Practical advice on commercial lighting from LED retrofits to lighting design.

Growing up in Japan, I learned quite a bit about the challenges that come with learning a second language. I remember having both English-speaking and Japanese-speaking friends and being the translator between the two groups. And I had to work hard to make sure information didn't get lost in translation.

Oftentimes, there were tricky moments for me, as the translator. Like, when my English-speaking friends would tell a joke while smiling, that smile was perceived as nervousness by my Japanese friends. The cultures were so different, each having so many nuances, that most communications had challenges like that. I was constantly trying to figure out how to accurately capture the intent, the context, and proper body language from the native culture and properly translate it for the other culture.

As a company, Regency has always been driven by its values. We care deeply about serving customers well, valuing employees, and making an impact in the world around us. 

Linear LED tubes have become more competitive over recent months, and it also seems like there are more options than ever. So, if you’re operating with discontinued T12 fluorescent tubes, you’re probably beginning to weigh the options for a retrofit. 

Dimming LEDs may be getting easier and easier, but problems still can –– and often do –– surface when you try to run LED lamps on dimmer controls.

But why?

Unfortunately, there's no easy answer. Diagnosing LED dimming issues isn't all that unlike diagnosing a sickness.

You start by checking vitals before looking at the symptoms of the issue.

In a dimming scenario, the vital check is pretty simple:

Properly aimed lighting is one of the most important, yet easily overlooked aspects of great retail design. Done correctly, it will accent the merchandise you want to sell and lead your customers through your store. Check out this step-by-step guide on aiming to make your store attractive to customers.

There are some things in life that are inevitable: Death, taxes, and construction projects falling behind schedule. 

Actually, one of those things is escapable with good practice and a stroke of luck.

Here at Regency, we are privileged to have some of the most skilled project managers in the industry but there's sometimes no ducking the inevitability of setback.

Before we go too much further, let's get this out of the way: this is not a laundry list of excuses or a pity party. The intent here is to address the most common snags that emerge over the course of a project while explaining how we mitigate them. 

We're lighting people over here, as you know, so we'll be looking specifically at lighting projects and the challenges that come with them, but the principles below could be broadly applied to most any construction project.

Alice + Olivia launched in 2002 as a women's fashion brand that was exclusively sold in Barneys New York. The company's steady growth over the last 15 years now has it selling its clothing in 50 different countries. And part of that growth has come through the brand's expansion to its own brick and mortar locations.

Alice + Olivia opened its first boutiques in New York and Los Angeles in the mid-2000s and has since gone on to open 38 worldwide.

When LED lamps first started to make their way to the market, early adopters experienced a great deal of frustration when they attempted to get them to dim. In most cases, the technology just wasn’t far enough along, and problems persisted for years. So, in a setting like a restaurant, where ambiance is often king, many were understandably reluctant to make the switch to LED, opting instead to stick with conventional, less-efficient lighting technologies.

The lighting industry has waded through the often-choppy, often-murky waters of LED dimming over the last several years and, while a lot of the problems have been solved, flickering and strobing and early burnout still happens all the time.

Why?

Are you currently retrofitting to LEDs and left with some old lamps? Do you just pile them up in the back of your building?

Hopefully not.

As we move forward in the ever-changing world of lighting, staying educated and sensitive to the environmental impact of energy consumption and use of lighting has been more important than ever before. When you purchase lighting, you may not just be thinking about replacing the lamp that is in the socket, but also thinking about how the new product will impact energy, as well as the environment.

Imagine yourself ordering a medium rare, large, ribeye steak at a restaurant only to cut into it for the middle to appear orange and unappetizing. Or picture yourself at a fine dining restaurant that's so poorly lit your entire party has to take out their cell phones just to view the menu.