For those of us in the LED industry, the transition from incandescent lighting to more energy-efficient bulbs seems to be plodding along at a turtle’s pace. As of January 2012, just 6 percent of lights in the United States have been converted to LED lights. Fortunately, a veteran-friendly initiative is working to change all that – while benefiting America’s veterans in the process.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
For mechanics, home inspectors, firefighters and police, a professional use LED flashlight is part of the everyday work uniform. Firefighters use LED lights to see their way through burning buildings. Police officers use LED flashlights during roadside inspections and arrests. And mechanics and inspectors use LED lights to peer far into the crevices and crannies of engine blocks and crawl spaces.
Today we’re focusing on two LED flashlights that were designed for professional use: the A9 LED penlight, a favorite among inspectors as it is slim enough to tuck into a shirt pocket, and the HP3 Focusing LED Inspection Light, popular among mechanics as its beam may be focused into a high-power spotlight beam with a surrounding halo of usable light. To help you choose between these two similar LED lights, we’ve compared some of their major characteristics in the handy table below. (more…)
Cities across the globe are choosing to install LED lighting, first and foremost for financial reasons. Compared to an incandescent bulb, an LED light is 90 percent more efficient, so cities can get more light for their buck with LED lighting. LED bulbs also last up to 10 times longer than CFLs. Moreover, the possibility for visual dazzle is nearly limitless with LEDs, which can be programmed to take on mesmerizing patterns of shifting, shimmering colors.
Every industry has its own buzz, or the latest developments that could potentially change the playing field. In LED lighting, the current rumor is that plastic light bulbs could soon be on the market. According to a recent press release, Wake University professor David Carroll has applied FIPEL technology to create a plastic, buzz-free light bulb. FIPEL stands for Field-Induced Polymer ElectroLuminescent – that’s quite a mouthful. Basically, it means these bulbs are created with several layers of white-emitting polymer (plastics) that have been blended with special nanomaterials. These nanomaterials naturally glow when stimulated by electricity.
Wrenchin’ Roger visited the COAST booth at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) last November for a tour of our latest LED lights. As you can see in the video below, our own Kevin Corcoran introduced three professional use LED flashlight options, all of which are rechargeable.
A9R: First up was the A9R rechargeable penlight – the perfect torch for inspection gigs. You can recharge this handy light by simply plugging it into the charging cap. A green light is illuminated when the A9R is fully charged. It’s hard to find a handier, sleeker inspection light.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Like many Christmas songs, this ditty is outdated. Who actually decorates with live holly anymore? Then again, many people still light up their homes with incandescent holiday lights – even though they’re energy hogs that are notorious for blowing fuses. For a greener holiday season, we suggest switching to LED lights, which use 80 percent less energy than standard bulbs. Advantages of LED holiday lights include:
More shatter resistant.The average LED light cover is made of plastic – not glass, as traditional holiday bulbs are. Moreover, because LEDs are so small, they are less likely to shatter.
From repairing a clogged sink to lighting your path, it’s easy to find practical uses for LED lights. And certainly, police officers, firefighters and inspectors can testify that LED flashlights can also serve well in professional situations. What fewer people anticipate, however, is that our LED lights can also be used to make art, as one light artist’s work proves.
In June of this year, Lux Research released a report predicting that LED bulb prices will be cut in half by 2020. If Lux’s prediction is correct, a 60-watt LED bulb could cost just $11.06 by the end of this decade. Given the efficiency of LED bulbs, that low price could definitely provide a cost incentive for consumers to use LED lights more frequently in their homes.
