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| November 21, 2008 |
Sustainable Lighting
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Lighting Terminology
CRI is the ability of the light source to produce natural colors in objects. CRI is measured on a scale from 0 - 100 where 100 is best. The higher the CRI the more natural people and objects will appear when lighted. Incandescent and halogen bulbs as well as natural daylight have a 100 CRI.
Initial lumens in lighting calculations is the total light output at the very beginning of the lamps life before depreciation (light losses) occur.
Lamp lumen depreciation is common for all gas discharge lamps. As the lamps age through use they emit less light. This characteristic must be accommodated for when lighting design professionals predict maintained light levels.
Lumen maintenance is the ability of a lamp to retain its initial light output over time. Greater lumen maintenance means a lamp will remain brighter longer. The opposite of lumen maintenance is lumen depreciation.
Mean lumens is light output typically evaluated at 40% of rated lamp life.
With some manufacturers of high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps the mean lumens is rated at 50% of their useable life, yet other manufacturers rate HPS lamps at 40% of their useable life. The three types of metal halide (MH), mercury vapor (HgV), and low pressure sodium (LPS) lamps have their mean lumen rating established at 40% of their useable life.
Fluorescent and compact fluorescent (CFL) lamps apply a slightly different term called ’design lumens’ which is essentially the same thing as mean lumens. Most manufacturers rate the different types of fluorescent lamps at 40% of the lamp’s useable life.
The length of operation (in hours) at which point an average of 50% of a large sample of lamps will still be operational and 50% will not.
Lightbulbs and ballasts are our business, and since 1939 Voss Lighting has been successfully serving commercial, industrial, and residential customers as well as public institutions such as state agencies, schools, universities, and colleges. We bring 69 years of experience, millions of dollars of inventory, and 14 nation-wide shipping locations to the table, and we proudly feature a full-line of quality lighting products from Philips Lighting, Advance Transformer, and Exitronix. We also offer quality lighting products from GE, TCP, Technical Consumer Products, ULT, Magnetek, Universal, Panasonic, Eye Lighting, Ushio, Venture, Westinghouse, Angelo Brothers, Osram Sylvania, Fulham, Robertson, and many others.
We carry the most common light bulb types including fluorescent light bulbs, compact fluorescents, incandescents, IRC, quartz, decorative light bulbs, floodlights, spotlights, and heat lamps. We sell halogen light bulbs including par16, par20, par30, par36, par38, and a variety of single-ended and double-ended halogen bulbs. We carry a wide range of audio visual, projector, STTV, and ansi bulbs such as mr8, mr11, mr16 lamps. We offer a broad range of ballasts and transformers including both magnetic and electronic fluorescent, HID kits, pulse start, ceramalux, agrolite, retrolux, retrowhite, white son, protected, mastercolor, ceramic, CDMI, metal halide, high pressure sodium and low pressure sodium, mercury vapor, and dimming ballasts. Our HID offerings include metal halide, mercury vapor, high pressure sodium, and low pressure sodium. Our specialty products include items like miniature lamps, germicidal, ultraviolet, blacklight, Infrared, actinic, photo, stage studio, SSTV, LED, solid state lighting, safety-coated bulbs, flicker bulbs, linestra, lumiline, long-life incandescents, neodymium, full spectrum, and colored light bulbs. And to complete our product offerings we also carry batteries, wire nuts, fluorescent starters, emergency ballasts, lenses and tubeguards, sockets and lampholders, socket extenders, and socket reducers.