LED Bulbs
http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

LED BULBS
As countries are banning inefficient incandescent lighting and promoting greener, more efficient lighting solutions, they are making a mistake promoting fluorescent lights due to their toxic mercury content. Only LED lights are environmentally sound. They use far less electricity, have far fewer throwaway materials and last virtually a lifetime in most applications.  Am presently using them all over my own house  - ok...apart from my dining room table pendants and bathroom mirror lights - fluorescent light bulbs are used and have been changed several time!  Am planning to replace with LED's.   Have not changed an LED bulb in 3 years so far.

Light source of the future
LEDs are the light source of the future, and more and more people are using them for lighting – both indoors and outdoors.  Initially people were reluctant to use them and pay the prices for them, but that has changed, mostly due to more availability, more information and better pricing and of course, the cost saving dimension.


LEDs are 5 times as energy efficient as conventional incandescent bulbs, and colour rendering is on a par with fluorescent tubes.
The use of LEDs for lighting has been limited up to now, mostly because LEDs have not been sufficiently energy efficient and colour rendering has not been good enough. However, there have been significant improvements in recent years.


High energy efficiency
Commercially available LEDs are 5 times as efficient as incandescent bulbs, 3 times as efficient as halogen bulbs, and equal to energy saving bulbs.


Switch on instantly
LEDs switch on instantly and provide their full strength immediately. In the long term, the small components in LEDs are suitable for dimming the lights, and the light doesn’t change colour when dimmed, which is what happens with incandescent and halogen lights. Nevertheless, LED bulbs sold on the market today are not capable of being dimmed, because they do not yet contain the necessary electronics.


Colour properties
The colour properties of a light source are relevant to white light, and are described as colour temperature (expressed in Kelvins, abbreviated as K) and the colour rendering index (CRI) or Ra index. The CRI ranges between 0 and 100 and indicates how good a light source is at reproducing a number of reference colours. A CRI of 100 is the best.



The light from LED sources is either warm (typically 2,700-3,000 K), neutral (3,500-4,500 K) or cold (4,500-10,000 K). A comprehensive selection of LEDs is available with a CRI of over 80. The best LEDs have a CRI of over 90.


Long lasting
As a rule, LEDs have a lifetime of between 25,000 and 50,000 hours. The lifetime depends to a large extent on how they are used. High temperatures and high current loads can quickly take their toll on an LED, which in many ways resembles an ordinary electronic component.


Unidirectional light
LEDs project all their light forwards, whereas the most common light sources emit light in all directions. This is why LED bulbs are best suited to lamps that project light in one direction, such as spot lights and lamps that solely light downwards.


LED Bulbs 

http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

Should I Turn Off Fluorescent Lighting When Leaving A Room?


Short Answer: Turn them off if you will be gone for more than about 15-20 minutes.  There are a few misconceptions about fluorescent lighting that keep too many people from turning lights off to save energy. The first misconception is that it takes more energy to start a fluorescent light than it takes to run it. The second misconception is that turning a fluorescent light off and on will wear it out right away. Like many of our myths about energy, there is a small amount of truth in the belief. 

Misconception #1: It takes more energy to start a fluorescent that it does to run it, so leave the lights on all the time to save money on your electric bill.

Reality: When you turn on a fluorescent light bulb (correctly called a "lamp"), there is a very brief jump in current when the ballast charges the cathodes and causes the lamp to start. This inrush of current can be many times greater than the normal operating current of the lamp. However, the spike of current draw normally lasts no longer than 1/10th of a second, and draws the equivalent of about 5 seconds of normal operation. So, if you turn your fluorescent lamp off and on more frequently than every 5 seconds, you will use more power than normal. So, normal switching of fluorescent lamps has very, very, very little effect on a power bill.

Misconception #2: Turning fluorescent lamps off and on wears them out right away.

Reality: Electric lights have a published rating for expected life. This rating is in the hundreds of hours for many incandescent lights, and in the thousands of hours for most fluorescents. Fluorescent lights have a life rating based on how many hours they are left on every time they are turned on. This is usually referred to as "burn time", and for fluorescent lights the burn time is three hours.

Every time a fluorescent light is turned on, a tiny amount of the coating on the electrodes is burned off. Eventually, enough coating is burned off, and the lamp fails to start. Most full-size fluorescent lamps are rated to last 20,000 hours when left on for 3 hours every time they are turned on. This means that the lamp has roughly 6,667 starts available to use up. (20,000/3 = 6,667)

Longer burns extend lamp life. If you "burn" your fluorescent lamps shorter than 3 hours per start, you use up your potential starts faster. If you "burn" them longer than 3 hours per start, you use up your starts more slowly. However, you are paying energy costs for the operating time of the lamps, and the most efficient lamp is the one that is not on when it is not needed. See Table 2 for the effects of longer burn time on lamp life.
But longer burns use more energy. Operating a light when it is not needed is simply spending money for no purpose. Today's rapidly rising electric rates mandate that every building becomes leaner with energy use to control costs. See Table 3 for a comparison of operating costs for a typical fixture.
Find the trade off point.
There is a point where the amount of money you save from turning off the light exceeds the cost of reducing lamp life by more frequent starts.


http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

(Special thanks to Steve Selkowitz of Lawrence Berkeley National Labs for doing the research that this article is based on.)

A few more pics from my light shop - quote this blog and I will give an extra 10% off !!!  


simply mention blog and request a total in my ebay shop and I will deduct 10% of any product you buy 

http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

Opsidianos Lighting Product - blown glass from Crete, Greece

Freesia - FR5 - Elstead Lighting Product

Astro - Deco 6073

http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

I have some really nice lights for sale..... all new and unused.... although there are a few shop display items etc. but I will always explain this in the description....

My ebay shop is http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

I also have listings on donedeal.ie - looking under the lighting section in Munster /Kerry

Let me know what you think :)

Bara Wall Light - 6 available

Firstlight Pendant - 2 available

from the Opsidianos blown glass range

http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

Good lighting can make or break the ambience of a room

All rooms need a variety of lighting: ambient or background lighting, task lighting for close-up work or accent lighting to highlight special features. You can always update a room and improve the atmosphere with good lighting; equally, nothing makes a room feel dated and unwelcoming like bad lighting.

Think about a lighting scheme before you start to decorate a room. Where is the furniture to go? You can install floor sockets underneath tables or free-standing furniture, avoiding ugly  trailing cords. How will you be using the room: is it primarily for use during the day or at night? For study or entertaining?

1 Downlighting is something people love or hate. I think it can be incredibly helpful and effective but, like everything, should be used in its proper place. During the day, rooms with good-sized windows will receive a fair amount of natural light. Yet in the evening, downlighters can help to create a soft overall glow that adds ambience. This is extra-useful in a reception or dining space.

2 Spotlights make a feature out of key possessions and architectural detail. They can also be interesting when used in the corners of rooms, where you would not normally have light. You can then install two different switches, so that any ceiling lights would be on a different circuit to spotlights. A dimmer switch can instantly change the lighting from dramatic to cosy.

3 Lighting is probably the most important aspect of a dining room. It should be subtle, yet sparkling. Bright overhead lights are inappropriate and pendants or chandeliers should be fitted with dimmer switches; you can experiment with brightness levels for different occasions. If it is too dark, you won’t be able to see what you are eating, but if it is too light the atmosphere will be spoilt. Wall lights are a good option and setting wall sconces into a mirror creates a dazzling reflective effect, although they would need to be installed by an expert.

4 You want to achieve different levels of light, which is where table lamps come in and picture/wall lights (depending on how much art is in your home). You can wire these to become either a picture or a wall light. Indirect lighting is an interesting way of adding atmosphere to a room. You can light up a display of objects in a bookcase by carving a track out of each shelf and inserting a run of LED lights. This provides hidden light that casts upwards and downwards, lighting the display without producing any heat.

5 A living room is likely to have different seating areas and each chair needs to have its own lighting. A sofa, for instance, might require a practical yet elegant swing-arm lights to provide good light for reading, while armchairs can be lit effectively with lamps. 

6 Staircases are built around awkward angles, so spotlights from the ceiling can create insufficient pools of light and shadows in places, which isn’t very safe. By installing directional lights at floor level, you avoid this and create a more subtle, evenly distributed light . Stairs are also a great place to hang prints or pictures that mean something to you, so it’s important that they are well lit so you can see them.

http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

led bulbs

 Lighting Tips

When it comes to lights in the home it is so easy to make mistakes. Without making an initial plan, houses often end up with badly designed lighting systems with plugs in the wrong places, and no lights where you need them. If you follow these simple tips however you will find that you have a well lit home. 

http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company 



Tip 1 

Consider dimmer switches. These are a great way to light a room. Some rooms in the house are multi-functional. The kitchen for example can be not only the place of food preparation but also the place where family meals and entertaining take place. Task lighting is essential therefore as well as mood lighting. The same is true of the bathroom where relaxing in the bath is as important as having enough light to brush your teeth in the morning. Dimmer switches provide rooms with bright light and atmospheric light so wherever possible use dimmer switches. 

Tip 2 

Use accent lighting to highlight features. Often overlooked, accent lighting can actually really make a difference to the look of a room. When certain pictures or features are highlighted the look and feel of the room can change dramatically from a traditional room to an exciting or interesting place. If you have a few ideas on what might look good highlighted you can have a bit of a play around. Use spot lights underneath sculptures or statues or use lights above certain pictures. By experimenting a little bit you can find a lighting scheme that really works. 

Tip 3 

Use mirrors to create more size and light. This is a very handy trick - using mirrors to provide more light and make the room appear larger. Mirrors reflect the light around the room so if you have a dark room with little natural light then this is the perfect solution. If you have never tried doing this with mirrors you should have a go because it can make a real difference. 

Tip 4 

Remove any strip lighting. Nothing creates a bad atmosphere in a room more than strip lighting does. It is just too bright and unattractive. There are plenty of other types of bright lighting that can be used if you need good task lighting. Spot lights are a great way to bring bright light into a room. Strip lights can even cause headaches, especially in children so it is important that they are removed and discarded. 

Tip 5 

Save money with energy saving bulbs. The home is one of the biggest contributors to global warming, so by exchanging all traditional filament bulbs in the home with LED's or other energy saving bulbs you will be doing your bit for the environment. More than that however you will also be saving yourself money in the process as your electricity bills will reduce. Filament bulbs are not efficient at producing light, using a large amount of electricity and producing heat. LED's and energy saving bulbs do not produce as much heat and much less electricity is used. 

Tip 6 

Make a plan. Have you ever heard the expression "failing to plan is planning to fail?" Never is this truer than when it comes to lighting. Make a plan of sockets and lights and what will be going where. That way you will have the right lights hooked up to the right light switches and the whole lighting scheme will just "flow" right. 

There are a lot of ways you can get your home lighting right. Have fun with it if you can, experimenting with floor lamps, table lamps and accent lighting. You can purchase a variety of lamp shades to match your interiors and use different types of lighting to highlight different things around the home.

Below is a link to my ebay shop..... if you dont see anything suitable here there are lots of other online stores to choose from. 

http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company

led bulbs

After I closed my 'realtime' shop due to high rent & rates & recession, I started an Ebay shop to sell off stock.... it's been going ok, a little slow now though so here's hoping I can push it along a little.

I have some lovely lights for at least 50% off original price.

Check out link below for my shop

 :) any questions just ask


http://stores.ebay.ie/Electric-Light-Company