll be spending on the furniture, and whether you’ll be eating meals outside or not. For a family reunion, we suggest a picnic table. Picnic tables provide seating for about eight people, 10 if you add a chair to each end of the table. Shop around; picnic tables are sold in different sizes and are made from different types of wood. As for patio furniture, choose furniture that would be comfortable to sit on for extend periods of time.

The last part, our personal favorite, is the outdoor lights! Here are a few things to take into mind when selecting your outdoor lights.

• Illuminate pathways with lantern path lights, or area lights. This will allow you to move safely and easily in the dark. You should also light stairs with post lights.
• You can also add post lights to the railings on your deck. These outdoor lights will create a fantastic atmosphere for a nightly snack or card game.
• You can illuminate parts of the yard by adding a spotlight to the house or a tree.
• Brighten up the barbeque or grill with a wall light, so you can provide those evening card players with a snack. 

After all of that work, take some time for yourself to enjoy your new backyard paradise. Have a great July, and happy National Family Reunion Month from all of us here at LightingConcepts.com!

Illuminate Your Office with Touches of Home

After the three day long Fourth of July weekend, it’s time to head back to the office. Most people dread the end of these long weekends more than the ends of regular two day weekends. After a spending the last three days relaxing at home with your family and friends, who could blame them for being a little down in the dumps? Although, there are ways to make work feel a bit more like home.

For cubicle dwellers, you can use small personal touches to personalize your space. Here are some things that may brighten your day.

• Flowers and plants can boost your mood and add some color to your work space.
• Place one or two framed photos on your dek. These photos will remind you of happy times with family and friends.
• Add some light and style to your cubicle with a desk lamp. Make sure you choose a size lamp that will fit on your desk.

Below are some tips for those of you looking to make your office a bit homier.

• If you can paint your office walls, choose a color that represents your personality, but make sure it’s also business appropriate.
• Hang some artwork or family photos on the walls. If you have children, let them draw you a picture, frame it and hang it on your office wall.
• Offices aren’t restricted to small potted plants. You can place a large potted flower, plant or a small tree in the corner of your office.
• Buy floor lamps that suit your style and your tastes. Instead of using the ceiling lighting, light your office with the floor lamps.
• Invest in a set of comfortable arm chairs. These will come in handy when you’re working early in the morning or late at night.
• You can also purchase end or accent tables for decorating purposes.

Be creative and have fun when decorating your work space, but don’t go overboard in the decorating department. You don’t want it to look like your bedroom did when you were 16. These tips are sure to help you add a little touch of home to brighten your work day.