Tips for Making Your Retail Lighting Distinctive with LEDs

Retail lighting should do more than merely illuminate a store. It should welcome and draw customers in the door. How is this done? By creating an attractive ambiance unique to your store. This is already common practice in the paint color choices of store interiors. But establishing ambiance through effective use of lighting is under-exploited, especially through effective use of LED lighting.

Ambiance starts with using the right light color temperature. For those unfamiliar with the term “color temperature,” it’s a way of describing the warmth, coolness, or brightness of white light. For example, light from a fireplace has a warm if somewhat dim appearance. Incandescent lighting also has a degree of warmth. Sunlight however, is very bright and resembles neither fire light nor incandescent light. Color temperature is measured in degrees Kelvin (K). This is the temperature you would need to heat up a block of carbon to produce the same type of light. This is only a convention used to describe the light quality. LED lights produce very little heat, but can put out light with different color temperatures.

There are three color temperatures:

  • Warm white light. Warm white light has a temperature range between 2000 K to 3000 K. It has a yellowish white appearance and produces a cozy and intimate effect. It works best where you want to create a relaxed and intimate atmosphere.
  • Cool white light. Cool white light has a temperature range of 3100 K to 4500 K. This light temperature is bright and vibrant. Its color is white with a slight blue tinge. It works well when you wish to emphasize the natural colors of your merchandise.
  • Daylight light. Daylight light as the name suggests, simulates daylight. It has a temperature range of 4600 K to 6500 K. The light is white with blue in it. Like being out in the sunshine, it produces an invigorating effect. This works to great effect when selling outdoor goods.

LED lights with adjustable color temperature are available so that you can get it just right. This also allows you to adjust the light temperature of different sections of your store to different settings.

Other effects possible with LEDs include:

  • Adding accent colors to walls and ceilings. This is a less committing way of adding accents than using paint. If you don’t like it or would like to experiment, change the color of the lighting.
  • Skylights. Rather than cutting a hole in your roof, install an LED skylight panel. Some are white in color but appear as though real sunlight is shining through them. Others simulate clouds against a blue sky. These sky lights also put out the same white light that you encounter outdoors on a sunny day. However, they don’t emit ultra violet. This works well when selling outdoor goods such as camping gear, fishing gear, or lawn and garden products.
  • Texture emphasis. LED lights that shine across the surface of brick or stone surfaces, cast shadows that emphasize their attractive texture. Experiment with different colors such as reds, blues, or purple.

Design Considerations in Hotel Lighting

Many elements contribute to the success of a hotel, and hotel lighting is one that can make a huge impact in how customers perceive a hotel. Attractive fixtures enhance a room’s appearance, and bright lighting can project a cheery ambience, while dim lighting can lend a mysterious air to the establishment. At the same time, lighting must meet the needs of the hotel guests.

Whether the hotel guest is in town for business or leisure, the room should contain a variety of lights for different tasks, moods and times of day. There should be overhead lights as well as bedside and desk lamps. Bathroom lights should be bright enough to allow guests to easily perform the tasks required in getting ready for the day. A floor lamp near an easy chair provides good light for reading.

Dimmer switches help satisfy guests with different brightness needs. One room may house a businesswoman who requires ample lighting as she works late into the night on a big presentation scheduled for the next day, while the room adjacent holds a vacationing couple who desire dim, romantic lighting. Dimmer switches allow the guests to adjust the brightness to their liking.

The fixture style helps establish the ambience of the hotel, both in public areas and guest rooms. The style of the fixture should fit well within the overall decorating style of the room and coordinate with other design elements. Take shape and material into account when selecting fixtures for a particular room. For example, a modern, geometric, stainless steel fixture will look out of place in a room decorated with a traditional brick fireplace and claw foot arm chairs.

Trends in Hotel Lighting

Hotels in the U.S. spend more than $7.5 billion on energy every year, as reported by the EPA. This equates to about $2,200 per room per year taking into account the more than 47,000 hotels and motels in America. Given these facts, there is significant incentive within the hospitality industry to take advantage of advances in technology to reduce costs. At the same time, consideration for an environment that caters to the needs and comfort of guests is equally important.

Hotel lighting accounts for a hefty portion of total hotel energy consumption, and lighting is moving toward energy efficiency in the form of CFL (compact florescent lighting) and LED lamps as the use of incandescent lighting decreases. Although CFL and LED bulbs are initially more of an investment, the energy savings and lower maintenance makes them a financial win. Also, most standard lamps can now accommodate CFL and LED bulbs, making the change relatively painless while still providing lighting that is aesthetically pleasing for guests.

Lighting public spaces such as atriums, lobbies and hallways is becoming more important as baby boomers are becoming senior citizens, and safety is more of a concern. The needs of millennials has also come into focus. They’re a connected group that tends to share their views on a hotel or other venue through social media. They generally seek pleasing public spaces in which to work and are more attuned to design. It is important to consider combinations of task lighting and ambient lighting that will appeal to millennials as a whole.

While these ideas are trending, we understand that each client has considerations unique to his or her hotel or chain.

Restaurant And Bar Lighting: Create An Ambience Your Customers Will Not Forget

When you think about the holiday season and all of the excitement, what do you usually think about? We see plenty of decorations and lights around the neighborhoods and in the workplace locations. During the holiday season, your customers and guests are usually in the holiday spirit. You can make your restaurant environment better by creating an amazing atmosphere for your restaurant.

Your restaurant lighting can greatly be improved by using LED lighting. How can LED lighting be used to improve your restaurant during the holiday season or whenever you want to create an ambience your customers will never forget?

Liquor Shelf

If you have a liquor shelf in your restaurant, you can attract the attention of everyone in your restaurant when you have a bottle shelf that has color-changing lights. When the shelves are lit, you will see how the lights reflect off all the bottles on the shelf. Your bottle shelf can become one of the main points of attraction at your restaurant.

Bar Tops/Bottoms

You do not have to limit your LED lighting to your liquor shelf. You can use the lights on the bottom of the bar and at the top of the bar. Can you imagine the environment you can create with bar lights, especially when you dim the lights in the restaurant? It will be an addition customers will see as unique and keep in mind when spreading the word about your restaurant.

Dance Floor

Do you have a dance floor in your restaurant? If you really want to light up the room and create an unforgettable night, you can use LED lighting on your dance floor. The different lights on the dance floor matching the beats and flow of the music will add a fun atmosphere that will ensure a happier client base.

You can add an incredible touch to your restaurant, bar, or club with LED lighting.

How to redesign your restaurant and incorporate functional lighting in the redesign!

Part and parcel of being a restaurateur is knowing how to make your restaurant look as good as the food you make.

With that in mind, here are some great restaurant design tips and tricks that also incorporate functional restaurant lighting in the design:

  • Before you even meet with an interior designer and/or a contractor, you need to assess your personality. Yes, your restaurant is not only an extension of your food, but of your personality as well. For example, ambient lighting is perfect for a small, romantic cafe, but bright fluorescent lighting is perfect for a large, industrial-style diner. Both types of lighting, of course, can be made energy-efficient!
  • Position your brand accordingly, especially if you have exclusivity in a market. For example, if you’re the only restaurant in town that offers brick oven pizza, positioning your brand as the onlybrick oven pizza restaurant in town will make you stand out from the rest.. and give you dominance in the market.
  • Don’t ignore the small details: even the silverware that you pick out for your restaurant matters.
  • The decorations you choose in the restaurant should also be in line with the rest of the theme, as well.

Of course, the design of a restaurant shouldn’t be taken lightly, and is best done by a professional. In addition to providing tips on decor and construction, a true professional can incorporate the best lighting solutions into his/her design.. and that’s where we come in. Relumination, LLC specializes in helping companies of all sizes reduce energy costs, lower maintenance expenses, decrease their environmental footprint and improve their quality of light through energy-efficient lighting solutions.

Consider Upgrading to LED for Retail Lighting to Enjoy Cooler Temperatures

For any retail business, lighting is one of the most crucial parts as it can display merchandise in a positive or negative way. Certain color temperatures can make products look more appealing, but another important aspect to take into consideration is the temperature of your retail space. Upgrading to LED for retail lighting can keep the temperature down, which will help you enjoy several other benefits as well.

Reduced Energy Costs

When you do not have to worry about your light bulbs producing excessive heat, your energy costs will naturally decrease. It will not be necessary to run your cooling system as frequently as before, and you might even be able to get away with not running it at all during certain parts of the year.

Enhanced Comfort

For your employees and customers, comfort is key. Comfortable employees will work harder, smarter, and better to not only keep your business looking and functioning properly, but to ensure that your customers are happy with their experience from the moment they walk in the door. Additionally, customers will likely stay longer in a comfortable retail space compared to an uncomfortable one.

Less Risk of Harm

Although most of the light bulbs should be in areas where people cannot touch them easily, you will enjoy having LED lights as they do not radiate enough heat to harm those who might touch the bulbs. It allows you to install these lights where you would normally have to avoid due to the risk of injury.

3 Benefits of Upgrading Your Hotel Lighting

When choosing a hotel for the night, or weekend, most customers don’t give much thought to the hotel lighting, but it does play a huge role in the atmosphere of your hotel. There are many benefits of upgrading your hotel lighting. Below we will discuss the top three.

3 Benefits of Upgrading Your Lighting

1. Improved customer experience: we have all been there, you walk into a business and the lighting is dull. This dullness makes everything look dingy, and old-looking. The last thing you want as a hotel owner is to give a dingy, old-looking impression of your hotel to a new guest. New lighting changes everything. Your customers will have a better experience if they can walk through the door to a hotel that looks amazing, and new lighting can do that.

2. Save money: your power bill can continuously go up year after year because of old lighting. The older your lighting is, the harder they have to work to light your building. Replacing the lighting in your hotel can save you hundreds of dollars a year on power bills.

3. Going green: when it comes to lighting, you can make a huge impact on the environment by upgrading. New lighting uses less energy, making a great impact on the environment and your power bill.

Finally, the above referenced benefits are just three of the reasons you should upgrade your lighting. There are many more. When you can please your customers, save money, and help the environment, you are doing something right.

Bask in the Warm Glow of Energy Efficiency

Your business is booming, but your bank account is suffering.  As you look around your busy restaurant, you wonder why?  Then you see it, the flickering nuisance of another incandescent light bulb about to die.  It’s your restaurant’s lighting!  You may have remodeled everything else last year, but your lighting system is original to the building that was built in 1970.  You know it’s time to upgrade, but you’ve bought LED light bulbs for your home and while they’re long lasting they cast a blue light that leave you feeling cold even on the warmest of nights.  You shudder to think of how it will make your food appear.  Fear not!  LED light bulbs are not as limited as you may think; we can help you turn your restaurant’s lighting into something energy-efficient and beautiful!

The Kitchen

This is the place you would want those bright LED lights.  Relumination can work with you to understand your employee’s needs and design the best lighting system for your kitchen.  Perhaps the prep station in the corner has always been a bit dim or your walk in freezer could use a light or two.  Relumination can add lighting wherever you need while cutting your energy bills.

The Lobby

When your customers walk in you want to amaze them, but not blow them away with bright blue-toned lights.  Using LED bulbs with mid-level lumens (the system for measuring the color of light produced by a bulb) and strategic placement, your customers will be drawn in by the inviting atmosphere.

The Dining Area

Lower the lumens!  The higher the lumens the brighter and more blue the light.  For example a 75-watt incandescent bulb produces 1,100 lumens.  So for your dining room, Relumination would install a lighting system using bulbs that produce lower lumens and a warm, relaxing light for your guests.

The Bar

Are you paying more for colored incandescent bulbs to give your bar or other areas of your restaurant a little pizzazz?  Then the switch to LED lighting will save you money.  Not only do LED bulbs last 50,000 hours longer, but some are also color adjustable.  Having a special on Appletinis?  Change the backlighting color of your bar to green to celebrate the special without having to change the bulb!

Stop worrying about which light bulb you’ll have to change next.

Benefits of Replacing the Interior Lighting in Your Coffee Shop

As an owner of a coffee shop, it’s important that you’re always looking into new ways to keep your small business energy-efficient and inviting for customers. If it’s been years since you’ve changed the interior lighting, you may find that you’re paying much more than you need to be on energy costs. Since the costs of replacing the lighting in your entire coffee shop can be high if you haven’t been planning to do a replacement for a long time, it’s a good idea to look into all the benefits that you can enjoy.

Plenty of Options in Styles

Exchanging the lighting in your coffee shop business can be the perfect excuse to make some other remodeling changes in the space. From hanging lights to wall mounted lighting, you’ll want to look into what styles stand out the most to you.

Reduced Energy Costs

The biggest benefit business owners find when replacing the lighting is the energy savings. Older lighting, even by a few hours, can be more costly to power than you may be comfortable with. By changing out the lights, you could be lowering your energy bill and even be eligible for tax savings from the government.

Adjust the Lighting

Coffee shops are unique in that dim lighting is often better than stark, white lights. By changing out the lighting in your coffee shop, you can pick out lights that look great and produce just enough light for the space to be inviting.

Utilize Simple Changes to Save Money on Self-Storage Lighting

When it comes to self-storage expenses, lighting is usually a large portion of them, but it really depends on the lighting setup you have for your business. Fortunately, it is possible to turn this major expense into a minor one by making the correct changes to your self-storage lighting situation.

A few simple tips will give you more than enough knowledge to make a huge difference in costs.

Install Dimmers Inside

Depending on the day, you may need some light in your office because the natural sunlight is not enough to light effectively, but this does not mean you should have to use the maximum amount of light you can get from your lights. An easy fix is installing dimmers, which allow you to adjust how much lighting is produced. Being able to adjust the lighting to your specific needs will help you better control lighting costs.

Get Motion Sensor Lighting

Instead of having night lights on at all times, you can get motion sensor lighting to give you, your employees, and your customers the light they need to traverse through your facility safely. It is a very energy-efficient way to use lighting as it is only used when there are people around.

Use Globe Fixtures for Outdoors

In order to maximize the light you get on facility grounds, you should look into globe fixtures, as this will produce reliable area-of-effect lighting. It is an addition that will prevent you from needing so many lights, which is another great way to save money, but while also providing enough light to those in need.

While these methods will definitely help you save money, there are even more ways to reduce costs.