Exploring Eco-Friendly & Sustainable Lighting Solutions

Looking for sustainable lighting fixtures? Wondering how to select the most eco-friendly lighting options for your home or business? Not really sure what "sustainable lighting" means? We get it. There's a lot of talk these days about sustainability in every industry. But it's not always clear what qualifies a product or service to be labeled as sustainable.

The light-obsessed pros at TCP have been leading the charge toward sustainable lighting solutions for more than 30 years - so we have deep insight into what this trendy term means and how our industry measures up.

Read on for a solid explanation of what it means for lighting to be sustainable, the benefits of choosing eco-friendly lighting options, and a breakdown of the environmental MVPs of lighting types.

What Is Eco-Friendly Lighting?

Most people never thought about lighting in terms of sustainability before the recent incandescent light bulb ban from the federal government. It put a spotlight on the heavy burden those familiar bulbs were putting on our planet's natural resources - and on everyone's utility bills! It also made us realize that we already have options for more sustainable lighting solutions (more on that in a moment).

Sustainable lighting refers to any lighting product or design that makes lower ecological impact its priority. That could mean manufacturing with eco-friendly processes, designing lights that consume less energy or including more natural daylight in a space's overall illumination.

The Benefits of Eco-Friendly Lighting

We don't want to sound too biased, but the benefits of eco-friendly lighting are pretty much the same as the benefits of switching to LED lights. Make the switch to benefit from lighting that is:

Energy Efficient

The driving factor behind the incandescent light bulb ban was the inefficiency of the bulbs. They emitted way more heat than illumination, which means they sucked up a lot of energy without putting out an equivalent amount of brightness.

Sustainable light fixtures and bulbs are far more efficient at converting smaller amounts of energy into brighter, more vivid light. That elevated energy efficiency translates to lower utility bills and less strain on electricity producers - which lessens our collective environmental impact.

Cost-Effective

You've probably noticed that the price of light bulbs has gone up. But when you keep your eye on the long game, you see how cost-effective they are. Eco-friendly lighting options like LEDs last much longer than incandescents - we're talking years instead of months - so you save money by not needing to buy as many replacements. And because they consume less energy, you get to keep more of your hard-earned dollars by paying lower electricity bills.

Eco-Friendly - and Human-Friendly

One of the most appealing aspects of sustainable lighting solutions is how they can make us healthier and happier. Lighting and health are linked in a few ways. Too much blue light from digital devices can cause eyestrain and other issues, but light that mimics daylight can foster sharper mental focus and better sleep cycles. The most eco-friendly lighting products eliminate blue light spikes and allow customization - like flicker-free dimming and light color temperature selectability - while also nixing toxic substances like mercury that poison our environment. That makes them human-friendly, as well!

Sustainable Lighting Solutions

So what types of lighting are sustainable? Let's look at four options that go easier on our planet than incandescents, highlighting what makes them environmental all-stars:

Solar-Powered Lights

Harnessing the sun's power to light up the night is eco-friendly genius. But solar-powered lights have some serious limitations, including:

• Geography - Locations that experience a lot of cloud cover may not get the full value from solar-powered lights, often reaping as little as 30% of their intended operating time.
• Placement - Because these lights require sun exposure to function, they can only be used outdoors in areas unshaded by landscape or architectural features.
• Replacements - Some solar-powered lights are designed to be discarded when their bulb or solar battery cell burns out, without options for replacement. That disposability cancels out their eco-friendliness.

Luckily, solar-powered lighting isn't the only eco-friendly option - or the only sustainable choice for outdoor and landscape lighting!

LED Lighting

Light-emitting diodes make up the A-team of sustainable lighting. Not only do LED lights generate very little heat while emitting lots of brightness, but they have impressive lifespans - often up to 20 years! Plus, many LEDs fit into fixtures that once housed incandescent bulbs, and those with CCT selectability deliver multiple vibes in one bulb. When you have the power to switch between warm white light, neutral white light and vibrant daylight without changing the bulb, you've got incredibly sustainable lighting fixtures!

CFL Bulbs

Compact fluorescent lamps are those curly bulbs that started appearing on store shelves in the 1990s. They were an improvement over incandescents because they used about a third of the energy and lasted much longer while emitting more brightness. But they've got problems too, including:

• Ballasts that can fail
• Limited dimming capabilities
• Long warm-up times
• Ultraviolet light emission
• Mercury content

Those last two points prevent CFLs from being a true environmental lighting choice.

Dimmable Lights

Dimmability is a sustainable lighting feature that enhances your everyday experience in a space! Dimming your lights reduces energy use, adding eco-friendliness to whatever kind of bulb you're using. Plus, dimmers help you set the mood for anything from a romantic dinner to a movie night to pre-bedtime winddown routines. TCP makes a wide variation of dimmable LED lights, stacking this eco-friendly lighting benefit on top of all the other great reasons for choosing LEDs!

Choose TCP for Sustainable Lighting Solutions

Ready to green up your life with sustainable lighting solutions from TCP? Whether you need hundreds of LED warehouse lights, reliable commercial interior lighting or bulk options for indoor and outdoor residential lighting, you get excellent value from our sustainable lighting fixtures and bulbs.

Contact us today for expert advice on lighting projects of any scope. We'll help you pick the right eco-friendly lights and ship them without delay!

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