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Lighting Insights Blog

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

Scroll down for our latest posts.

What's the difference between commercial grade and residential grade lighting products?

Posted by Luis Espino on Feb 3, 2020 11:25:00 AM
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You can find a good deal on light bulbs at Home Depot and Walmart. Sometimes, customers bring that to our attention. 

How do these stores sell at such low prices? Are they selling the same light bulbs as us? They are targeting a more residential customer, so are they selling residential grade lighting products?

Is there something different about a residential lamp when compared with a commercial one?

Usually, no – there's no difference or distinction, at least according to one of our top manufacturers. Though the products are packaged differently, their guts are almost always the same.

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1 Comment Click here to read/write comments

Topics: LED, FAQs, Manufacturer warranty, LED retrofit, Lighting as a service

What is a ballast?

Posted by Terri Duncan on Dec 6, 2019 10:00:00 AM
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If you outfit your buildings with fluorescent, HID, or plug-and-play linear LED lighting, you depend on a device called a ballast.

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0 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: Lighting 101, FAQs, Ballast, Fluorescent light

Is there an incandescent light bulb ban?

Posted by Scott Anderson on Nov 8, 2019 9:30:00 AM
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If you had asked us a couple of months ago, we thought we would be writing about new light bulb restrictions that could potentially phase out incandescent light bulbs. New energy efficiency standards for light bulbs were set to go into effect on January 1, 2020.

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20 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: Lighting 101, FAQs, Incandescent lighting

Why do lighting projects fall behind schedule? 4 obstacles to avoid

Posted by Chris Radosta on May 5, 2017 1:55:00 PM
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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.

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0 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: FAQs, Project Management

When to consider an extended LED lighting warranty

Posted by Scott Anderson on Aug 10, 2016 7:10:00 PM
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Warranties are almost always an important consideration in the buying process. Whether you're buying a new car, new tires, or a new stereo, smart buying is knowing what kind of protection you have on your purchase should the product prematurely malfunction. 

Buying lighting is no different, especially these days when more and more buildings are switching to long-life lighting. When you make that purchase, you want to know for sure that your lighting will last as long as the manufacturer says it will. 

But malfunctions happen from time to time. So how can you find that security?

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0 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: Inside the Industry, Lighting maintenance, FAQs, LED lifespan, Manufacturer warranty

The 4 types of lighting audits Regency recommends (and how to choose between them)

Posted by Dustin Conley on Jul 19, 2016 1:20:00 PM
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Completing a lighting audit is a helpful tool for keeping lighting projects on time and on budget. Are they a must-have?

Well, not on every project, but in some situations, the risks of foregoing an audit may greatly increase the likelihood of completing that project late or over budget. 

What are the benefits of a lighting audit? In general, a quality audit will give you a better handle on the expected project cost and return on investment. Additionally, it will give you a clearer picture of installation conditions, minimizing surprises when it's time to install. 

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0 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: Lighting maintenance, FAQs, Project Management

Are LEDs reliable enough for me to upgrade? [Video]

Posted by Tad Mehringer on Mar 9, 2016 12:05:00 PM
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We wish we could tell you that LEDs will never fail – that they will last an eternity. But we'd be liars if we spread such rumors. That is just not the case. 

Although LEDs are extremely efficient and carry very long average rated life ratings, there is nevertheless always a chance they may fail. The smartest thing you can do when looking to make an LED buy is to align yourself with a reputable LED manufacturer, so if and when something does fail, you're covered by a company that will back you with warranty and customer support – not one that recently went out of business.

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0 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: LED, FAQs

What are the best lighting retrofit opportunities for a movie theater?

Posted by Rick Weber on Mar 8, 2016 11:18:00 AM
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We get asked on a regular basis about the best products for different lighting applications. As lighting distributors with access to the product lines of over 1,000 vendors, our approach to answering such questions can never really be one-size-fits-all.

The reality is that the process of narrowing down to the best options requires a true understanding your specific application.

(We’re beginning to outline our recommendations based on the type of business so you don’t have to read between the lines on a more general list of products. Stay tuned for more articles like this geared for specific industries.)

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0 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: LED, Movie theater lighting, FAQs

What does GE's CFL phaseout mean for the lighting industry?

Posted by Scott Anderson on Feb 17, 2016 2:56:43 PM
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Technological developments and changes in the lighting industry are non-stop, and that reality made the news once again earlier this month when GE announced that it would cease production of compact fluorescent bulbs.

Learn more about CFLs in our post, 'What are CFL bulbs and where should they be used?'

This is big news for the lighting world. 

Compact fluorescents (CFL) for years inhabited the energy-efficient corner of the market, but GE’s recent announcement further confirms the quick and imminent takeover of LEDs.  

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0 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: Inside the Industry, Product Comparison, LED, FAQs, Fluorescent light

Why LED lighting isn’t always the right choice

Posted by Tad Mehringer on Nov 5, 2015 10:30:00 AM
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The headline of this article is not an error.

“Not using LEDs?!” you say to yourself, “Why, LED is the future of lighting!”

Let me tell you a sad story to help you understand where I’m coming from.

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0 Comments Click here to read/write comments

Topics: LED, FAQs

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© Regency Lighting
All Rights Reserved.

  • Problems We Solve
  • Products + Services
  • Lighting Resources
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map