Going green?
	Everyone of us has control over the impact that we as individuals make on the Earth. From the cars that we choose to drive to the light bulbs we use in our houses and businesses. Our activities and habits are factors that can harm or help the Earth. Our impact is our carbon footprint, which is the measurement of how our activities effect the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, in units of carbon dioxide. Together, we can reduce our carbon footprint by saving energy, reducing our need for energy, recycling and reusing.

CFL's; Compact Fluorescent Lamps(CFL's) are becoming mainstream in the U.S and all over the World. CFL's have grown in popularity because they use less energy and give the same light output as an incandescent light bulb. CFL's come in various shapes and sizes and are getting smaller and smaller so they fit in almost any application. CFL's not only save you energy but they last 10 x longer than a standard incandescent. CFL's use about 75% less energy and produce about 75% less heat. The heat that is produced when the lights are on adds to our carbon footprint. Did you know that 90% of the energy used by a standard light bulb is given off as heat. Incandescent light bulbs are very inefficient and use more energy to produce heat than light. If we can reduce our wattage in the socket we will reduce the heat output, our power consumption and our carbon footprint. And since most of the power in the U.S. is produced by coal burning power plants a reduction in the need for energy will lessen mercury emissions and greenhouse gases significantly. To check out our CFL Selection click here.

LED's; Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) are starting to become very popular in the commercial and industrial marketplace. They still have a long way to go before they become a mainstream lighting option but the LED manufacturers are fastly improving the technology. LED's are great for use in indirect lighting, cove lighting or areas that are hard to reach or service. LED's can save up to 90% over conventional lighting applications and can last up to 100,000 hours. LED's should not be used in every application, they have some issues with heat build up and the particular current that is being fed to them, electrically. We suggest speaking to one of our Lighting Specialists about your situation and the application where you would like to use LED's. To check out our LED Selection click here.

Photocontrols & Motion Sensors; These technologies have been around for a long time and are great for regulating the lights in a building or a home. Installing these is simple and are great for use where light is needed on demand. Check out our Selection of Photocontrols and Motion Sensors.

Daylight Harvesting Technologies; Daylight Harvesting is a new technology that simply takes into consideration the daylight being input into a room or building. Digital sensors are placed in the building that automatically detect the light levels that are introduced by the sun. The sensors then lower or raise the light levels in the room to form a balance between artificial light and natural daylight.

Recycle; CFL's, fluorescents & ballasts are all lighting products that need to be recycled. Each state has different regulations on the disposal of these products, you can learn more at www.lamprecycle.org. There are not many recycling options in the country right now but many manufacturers and the government are working to remedy the situation. In the meantime you can find local recyclers that offer recycling services at www.earth911.org or you can purchase recycling containers by clicking here. These containers are prepaid recycling containers that include the package, terms, instructions, prepaid shipping back to the recycler and documentation that the lamps were recycled. Once you have purchased the container you fill it up with the lamps you are wanting to recycle and the Recycling Company will pick up the container, recycle the lamps and send documentation of the recycling back to you!