RelightDepot Lighting Blog

Energy Efficiency News and Lighting Retrofit Success Stories

Options for Office Lighting Fixtures

Options for Office Lighting Fixtures
Choosing the right office lighting fixtures for your lighting project doesn't have to be a chore. With a little planning and basic research, you can improve the lighting in your office and reduce your operating costs in one fell swoop. The type of fixtures that you can choose from will mainly depend on the type of ceiling in your office space. We’ll discuss the different options for the most popular commercial ceiling types and provide links to recommended fixtures. As always, if you need any help, please feel free to contact one of our lighting experts at (888) 548-6387 … Continue reading

May 30, 2014 by Ray De Varona.

Top Mobile (Apple & Android) Apps for Lighting Contractors

Top Mobile (Apple & Android) Apps for Lighting Contractors
The whole world has gone mobile. It’s estimated that two-thirds of the more than six billion people on planet earth own a mobile communication device. In America, the proportion is ever higher, and those in the lighting industry can benefit greatly from having lighting audit software at their fingertips. There’s nothing like having a lighting audit worksheet along with a calculator in the palm of your hand. Mobile devices armed with a lighting audit app or energy audit app will have many benefits over the traditional laptop computer with similar software. They’re lightw … Continue reading

July 26, 2013 by Ray De Varona.

The Difference Between Standard, White, and Enhanced Reflectors

Many linear fluorescent high bay fixtures are available with a number of different reflector options. This allows the fixture to be configured properly for a broad range of applications. The reflector material in fluorescent high bay fixtures determines how much light is reflected back down towards the work surface. The higher the reflectivity, the more efficient the high bay fixture is at delivering the light that the lamps generate down to the work plane. The typical options are as follows: Standard aluminum reflector: This is typically a matte reflective aluminum … Continue reading

February 15, 2012 by Ray De Varona.

Calculating the Return on Investment for Lighting Retrofit Projects

Calculating the Return on Investment for Lighting Retrofit Projects
As much as I don't like it, lighting retrofit projects for warehouses and commercial offices have to compete for corporate funds just like all other projects. If it was up to me, lighting retrofits would just be given the green light and prioritized above all other capital requests, and corporations large and small would come flocking to RelightDepot for their energy efficient lighting needs. In the real world, project sponsors have to justify why they want to spend money on new lights if the existing ones work just fine. The most common way to do that is by building a b … Continue reading

January 26, 2012 by Ray De Varona.

Identifying and Handling PCB Ballasts During a Lighting Retrofit

Identifying and Handling PCB Ballasts During a Lighting Retrofit
Prior to the late 1970's, ballast manufacturers used a group of compounds called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, to insulate and cool the inner components in certain electrical products. One common application was to cool the internal capacitor of fluorescent lamp ballasts. These components contained a small amount of PCB oil and most of it is typically absorbed by several layers of paper within the device. Since these compounds were found to be health hazards and were linked to the development of certain cancers, they were prohibited by the US Congress in 1979. The … Continue reading

January 5, 2012 by Ray De Varona.

Total System Watts for Old Fixtures

Total System Watts for Old Fixtures
I'm sure you've realized by now that in order to calculate the return on investment for a new lighting system, you're going to have to know how much energy your new fixtures will save you. In order to know that, you're going to have to have an idea of total wattage the existing fixtures you have are consuming. You could dismantle a sample of the fixture and read the specs for the ballast and lamps you have, but that can be tedious and very time consuming. Another option is to use a standardized system wattage table that provides a very good rough estimate on the total sy … Continue reading

March 13, 2011 by Ray De Varona.