Proper aiming and adjusting of the accent lighting at a museum or retail store is key to creating an exciting and dynamic environment. Keeping that focus is just as important. With halogen lighting, the lamps need to be replaced several times a year.

Why aren’t Solais lamps UL listed? Why are they ETL? Which is better ETL or UL? We at Solais get asked these questions all the time. I’m going to try and briefly explain the ETL vs. UL showdown here.

Why doesn’t Solais provide LM-80 results on their lamps? That’s because LM-80 refers to the LED itself, outside of its environment.

Why doesn’t Solais have LM-79 certification? Well, that has a simple answer, there is no such thing. LM-79 is a testing process not a certification.

As LEDs have continued to improve in efficacy, Solais has continued to improve our Lumen output and Center Beam Candle Power (CBCP) of all our actively-cooled lamps.

The most common mistake in lighting terms associated with the quantity of light is between the intensity of a light source and its total output. The total output of a light source is described in “lumens”.

LED sources are a new solution for virtually all lighting needs and have the potential to change the way we live and consume energy. The largest limitation currently slowing the adoption of LED lighting is simply that it is new and not well understood.

We recently evaluated the Solais LED LR38 (21W, 1000 lumens) against a PAR38 halogen (90W, 130V, 1310 lumens) for a high-profile client. The client had some initial concerns due to the apparent large difference in lumens between the two products, but this was simply because they did not have a proper understanding of the importance behind the 130V rating.

LED lighting has numerous characteristics that make it unique from conventional incandescent and fluorescent light sources. Understanding these characteristics and the technical capabilities of the technology will help one understand the true potential of LED lighting.

LED technology is a completely new approach to lighting. Because of this, many people, including lighting designers, reps, sales, distributors and other light industry professionals, don’t fully understand LEDs.