If you’re like us, you are proud of the artwork you’ve chosen to adorn the walls of your home or business. A framed movie poster, an original oil painting, or even a stylish wall hanging all serve to bring color, and life to a room. Make sure that the images that have been so carefully selected are seen in their full splendor with the right lighting.

Looking to buy or rent the perfect vehicle for your summer vacation? You might want to consider going electric. From reducing carbon emissions to improving air quality and limiting noise pollution, electric cars are a great alternative to regular vehicles and can save you money on gas! The benefits of an electric car surpass the benefits of other vehicles while helping the environment. Here are a few reasons why using an electric car will be great for your summer vacation!

Greener Alternative

According to EPA estimates, transportation accounts for 28 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, 80 percent of that belonging to automobiles and trucks. How much are you contributing? While electric cars produce slightly higher manufacturing emissions than traditional vehicles, after you consider vehicle manufacturing, fuel combustion and fuel production, the carbon footprint of an electric vehicle is nearly half that of its gas-powered cousin – 300g CO2e/km for the average gas vehicle versus 180g CO2e/km for electric. This protects not only the environment, but your wallet as well!

Increase in Charging Stations

The number of charging stations available for electric cars across the U.S. is increasing in response to the surge in popularity of electric cars. More than 9,500 electric stations and over 24,000 charging outlets are available across the country, searchable by zip code. Since 2010, more than 18,000 stations have been added, including free, pay-as-you-go and monthly subscription style services. Many states are also rolling out tax incentives to increase accessibility to charging stations at home and during travel.

Electric vs. Gas Power

Powering electric cars is cheaper than fueling cars that operate on gasoline. Solar and time-of-use (off-peak) electricity pricing also decreases the costs of operating electric vehicles, and available government grants and tax incentives can greatly reduce the sticker price. Add to that the fact that electric vehicle prices are continuing to fall while gasoline prices continue to rise, and you’ve got a recipe for some serious saving!

No Tailpipe Emissions

Nearly all credible researchers believe that electric cars, even in coal-dependent regions, have a smaller environmental impact than conventional vehicles. In regions with a strong grid mix of renewables—such as hydro, wind and solar—or for electric car drivers with home solar, the emissions benefits are dramatic. You can expect some analysts to argue the opposite. But it’s undeniable that electric cars don’t have a tailpipe, and therefore provide a real benefit to improving air quality for you, your family, and your community.

Home Recharging

If you decide to purchase an electric vehicle, there’s a good chance you’ll never have to go to the gas station again. All you have to do is pull into your garage or driveway, reach over for a plug, and push it into the charging inlet. It’s very convenient and takes all of about 15 seconds. Wake up the next morning, and you have a car ready to go another 80 to 100 miles—or double that, depending on the model. That’s plenty for everybody except interstate travelers. (The charging task can be more difficult for people living in condos and apartments, but access to multi-family and workplace charging is improving every day.)

Renting an electric vehicle for your summer vacation could save you a lot of money and trips to the gas station. This will leave extra money in your pocket for other fun things to cross off your vacation bucket list. Who knows? You may end up loving your experience with an electric vehicle that you’ll probably buy one when you get back from your vacation!

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911). Her bio is beyond the scope of this entry, but I encourage you to follow the link and check her out. Get a little perspective on life today by reading a paragraph about this amazing human being and poet.

Harper’s poem, “Let the Light Enter,” depicts light in an interesting and fresh way, fresh still, even 100 years after her death. Poetry, generally speaking, is like a vast collection of opportunities to learn about yourself and the world in which you live. I invite you to take a minute to read “Let the Light Enter.”

The Dying Words of Goethe

He just urgently wants to watch the “balmy sunshine/ Play around” his deathbed. He just wants to experience the sensation of light doing it’s thing. “More light!” he demands. It strongly suggests that appreciating and enjoying the beauty of light is what Goethe, a lifelong thinker and poet who lived from 1749 to 1832, finds most worthy of his final precious minutes. That’s a big deal. In choosing between the pleasure of thoughts and the pleasure of the material world, he chooses the latter. It’s like all the things that seem to separate us from the natural world are shown to be false in the final moments. Think of a dog lying on a rock in the sun. Maybe that’s the purest state of being, just lying there, not thinking much, and enjoying the pleasure of the light, the sound of a brook. And maybe that’s why Goethe wants to pass away in such a state.

Sale posters and coupons aren’t the only ways to make sales. You can use lights to your advantage, too. LED retail lighting can be used to create an environment that makes shoppers feel welcome and caters to their needs and expectations. Use LED store lighting to draw people in, to keep them focused, to guide them throughout your store, and to save money. There are so many ways that the right lighting can be beneficial to customer satisfaction and sales. Take a look at the following list of do’s and don’ts to achieve store lighting that will help you reach your goals.

There’s more to effective LED retail lighting than meets the eye. Creating an efficient lighting system that looks how you want while promoting products, making customers feel comfortable, and, in turn, increasing sales involves knowing the technical details of potential bulbs and fixtures. These details include efficacy, color-rendering index (CCT), and intensity.

Intensity/Lumens

In the past, the brightness of incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, or high-intensity discharge (HID) lights was measured by wattage. Now, a common method for measuring brightness is lumens. The higher the lumens, the brighter the bulb. Comparable wattage is always listed on our product pages for compatible products. If you’re upgrading from incandescent to LED and want a bulb or fixture that’s similar in brightness, you can use lumens for an estimate of what incandescent wattage would be. Simply remove the last number of the lumen value. The number that’s left represents estimated incandescent wattage. As an example, an LED light that emits 600 lumens is approximately as bright as a 60-watt incandescent bulb.

Efficacy

As a business owner or manager, you’re most likely concerned with getting the biggest bang for your buck. By paying attention to efficacy, you can make sure that you get the most light for the amount of power the bulb or fixture consumes. Efficacy is the amount of visible light that is produced with a certain amount of power (watts). You can determine the efficacy of a product by dividing its lumens by the watts it consumes. For example, a bulb that emits 480 lumens and consumes eight watts of power (480/8) has an efficacy of 60 lumens per watt. A bulb with this efficacy would be a much better option than one that emits 480 lumens at 12 watts.

CCT

CCT indicates the hue and tone of white light emitted from a specific bulb or fixture. CCT is measured in Kelvins (K), which is similar to degrees in Celsius. Different temperatures on the Kelvin scale represent different colors. For example, light at 2000K-3500K looks more orange/yellow and is called ultra warm or warm white, and as temperature increases in Kelvins, color changes to more of a “paper white” known as natural or neutral white (between 3500K and 5100K) and finally into a bluish-white known as cool white (5100K+).

The color temperature you choose will depend on the mood and shopping experience you want to give your customers. A retailer like Hollister for instance, who strives to create a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere, utilizes warm white and even ultra-warm white lights. Add on the cozy furniture setup and music and it’s clear that the goal is to get customers to hang out, relax, and spend more time in their store. Logic says that the more time you spend in a store, the higher the chances are that you’ll buy something.

Bed Bath and Beyond, on the other hand, uses a different approach to make sales. Their stores are filled with bright natural white light to showcase the wide variety of products that they offer. Customers are going to struggle in a store like BBB if it’s dimly lit. Knowing whether or not a shirt looks good is a lot different than buying new pots and pans. Dim light is flattering and more forgiving when customers are trying on clothes, but it won’t help you read whether or not your pans are dishwasher safe or scratch resistant. The lighting you choose should mesh well with the products you’re trying to sell. Using lighting to set the mood is a great idea so long as that mood doesn’t impact a customer’s ability to shop.

One of any retailer’s main goals when choosing lighting is to make sales. Use light to your advantage when trying to highlight certain things or create visual appeal. Make it obvious where new arrivals or sale items are. Use light to create a path that will guide customers through your entire store. Use LED sign modules for your store window or LED light boxes that feature your products. Anything unique, whether it’s cove lighting, lighting under a set of shelves, decorative light fixtures, or simply how you arrange your lights, is more likely to catch someone’s eye.

There are so many retail lighting options to choose from. Take a look at the list below to see some of the possibilities.

LED tube lights for fluorescent light fixtures

LED strips or puck lights for display case and shelf lighting

Retrofit can lights

Sign modules for store windows or creating custom signs

Canopy lights for outdoor overhangs

If your floor plan is constantly changing, it might be best to install a retail lighting system that can be changed as well. Track lights or gimbal and eyeball can lights can all be aimed in different directions. Depending on the products you’ll be displaying, you might also want to order new bulbs of varying intensities or color temperatures for these fixtures.

There are numerous places that are easy to overlook when planning your retail lighting project. Don’t forget the fitting rooms. This is where shoppers ultimately decide if a clothing item will work for them. Natural or warm white light is best, and a high-CRI LED light will show colors most accurately.

Illuminate aisles to guide customers through the store. Shoppers shouldn’t feel like they’re lost in a maze. Give them a sense of direction to know how to get where they want to go.

Don’t make it hard for customers to leave your store. Use LED light bulbs for exit sign backlighting and spotlighting. These lights are especially important during power outages or in emergencies.

If you’re putting your products on shelves, overhang from other shelves can cause shadows or limit light to the area. LED strip lights are a great solution for this. They have adhesive backings for easy installation, and most can be cut to fit the area that needs lighting. If you’re not crazy about the look of a strip under your shelves or if you want to eliminate hot spots (bright points of light), you can create your own LED strip light fixture using an aluminum channel and diffusing lens.

Make sure the checkout and customer service areas can be found easily in your store. Use different lighting or more lighting to make it stand out. Get creative with LED strip light fixtures around the counter, an edge-lit sign, or a custom-printed LED light box.

You might think that your parking lot has nothing to do with sales, but that is incorrect. If your parking lot is dimly lit, your store is not only less visible, but it’s also not as safe as it could be. A poorly lit parking lot can make customers feel uncomfortable and can lead to accidents. It can also be a problem for capturing security footage.  

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To see more retail lighting options, visit our commercial lighting category, indoor and outdoor LED lights can also be found in our light box, fixtures, landscape categories.