Is a LED Upgrade or Retrofit Right For You?

Here at Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Nashville we strive to offer the right balance of savings and convenience for our customers looking to upgrade their current outdoor lighting systems. Many times it not necessary to discard all the elements of an existing system in order to bring it up to date.

By updating and/or replacing specific elements of the system and fixtures themselves we can save you a substantial amount of time and money. This is what we refer to as retrofitting. We can provide many solutions for retrofitting your existing low-voltage quartz halogen lighting system to super efficient LED. Retrofits vary based on the types of fixtures installed. We can evaluate your current system and provide options tailored to your needs, budget and personal sense of style.

Our Outdoor Lighting Nashville LED’s are not the same as those you see in the big box stores, and we have worked hard in the last decade to improve the quality and color of our LED’s to be far more natural than ever before. LED’s are now measured through the Kelvin scale to determine how warm or cool light looks to the eye in regard to color temperature, and this helps us deliver the look our customers want.

If you are still operating on an old school halogen landscape lighting system, in many cases Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Nashville we can retrofit or upgrade to LED to bring your system up to date. Believe it or not, in the next decade nearly 75% of households will be using LED lighting indoors and out!

Benefits of LED Outdoor Lighting:

Operating Costs

LED outdoor lighting provides significant savings on electrical operating costs (up to 80% in most cases). For example, a four watt LED can produce a directional light equivalent to a 20W halogen. Additionally, due to the lower wattage, the lighting system will have less voltage drop. This, in turn, provides a more even and consistent illumination for all of your lighting fixtures.

Longevity

LED bulbs are engineered to last much longer than halogen bulbs. LEDs have an average useful bulb life of up to 50,000 hours, while the traditional quartz€ halogen bulb has a useful bulb life between 2,000‑3,000 hours. The light provided by LED lighting is crisp, clear and bright. Because of their long life expectancy, you can expect to enjoy this light, without replacement costs, for much longer than traditional lighting sources.

Green Technology

Also, keep in mind the green benefits of converting to LED. It is hard to put a price tag on the benefits of reducing your carbon footprint. LED is a wise choice for homeowner’s looking to reduce power usage, decrease greenhouse gas emissions and the decrease the risks associated with harmful disposal. These aspects help the environment and all of us in the long run.

Which Outdoor Lighting is Right For You?

Comparing all the benefits and limitations of outdoor lighting can be tricky. Depending on your situation, any given benefit may or may not outweigh the limitations. Fortunately, by working with Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Nashville, you don’t have to make the decision alone. One of our professional lighting designers will help you decide what’s best for your home or business.

STANDARD LINE LIGHTING IS NORMALLY NOT RECOMMENDED

For most residential installations, incandescent or standard line lighting, can be immediately ruled out. The installation requires extensive excavation. Not only is the excavation cost high, it can damage tree and shrub roots wreaking havoc on your landscaping. Standard line lighting could be a viable option on a new build–but even then, your other options are usually better.

SOLAR OUTDOOR LIGHTING PRODUCES INFERIOR RESULTS

Solar lighting is usually easy to rule out as well. The photovoltaic cells used in solar outdoor lights are not powerful enough to provide any substantial light for any period of time unless you have huge panels to produce substantial electricity. Solar options are recommended only when there is no other source of electricity and/or you only need a soft glow to act as a marker, rather than provide any type of illumination.

LOW-VOLTAGE HALOGEN OUTDOOR LIGHTING PRODUCES EXCELLENT RESULTS

Low-voltage outdoor lighting most often means halogen lights. Low-voltage halogen lighting is almost always an excellent choice:

• Low voltage offers safety benefits over line voltage.
• Low-voltage lights are affordable.
• Well-designed low-voltage systems will almost always use substantially less energy than standard line voltage.
• The halogen bulbs offer an attractive light that portrays surroundings in their true colors.
• Halogen bulbs offer the brightness and directional capabilities needed.
• Halogen bulbs provide a relatively long bulb life.

LED OUTDOOR LIGHTING PRODUCES EXCELLENT RESULTS AND ENERGY SAVINGS

While there are still many inferior, older-technology fixtures on the market, recent advances have made LEDs suitable for outdoor lighting applications.The new advanced fixtures make LEDs a very attractive option for those willing to make the additional investment.

• LEDs’ low voltage offers safety benefits over line voltage.
• LEDs’ installation costs are affordable (though, fixture costs are initially higher).
• LEDs consume only a fourth of the energy of other options.
• The new LEDs offer an attractive light that portrays surroundings in their true colors.
• The new LEDs offer the brightness and directional capabilities needed.
• The new LEDs have an extremely long bulb life.
• It’s important to note that while there is every reason to believe today’s advanced LED lights will last 10+ years under normal use, they haven’t been around long enough to prove this. Fortunately, the advanced LED fixtures Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Nashville uses offer a unique, patent-pending advance: the LED’s electronics are separated from the LED. This should reduce heat and further increase “bulb” life. It also allows LED “bulbs” to be replaced without the need to change the entire fixture. (Most other fixtures on the market have an integral LED, requiring replacement of the entire fixture rather than just the “bulb.”)