Today we’ll be discussing CRI, standing for “Colour Rendering Index,” and why you should keep it in mind when buying LEDs to replace your traditional lighting.

Have you ever gone to a store, tried on navy clothes in their well-lit, mirrored changing room, only to go home and find it looks black under your household lighting? That’s CRI.  

CRI is the measurement of a light’s ability to faithfully render colours when compared to natural light/daylight, and is important for not only retail applications where colour is key (galleries, high fashion, hairdressing) but for your day to day use as well.  

It’s perhaps the biggest consideration when changing to LED. As, while they have a variety of perks over halogen, including energy saving, longer life, and little to no radiation, LEDs are still struggling to catch up to their predecessors when it concerns colour rendering, and are the reason many galleries and retail outlets still use halogen.

As of 2020, Halogen lightbulbs will become strictly regulated within Australia, much like incandescent today. Lighting suppliers will no longer be able to import old lighting technology, and halogen will be phased out.

This push by the government to move toward more energy-efficient LED lighting means that replacing your lights is going to mean figuring out which LED alternative is best for you.

Smart LEDs, retrofit downlights, the options are growing every year. With so many options and brands on the market, how do you decide what’s best for you? Below, we’ll go over some alternatives for the most common household lighting:

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Industrial lighting – the all-encompassing term for warehouse lighting, factory lighting, manufacturing facilities and the like, covers a wide range of lighting types and categories. Whether you’re buying for LED or HID, it’s helpful to understand the differences between each option and how they can benefit and brighten your commercial space.  

This is especially important given that lighting accounts for 18-40% of electricity usage on commercial premises – make sure you're getting the most for your money with our helpful guide:

What level of lighting do you need?

Different industrial spaces have different lighting requirements depending on the space type and how it’s used. Are you lighting a processing facility with many factory workers

High-Intensity Discharge Lamps are a type of electrical gas-discharge lamp - that creates light by passing a current through a gas – much like a fluorescent light. However, as the name implies, High-Intensity  Discharge lamps are much brighter and produce a much higher lumen than fluorescents, best used in areas where bright light is needed, such as warehouses, car headlights, streetlamps, stadiums, and factories. 
 

How do They Work?

HID Lamp technology works by filling an arc tube with gas, which also contains a metal or metal salt such as argon or mercury, and running an electric arc between two tungsten

Pendant lights are the best way to add to the aesthetic of any room – the hanging lights acting like the final touch of jewelry to the look of your home. They come in a variety of styles, designs, sizes and colors – giving any renovator, homeowner or builder a slew of options to choose from when looking to add to a room.

In the following article, we’ll give you an overview of pendant styles, highlighting their looks and how you can use them. If you’re still in need of more inspiration after this, be sure to check out our previous blog on Home Lighting Inspiration: Pendant Lights

Transitional – Transitional pendant lights are designed with a mixture of

Architectural Lighting is the key to lighting any space that requires precise light direction or ambiance. LED lighting guarantees a long life, power saving solution to your lighting design needs, while eye-catching lighting designs can complete the ambiance of any room.  Whether you are designing for Retail Lighting, Commercial Lighting, Art Instalments, or Residential.

At lightonline, we offer a wide selection of modern architectural lighting to facilitate the state-of-the-art and energy-efficient luminaires for all modern setups. With offerings from brands such as Radium, Deluxlite, we offer a variety of specifications, so you are sure to find the perfect type of architectural lighting that meets your exact needs.

Now that we’ve gone over the benefits of LED over traditional lighting, it begs the question of which LED replacement to choose. We’ve used circular LED highbays in our previous examples, but it’s not the only option for those looking to change. 

Corn Lights:

Corn lights are the retrofit replacement for old HID systems such as metal halides and high-pressure sodium lamps.

These ‘corn-shaped’ lamps are a power-saving LED alternative to traditional bulbs. Coming in a range of lumens, sizes and voltages, there’s sure to be one that will fit your needs.