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June 8th, 2010
Vintage light bulbs may be trendy for restaurants, but LED lights are a better option
A restaurant with bad lighting is a bummer. Bad lighting can kill the mood and even make food look discolored. Customers can leave unimpressed. Owners could be stuck with expensive electric bills and a restaurant that has a bad lighting reputation.
So I wasn’t surprised to read this article in the New York Times, which declares that “a lot of thought and expense go into restaurant lighting,” particularly at upscale restaurants.
But what I was surprised to read is that some restaurant owners in New York City are harkening back to Thomas Edison’s heyday and installing antique-looking, energy-wasting reproductions of Edison’s first light bulb.
There is no excuse for this. And believe me, I’m all about beautiful design and I even support being trendy from time-to-time.
Photo by Flickr user back_garage
Sure, these retro-looking filament-filled lights have a charming appearance, but they consume more energy than standard incandescent light bulbs. And since restaurants leave their lights running for many hours a day, those vintage-looking bulbs are sucking a lot of energy and driving up utility bills. Not to mention putting out enough collective heat to have a real impact on air conditioning needs!
Restaurant owners who are serving up these Edison reproductions say the lights are a bit nostalgic and the warm light is flattering. To that I say: Perhaps you need a more creative lighting designer. Have they seen some of the unique lighting designs that incorporate LEDs?
On a regular basis, the green design blog Inhabitat posts some of the most incredible energy-efficient LED lighting designs your imagination could conjure up. Among them are:
- The Starlight chandelier made of recycled metal coins and LED lights.
- The paper pendant lamps that use a crystal to diffract light from an LED bulb.
- An LED lamp made of 97 percent soap.
I mean seriously, if designers can create LED lights out of soap, imagine what they could do for an upscale restaurant in New York City?
These beautiful glass pendant lights are lit with energy-efficient Cree LEDs.
Sure, creating a custom LED light fixture for a restaurant might not be as cheap as buying an incandescent bulb. But the energy and maintenance savings from LED lights can quickly add up. And perhaps these restaurants will attract even more diners who are wooed by both beautiful lighting AND energy-efficiency. With LED lights, you can have both.
6 Responses to “Vintage light bulbs may be trendy for restaurants, but LED lights are a better option”
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While I agree that using these very inefficient “retro” light bulbs, isn’t the best choice. I must take exception with the language and what I see is the tone of many of your blog posts. With phrases like, “There is no excuse for this” you seem to indicate using the inefficient lights is some how wrong or even evil, if only just a little. It is neither good nor evil. Any one who wants to use such products should be free to do so. However, doing so is a ridiculously stupid business decision. That is the argument you should stick to. People care about money, not about what someone else thinks they should or shouldn’t do. While many are short sighted and only care about money now, when shown how much a business can reduce their over head immediately and the huge return on investment it will bring in the long run, they would have to be a fool to not take advantage of the new technology.
The USA is still a free market system, and I will fight to keep it that way. In the free market the best ideas will win. In the case of LED lights, it is clearly a better idea. With the constant innovation from Cree and others, it is getting better every day. So please stick to informing us about all money we can save and all the beautiful ways we can use LEDs to light up anything and everything. And drop the innuendo about what we should be doing.
Chris W
And by the way, if I may add, with my vintage ’20’s Bungalow there’s no substitute for filament lighting period.
In my wedding photography there is nothing more destructive to the appearance of ambient light/and-or combo flash that the bane of my existence, the CF bulb. LED’s are way more neutral so if we’re forced to abandon inc. bulbs I hope these gain more traction and the mercury laden CF’s are wiped from the earth. In the meantime I’m forced to stock up by the dozen at my hardware store every week for a lifetime supply.
There is an excuse, some very valid ones actually, for holding these Edison Mazda’s in high esteem, for aesthetic value they cannot be beat.
The forces within the EPA and this administration will continue to put on the illusion that energy has reached peak capacity and while I’m for eliminating coal for electricity, there’s no excuse to not build more nukes because it’s still the cleanest greenest form of powerplant we’ve come up with. No one has died in the USA as a result, 3 Mile was the closest thing to that and we’ve learned lessons as a result.
I really do hope LED technology skyrockets, in street lights, storefronts, flashlights etc. even the home if they can produce a color temp as warm as the inc. bulb, as much as I hope mandates are eliminated and the free markets prevail. This goes with Happy Meals, school lunches, smoking in bars, and my gas guzzling SUV. The energy is there, we’re just being railroaded into the alternative choices for no valid reason.
Keep up the good research and may your enterprise provide you with all the wealth and opportunities this great nation has to offer!
Matt, I have to agree with you about and CF bulbs, but I disagree about LED bulbs. While there are a lot of LED lights that are cheap and have horrible color (and aren’t very efficient either), quality LED’s can provide almost any color temperature you want and are more efficient than CF.
Currently they are still expensive, especially if you need a lot of light. However, unlike other lighting technology, LED’s are getting brighter, more efficient, better color consistency and cheaper every year. Just a few months ago an LED came to market that can put out more light at 10 watts than a 60 watt incandescent bulb. that is with a single LED not a gang of them.
I don’t think it will be many more years before you won’t have to worry about CF bulbs any more LED’s are already more efficient and longer lasting, and when you include the cost of the power, LED’s are also already cheaper. In a few years I don’t think there will be much use for anything other than LED’s for lighting. When that happens, it won’t be because of some stupid government regulation or a bunch of environmentalists trying to shame us, it will because it will make the most economic sense.
I am always amazed at the fact that the so called “environmentalists” rarely point out solutions that are both good for business and good for the environment. If they would take the time and energy to show how we can save money while helping the environment, then maybe people would be more willing to implement environmentally friendly solutions that aren’t always economically beneficial.
Chris W
It does appear that many folks are into this kind of stuff of late as you present in Vintage light bulbs may be trendy for restaurants, but LED lights are a better option . Do not truly understand it though, however thanks for trying to outline it. Appreciate you shedding light into this affair. This opinion is definitely something Id care to see more of.
Je veux crée un retro. (New)