5 Ways to Update Your Lighting

With more sustainable solutions available to you in residential lighting, it’s time to consider how you can update your lighting while reducing your electricity consumption.

Here are 5 ways to update your lighting at home:

1. Upgrade to Smart Bulbs

So, you recently renovated your home or remodeled a single room. Did you forget to change your lighting? A fast way to create a new look in your space is to upgrade to LED Smart Bulbs. Smart bulbs provide you with the ability to control the look at feel of your space with a quick change of light settings made via your smartphone. There is no longer a need to have one set of lights for daytime and another you only use at night in living spaces when you switch to these LEDs.

LED Smart bulbs allow you to determine atmosphere or mood and change the settings quickly, even automatically. You can also control your lights using voice commands or remotely over WiFi with no hub required.

Sunco LED Smart Bulbs let you control:

• Color temperature (Warm to Cool)
• Color selection (choose over 16 million colors)
• Music sync
• Schedule light on/off
• Scene selection (using pre-existing settings or create your own)
• …and you can voice control them, too

Our LED Smart Bulbs pair with the Smart Life App you can download from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store and use on a smart device, like your smartphone, iPad or tablet. You can voice control your lights with Amazon Alexa or Google Home, as well.

Find more details on upgrading to LED smart bulbs in our blog on the topic. If you were way ahead on adding LED Smart Bulbs to your home, perhaps you could use an update to your recessed cans. They aren’t as difficult to renovate as they sound.

2. Swap in LED Retrofits or LED Bulbs in Existing Recessed Cans

Recessed cans installed in a home’s ceilings are fantastic for providing a wide light beam without detracting from the look of a room or making a hallway look cluttered. But have you checked the bulbs that are used inside those cans? You might be spending more money on them in your electric bill and spending a lot of time climbing ladders to replace them when they burn out.

With LED bulbs you get long lasting bulbs. BR30 LED Bulbs and BR40 LED Bulbs are ideal for use in existing recessed cans or in our own Sunco Recessed Cans. With E26 bases, the BR30 and BR40 fit 5-6” cans.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the BR30:

11W BR30 LED Bulb – costs $30 of electricity over the 25,000 lifespan

65W halogen lamp – costs $179 over the life of the bulb

That’s a savings of about $149.00!

What about Retrofits? A lot of people don’t realize they don’t have to replace the entire recessed can to upgrade to LED lights. With Sunco LED retrofit downlights you can insert these into existing cans or use a Sunco Remodel Can to add downlights where you want them.

Our retrofit LEDs include both a TP24 connector and an E25 adapter so you can use them in multiple styles of existing cans. Sunco Remodel Cans feature a fast installation with durable spring clips to slot into the can quickly.

We recently covered the types of recessed lighting and downlights in a blog, in case you want to know more about your design options. We offer both smooth and baffle trim to suit your style.

3. Improve Décor with LED Filament Bulbs

Add a splash of retro styling with the vintage look of our Sunco ST64 LED Filament bulb inside your home or on your patio or porch (they are IP65 rated!). The steampunk and vintage style of this bulb instantly provides a statement to your home décor and allows you to set the mood. You can choose from 2700K Soft White up to 5000K Daylight, depending on the mood you want to set.

Because these bulbs offer a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 90+ they improve not only the look of the room with their style, but also render a more accurate color. A high CRI of over 90 also works well to deliver a more realistic texture. This results in items that closely match how things look in sunlight. You can learn more about CRI in our Lighting 101 section.

Not only can you change the look of a room when you use LED filament bulbs, but you can also save when compared to a similar, traditional light bulb. Sunco ST64 LED Filament Bulbs feature the retro look of an Edison style light bulb, the same or more brightness (lumens), but with reduced wattage consumption.

Here’s a quick breakdown so you can save on your energy bill:

8.5W Sunco ST64 LED Bulb Filament – costs $14.00 across the life of the bulb

60W traditional halogen lamp – costs $99.00

You can easily compare the lightbulbs you have in your home vs. Sunco lights when you examine the Lighting Facts label on packaging. It helps breakdown the estimated yearly energy cost of each bulb (based on a 3-hour daily usage at 11 cents per kWh).

4. Leave a Light on with Dusk to Dawn LED Bulbs

Increase your home’s safety and leave a light on when it gets dark – without installing a timer! – when you swap out existing lights with Sunco LED Dusk to Dawn light bulbs. We will soon have more Dusk to Dawn light fixtures, too.

D2D bulbs and fixtures allow you to turn on the light switch and forget about your outdoor lights. The photocell sensor on the Dusk to Dawn bulbs will illuminate the LED when no light is detected and turn off again once the light returns in the morning. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

Available with Dusk to Dawn technology in damp rated A19 or wet rated PAR20/30/38 LED Bulbs or as an ST64, Sunco’s D2D bulbs allow for automation that is super easy. We also offer some LED light fixtures with Dusk to Dawn that may operate with radar instead of a PIR sensor, depending on which one you select.

Dusk to Dawn also helps you because you don’t have to remember to turn off the exterior lights when you leave or turn them on only when you need them – when it is dark – whether you are home or not. The sensor does all the work for you.

Speaking of working, how is the lighting in your garage? Does it look like your grandfather’s garage with a single bulb suspended over your cars or your workbench? Time for a lighting upgrade.

5. Brighten a Dark Garage with our Trilight LED

This is one of our brightest lights and will easily illuminate your workshop space. Available in 5000K Daylight, the Trilight LED Garage Light offers a stunning 8000 Lumens of brightness. You can adjust the three light panels that rotate up to 90-degrees so you can place all 8000lm exactly where the light is needed.

We aren’t kidding about the brightness of this bulb replacement. When we plugged it in to examine it for the first time, everyone commented on the bright quality at the same time. This deformable LED light will last a long time (50,000 lifetime hours).

Ideal as a 150W replacement bulb for halogen lamps with its E26 adapter base, this LED only uses 80W.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

80W Sunco Trilight LED Garage Light – costs $9.64 across the life of the bulb

150W traditional halogen lamp – costs $829.41

That is a $386.93 savings during the 50,000 lifespan of our LED.

As always, this product is backed by certificates (FCC, ETL, RoHS) and includes an industry leading warranty. It is also high temperature resistant for use in a garage setting. While you could also use the Trilight for task lighting inside due to the lumen count, the broad spread of this LED makes it more suitable for a garage or shop workspace.

The LED bulbs and LED light fixtures Sunco Lighting offers can help you cut your energy bill by consuming fewer watts than a traditional bulb, while still providing the style and functionality you need. With LED Smart Bulbs you have even more options than ever before, without changing your bulb or adding a timer.

We’ll be rolling out a lot of new products this year so be sure to sign up for our newsletter in the footer below, so you don’t miss out on the latest news.