Luxury Home Magazine

Pacific Luxury Living Luxury Home Services | 43 A Green Light For The Environment By Glenda Anderson, CEO & Master Designer, Details International, Honolulu The issues: with incandescent lighting, 90% of electricity usage produces heat and only 10% produces light; fluorescent and com- pact fluorescent lamps use less energy, but contribute to mercury contamination because only 3% nationwide are properly disposed of; halogen and xenon lamps use lower voltage with high lumen output, but generate substantial heat. Enter the light emitting diode (LED). A new-generation 16-watt LED lamp produces about the same light as a 100-watt incandescent, requiring only 10% of the electricity. Many fixtures are now dimmable, and LEDs can replace incandescents, Halogen MR16s on low voltage track lights, and neon lighting on building exteriors. Properly installed, they last 30,000-70,000 hours, emit almost no heat, and are unbreakable. The color and quality of the light output have been improved as well, so you can select the color temperature and lumen output. In some applications you don’t even see the LED, but rather the reflec- tion of color-mixed LEDs spilling out high lumen cones of light in your chosen color. LEDs have come a long way in providing better lighting, in a more environmentally friendly way. Honolulu Grand Penthouse Listed by Donald ‘Matt’ Pakkala, Page 19 Goes Green ~ Eco Column E d i t o r ' s C o r n e r E d i t o r ' s C o