Industry Insider: Northwest Electrical Supply

LED technology has been rapidly improving since the first white light-emitting diode was produced in 1993. In the past three years, LED lighting has taken the lighting world by storm as they become a cost-effective replacement to aging fluorescent and incandescent lights, said Thomas Reindl, commercial lighting manager for Northwest Electrical Supply in Mount Prospect and McHenry.

Now that this technology hurdle has been overcome, lighting experts are finding more and better applications for these light-emitting diodes, which are more akin to solid-state computer chips than filament-based light bulbs.

“I attend a conference each year called Light Fair and for the last two years we have jokingly called it ‘LED Fair’ because 90 percent of what they have been showing has been LED and the other 10 percent has been lighting control systems,” Reindl said.

“People prefer LED technology because it is more green than the twist-type, compact fluorescent bulbs people have been buying,” he said. “If they convert to LED from incandescent bulbs they can save 75 (percent) to 90 percent on energy, while if they convert to LED from fluorescent they can save 40 (percent) to 50 percent on energy.”

Reindl said LED is definitely the greenest option because the are 100 percent recyclable and lack the harmful mercury of fluorescents.

Home and business owners also need to start thinking in terms of buying a “lighting appliance” rather than a light bulb, said Reindl, because LED bulbs seldom need to be changed and could conceivably last longer than your 30-year mortgage. So a higher initial investment should be a minor concern if you think in terms of spreading that cost over the life of the lighting source.

The average incandescent bulb boasts a life of 1,500 hours, while a comparable fluorescent bulb advertises an average life of between 8,000 and 12,000 hours, Reindl said. Compare both of those to an LED bulb with its average life of 50,000 hours, and you can see why they have become so popular.

“They are perfect, for example, for those big outdoor landscape lights that used to have to be waterproofed with gaskets so that the bulbs could be changed. Now that isn’t necessary. They can be totally sealed because you don’t have to change the bulbs,” he said.

The better quality white LED lights have also lost that bluish glow with which they were once afflicted, Reindl added.

“Quality LED lights don’t wash out colors like fluorescents and, unlike incandescent bulbs, they easily show the difference between blue and black colors so you don’t walk out of the house with mismatched socks,” he said. “Many quality LED products are also dimmable and fully controllable.”

Currently, the most popular residential uses for LED lighting are in cove lighting, under-cabinet lighting and recessed cans. Many of which can be done as a retrofit installation or as a new install, he said.

But you need to do your homework on LEDs or go to a store where someone is willing to do that homework for you.

“It is like the Wild West out there when it comes to LED lighting. People are making lots of claims and much of what you can buy on the Internet or in the home centers is not so good. You really need to view lighting as an investment in your home and for that, you need to go to an expert,” Reindl said.

“I read all of the charts and graphs in the technical material we get on each product and make sure we are carrying what people really want to buy. This is our market niche at Northwest Electrical,” he said. “Our salespeople make sure customers get the exact aesthetic they are looking for in a complete lighting package that is right for them.”

The other hot item in lighting stores today are the whole-home lighting control systems which, thanks to wireless technology, have dropped in price as much as 70 percent from comparable systems just a few years ago.

These systems control everything in the home from heating and air conditioning, to indoor and outdoor lighting, security systems and cameras, and even power window shades — all from keypads in your home or from your mobile phone while you’re on the road.

“It is a totally different world now, with regard to these systems, primarily because wireless technology has eliminated the need to change existing electrical. We don’t have to rewire your home anymore to install home automation systems, and we are experts at integrating these new technologies together with cutting-edge LED technologies,” Reindl said.

Northwest Electrical Supply has locations at 600 E. Rand Rd., Mount Prospect, and at 2414 W. Route 120, McHenry. Call (847) 255-3700 or (815) 363-1955, or visit www.nwelectrical.com.