K+BB - October 2008 - (Page 28)

T rends Getting the Green Light Energy-efﬁcient lighting sources enhance the kitchen Given today’s push toward a more eco-friendly world, energy-efﬁcient lighting is emerging as a popular way to green the kitchen. According to Jeffrey Dross, senior product manager for Kichler Lighting, lighting ranks ﬁfth in terms of energy consumed in the home, trailing only after refrigerators, air conditioners, space heaters and water heaters. As a result, designers and consumers are turning to ﬁxtures and lamps that not only enhance a kitchen aesthetically, but also reduce its energy footprint. Thankfully, attractive options abound. While modular lighting and recessed downlights remain ever popular for use with compact ﬂuorescent lamps (CFLs), manufacturers have also greatly expanded their decorative fixture offerings to include everything from pendants and chandeliers to ceiling ﬁxtures and wall sconces. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CFLs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent sources and last up to 10 times longer. Moreover, “You don’t have to sacriﬁce the aesthetic of a light ﬁxture,” said Randall Whitehead, IALD, a San Francisco-based lighting designer. “If I can make energy efﬁciency sexy, then I’ve done my job.” electric bill, replacing, say, halogen sources with LEDs can lower energy costs by 80 to 90 percent. Consumers “are now realizing that reducing their electricity usage from a 20W halogen to a 3W LED can mean huge cash savings, which is essential to today’s challenging economic environment,” Lovretin said. And thanks to advances in chip technology, today’s LEDs have shed their harsh blue tint to emit softer, white light with a CRI (Color Rendering Index) of up to 92, adding warmth to the kitchen and making food look more appealing. CONTROLS AND BEYOND Another draw is dimmability. Although dimming ability in CFLs has vastly improved, LEDs outperform them in this area, which can be a plus in the kitchen. “People want and need to be able to control their lighting,” Lovetrin said. “It is especially essential to countertop lighting,” which requires high brightness for prep work and lower light levels for entertaining. Not surprisingly, the tiny sources are fast becoming the lamp of choice for undercabinet lighting, especially for those designers who prefer ﬁxtures with a discreet appearance. Much ground has been gained on this front, with some manufacturers offering LED ﬁxtures as sleek as 1/2 in. thick Yet despite the growing interest in LEDs as a viable energy-efﬁcient alternative to conventional lamps, the challenge has been to boost brightness and create ﬁxtures for a greater variety of applications, such as ambient illumination. Nevertheless, the outlook remains, well, bright. “This advancement of technology in LEDs is going to alter the way we illuminate our spaces,” said Dross. “What our living spaces are going to look like in the next 20 years will be amazing.” s —Matthew Marin LED REVOLUTION Perhaps the most noteworthy trend in recent years, however, has been the migration to LEDs, even in the kitchen, noted Helen Lovretin, lighting product manager for Richelieu. And with good reason. LEDs offer a long lamp life of 50,000 hours—20 times that of the average halogen lamp—and therefore “eliminate the disturbing amount of wasted time spent relamping burnt-out light bulbs,” said Lovetrin. Switching to LEDs also leaves a great deal of green in consumers’ pockets. With lighting accounting for up to 15 percent of a home’s 28 + K BB October July 2004 2008 / www.kbbonline.com / The Ofﬁcial Sponsor of K/BIS www.kbis.com http://www.kbbonline.com http://www.kbis.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of K+BB - October 2008

K+BB - October 2008
Contents
Online Contents
Online News
Editorial
Feedback
Dates
Digits
Focus
Consumer
Trends
Products
Options
Profile
Design
Paradise Found
Graded on a Curve
Green
Access
Additions
Practice
Education
Editorial Index
Ad Index
Favorites

K+BB - October 2008