Light and Lighting Information and Frequently Asked Questions

LED lighting by comparison has (1) a very long life, (2) generate much less heat, (3) is generally rugged and (4) is extremely energy efficient. The bad news is that they are still expensive when compared to most other light sources. However their extremely long life and low energy consumption offsets the initial cost and will provide a return on investment over the expected life of the LED unit.

Q. What is a halogen light bulb?

A. A halogen light bulb is a regular incandescent bulb on steroids. Without getting too technical a halogen bulb is filled with a gas that allows the filament inside the bulb to work at a higher temperature for a much longer time than a standard bulb. This means that watt for watt a halogen bulb is much brighter and will generally last much longer than a standard incandescent bulb. The downside is that they are more expensive than regular incandescent bulbs, but the extra life they provide and less frequent bulb changes greatly offset the initial cost.

Q. What is an LED light?

A. Let's start by stating what a LED is not. A LED is not at all like the traditional light bulb as it does not have a filament, the usual source of light (and unwanted heat), but rather a LED (Light Emitting Diode) is an electronic light source. The LED was first invented in Russia in the 1920s, and introduced in America as a practical electronic component in 1962. A technician, Oleg Vladimirovich Losev noticed that diodes used in radio receivers emitted light when current was passed through them. He eventually published details in a 1927 Russian journal of the first ever LED.

All early devices emitted low-intensity red light, but modern LEDs are available across the visible, ultraviolet and infra red wavelengths, with very high brightness. LEDs are based on the semiconductor diode. When electricity flows through a diode electrons are able to produce an action that is released in the form of light. This effect is called electro luminescence.

LEDs present many advantages over traditional light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved ruggedness and durability, smaller size and faster switching. However, they are relatively expensive and require more precise current and heat management than traditional light sources.

Applications of LEDs are diverse. They are used as low-energy indicators but also for replacements for traditional light sources in general lighting and automotive lighting and more recently, landscape lighting.

(4) Q. What is the life expectancy of a halogen bulb?

A. Life expectancy for a halogen bulb can range from 2500 hours to 4000 hours.

Q. What is the life expectancy of a LED light?

A. LED lights can last as long as 100,000 hours, however after 70,000 hours the amount of light begins to gradually diminish. Our LED landscape lights are rated conservatively at 40,000 hours and will probably go well beyond that. At a high average of 2000 hours of use per year our LED landscape lights should last at least 20 years.

Q. If I want to upgrade to Lumical’s new LED lighting do I have to change my current low voltage lighting’s wiring and transformers?

A. No. This is one of the advantages of our LED low voltage landscape lights. Simply remove the old fixture and install the new LED fixture. The fixture has a built-in regulator that maintains full brightness even if your landscape lighting system is below the average operating level of 12 VAC.

Q. Can I mix LED and incandescent low voltage lighting fixtures?

A. Yes. You can remove part of your old lighting and install the new LED lights as the budget will allow or as your landscape evolves.

Q. Can I add LED lights to my existing low voltage landscape lighting system?

A. Depending on how close to capacity your current system is operating it might be possible to “add-in” some new LED lighting and not exceed the capacity of your system. If you need further assistance on determining your total capacity, contact our Customer Service Department and someone will be glad to help answer your questions.

Q. I’ve heard the LED lights are bluish in color rather than white. What color are the Lumical LED landscape lights?

A. Until fairly recently what was considered a “white” LED light had a blue tint and is indicative of an in-expensive LED. Today LED’s are available from 2800 Kelvin (warm white) right on up to ultra-violet. The old halogen light and the new LED light are almost identical in color output.

Q. Can I change colors if I use your LED lights?

A. No. The LED light fixtures have one output, warm white. Adding a colored filter might be possible; however presently Lumical has nothing available.

Q. Which LED fixture housing material is best to use, brass or aluminum?

A. In most harsh environments a brass housing will offer the best weatherability. While you may not live in what seems to be a harsh climate, irrigation and fertilizers can degrade an aluminum housing. Consequently we warrant the brass LED fixture for 15 years and the aluminum Fixture for 5 years.

Q. Can I get other LED housing colors besides bronze?

A. The brass fixture is only available in the bronzed finish, however the aluminum is also available in black and some custom colors at an additional charge.

Q. I’ve seen LED landscape lights that are less expensive. What makes Lumical’s LED lights more expensive?

A. We offer a 15 year warranty with a 40,000 hour life on our LED lights which is the best in the industry. There are a number of less expensive products being imported that provide little if any recourse in the case of failure and often these less expensive lights fail very prematurely and are not the true, warm white but rather a bluish white. In addition these imports cannot match the brightness of our LED landscape lights. In a few words the more expensive light offers: (a) long life, (b) dependability, (c) durability, (d) good color rendition, (e) high level of brightness, (f) low energy consumption, (g) built-in regulation that allows for full brightness over a range of voltages, and (h) various beam widths.

Q. How much money can I save by switching to LED low voltage landscape lighting?

A. Switching from traditional incandescent lighting to state of the art LED lighting produces a 75% reduction in energy consumption, thus making this form of illumination very environmentally friendly. The savings per day, month or year is obviously linked to the number of lights in your system and the hours per day of operation.

Q. How long will Lumical’s LED lights last?

A. As indicated earlier, our LED low voltage landscape lights come with a 15 year warranty for the brass version and a 40,000 hour minimum life. In all probably they will go well beyond the 40,000 hour rating which translates into 20-25 years for most applications.

Q. Do the LED landscape lights get very hot like the halogen lights?

A. Our LED lights will get warm but well below the temperature reached by halogen lights.

Q. Do you have installation service available?

A. Yes. Outside of our regular service area we can arrange for a local contractor to assist you with installation.

Q. Does the outside temperature have any adverse effect on the LED landscape lights?

A. No. LED lights can operate over a wide temperature spectrum without any adverse effects.