We handle many types of electrical services in Buffalo, NY and throughout Western New York. Although we’re busy helping out with electrical repairs, we also take on many electrical upgrade jobs to help local homes use less energy and enjoy greater safety.
One of the best ways we can upgrade a home’s electrical system is to do a lighting retrofit to change out the incandescent lights with LED lights. You may have heard about LED lights but aren’t certain what they really are—or what they can do for you. We’re happy to fill you in, as well as take care of your lighting retrofit when you’re ready.
The LED Light Basics
LED stands for light-emitting diode. With a standard halogen light, an electric current passes through a filament, causing the filament to burn hot and emit light. In an LED light, the current passes through a semiconductor microchip, and this semiconductor changes the electrical energy into light. Both lights emit heat, but an LED light is cooler and contains a heat-sink plate to remove the extra heat away from the diodes.
The Benefits of LED Lights
LED lights are more efficient at changing electricity into illumination. This, combined with the reduced amount of heat they emitting gives them several big advantages compared to halogen lights.
- Lower cost to run: LED lights require less electricity to run because of their high efficiency. For example, an ENERGY STAR-certified LED light with 800 lumens of brightness costs $1.26 a year to run. A similar halogen light with 800 lumens of brightness costs $6.02 a year to run—five times greater than the LED light! When you factor all the lights in a house and replace them with LED lights, the savings will easily be hundreds of dollars a year.
- Longer life: The standard halogen bulb can last 3 or maybe 4 years. An LED light can last for 11 years. Although LED lights are more expensive to purchase, they more than pay back that cost with their energy savings and longevity.
- No extra heat: During the summer, all the extra heat that standard lights put into a home creates greater discomfort and more need to run the AC. LED lights are much cooler and won’t interfere with indoor comfort.
- Better for the environment: Not only is lower energy use better for the environment, the longevity of LED bulbs means far fewer bulbs ending up in landfills.
LED Lights Are Flexible
You can purchase many types of LED lights in different colors to meet just about any need in your house. It’s not difficult to make a full house upgrade to LED lights both indoors and outdoors: simply work with our electricians and they’ll take care of you. You’ll enjoy many years of savings—these lights provide a fantastic return on investment.
If you have any questions about LED lights and indoor and outdoor lighting upgrades, please call our office. You can trust our technicians, and we back up all our services with a 100% guarantee—you don’t pay unless you’re satisfied!
Schedule service today: Scherer Electric Is Western New York’s Favorite Electrician!
