Biting the LED bullet

Enjoyed an amazing evening the Claxton Opera (performing Der Freischutz most excellently) and got chatting to a chat in property management. They had just moved into new offices and he was explaining how excited he had been to be somewhere with insulation, groovy lights, and,he hoped, reduced energy bills. To his horror the most recent bill had come in way in excess of the previous monthly bills. No real surprise: improved insulation coupled with halogen downlights meant that his air conditioning costs had gone up. I mentioned LED (no hard sell, we were at the opera) and he agreed he could see the benefits. Not only could he see the benefits - it would mean he didn't have to either shimmy up onto the desks or get a man in to change each blown bulb (£50 a pop).
So the usual challenge of getting people to buy LED. They understand the value of new LED; they understand the costs of their present solution; and they can see the benefits of changing. But they just don't want to bite the bullet (ref Der Freischutz) and make the investment.
I'm going to send him a Cordata 10 (GU10 replacement) to see if it strikes the right note.

eBay time for LEDs

First toe in the eBay jungle: from time to time we have a surplus of LED stock. Could be that the customer changed their mind at the last moment; could be that the light we specified doesn’t exactly meet the requirements of the room; or could be that the fitting the customer thought they had wasn’t quite as they described it.... in any case an opportunity to use one of the biggest market places in the UK should be worth a shot.

So far I have put together our product description and pictures. The usual LED challenges exist: how to make consumers understand that not all LEDs are equal. There are sellers offering 4 GU10’s for a tenner. Some offering 10 for £22.99. They also claim to be 6W – but provide no information about the lux levels they deliver at 2m; or the real life expectancy; or the precise angle of the beam.

With such a jostle in the market – bright colours; cheap – cheap – cheap prices and random claims (one of my favourites is the site which says their lamps come from a factory where other bulbs get CE approval so theirs must be as good....even though they don’t actually have any accreditation, hummmm) I guess we are left hoping that the customer will nevertheless discover us. That doesn’t seem much of a marketing strategy, but we’ll see.

Thinking about explaining LEDs to my granny

My granny used to know exactly which light bulb to buy for each room in her house: you used 100Watt for the standard lamp in the sitting room; 40Watt for bedside table; 60Watt for corridors; and got a man in to do the fluorescent tubes in the kitchen. When you left a room you turned the lights out and sometime the lamp shade got a scorch mark where the hot bulb had burnt it. A whole other area of confusion existed because there could be two circuits in the house - the one for lamps with small round pins - and the one with big round pins - and the square pins. So, it wasn't really a simpler time, just one where there was a shared understanding that the bigger the number on the bulb the bigger the plug the brighter the light and the hotter it got if you left it on (so, remember to turn the lights off!!!).
Now, if I had to explain to my Granny which lamp she needs to read her paper I am going to have to start sharing the vocabulary of Lumens - "What Watts?", I imaging her saying, "Not Watts really", I reply, "LEDs don't need many of them to get a similar result. So if you think that your 60Watt bulb in the corridor is giving out about 800 Lumens if you used an LED bulb you would need one that used about 15Watts. "I could see to read with a 15Watt bulb... you're not talking about those energy saving bulbs are you; Mavis got some in the supermarket for 10p each. They are rubbish..." hummmm

Perfect LED versus cost dilemma in lighting Barn shop

There is a lovely farm conversion near us in North Norfolk at Wroxham. It comprises several shops, a garden centre and a cafe. It is quite rightly very popular throughout the year.
At the moment they are doing some development work - turning an old office into a food shop. We have been specifiying lights to make the most of the beamed ceiling while showing the food to best advantage. The Track Spot Aero we recommend comes in at £136 a unit: in a big space with some dozen units that makes it quite a big commitment. And on paper it can be hard to see what is so special about really good LED lighting.
We took a sample unit for the customer to see: and the wow! of great LED lighting at only 10W each certainly had a positive effect. He loved it... fingers crossed he makes the jump to better light.

Early Adaptors to LED light

Spike and Toni are our neighbours. We bumped into them on Sunday and were invited in for a drink. Spike brews his own wine using grape juice and a secret blend of herbs. They have an adult games room with pool / poker table, bar with optics , piano with candles and two cockatiels. Toni is a counsellor and Spike is a well known local musician – trombone.

Over a glass of white and some fabulous sounds (Speedometer) we chatted about our business.

“LED’s”, stated Spike, “are the light source of the future. They give out minimal heat; are re-cyclable and use much, much less energy. They are GREAT! – What to you think?”

“Well,” we replied, “you’ve just used all the best bits of our sales pitch – so not much to add really... and the wine is delicious.”

We left wishing we could pick up how to do jazz improv as simply as Spike had understood LEDs.

Job Opportunity for LED Specifier

Business is going well and so we are now looking for some one - or some company - to come and support us with specifiying and designing. As a small company I don't think we are yet in a position to offer full time employment with all the commitment that would entail, but a self-employed specifier would be perfect: some one with a range of interests and enthusiasms in the lighting world; someone with a keen attitude and good eye for detail and product developments; someone prepared to meet the customer and us in either Norfolk or London; someone who is as concerned about delivering top class customer care as we are; oh! and someone who can brew up the perfect cappucino and produce a coffee walnut cake. (I know, the last bit may be wishing for the moon.) Fingers crossed.

One Aldwych Hotel lights up the swimming pool

Congratulations to One Aldwych who have just completed a fabulous lighting design in the hotel's swimming pool area. The task was not without it's challenges - hiding the work from the keep-fit gang in the gym and scaffolding over water to mention two. The guys at B & P Services did a great job and it was worth it in the end!  The results are a clear example of the beauty that can be achieved with high quality LED - and the energy reduction will make a positive difference to the bottom line.