Cree LED Revolution Blog

Cree and LED lighting are starting a revolution

Posts Tagged ‘photo contest’

Cree LED Contest Series: From Spooky to Smiley, Cree LED Lights transform two rooms

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011


This is the second part of a five part series that follows up with winners of Cree’s monthly LED lighting giveaway. Each month, Cree gives away at least 5 Cree LED lights in a photo contest. To enter, submit your bad lighting photo here.

MONDAY: We revisit July 201 winner who has developed a love for Cree LED lights.

TUESDAY: We see how the October 2010 winner made over his office and how a bathroom went from spooky to smiley.

WEDNESDAY: We revisit an energy professional who is using his LED lighting from the December 2010 contest to spread the good word.

THURSDAY: It’s not all about your home. We revisit the February 2010 who shows us what LED lighting can do in a retail space.

FRIDAY: We’ll show you how LED lighting can even help a plein air painter. Confused? Stay tuned to see what our March 2010 winner did.

October 2010 Winner Mark Rogers

One of our big fears is that people will try subpar LED lighting, and that their bad experience will prompt them to forever shun LED technology. That’s why our judges don’t shy away from selecting a winner who already has LED lighting. Back in October 2010, Mark Rogers submitted a photo of his office, where he had installed PAR30 LED spotlights.

We’re not sure whether they were quality LED lights or not, but we are sure that they’re not really working in this application. He won five Cree CR6 LED downlights, which are the right fit for the recessed lighting in his office. It made a big difference. Take a look at his before and after photos: When I wrote Mark last year to tell him he won, he said he was excited because “there are evenings when I would love to work just under the downlights” but they weren’t providing enough light. Well, that’s not a problem anymore.

Before Mark installed Cree LED lights.

Before Mark installed Cree LED lights.

After Mark installed his Cree CR6 LED downlights!

After Mark installed his Cree CR6 LED downlights!

Here’s what Mark said when I recently followed up with him: “The Cree CR6 installed in minutes, without any special tools, looks like they were built-in, and the dimming is smooth and reliable. You can see the light distribution is amazing – a perfectly natural look with plenty of beam angle! Great color temperature and an elegant appearance. I am a fan!”

The color temperature he’s referring to is the warm light delivered by the CR6 downlights, which has an incandescent feel at 2700K without wasting the energy. The CR6 LED downlight consumes only 10.5 watts and is designed to last 50,000 hours, which means he could leave his office lights on eight hours a day, seven days a week, and he could go 17 years without having to replace them. But we hope he doesn’t have his office lights on for that long every day. Mark deserves some downtime!

October 2010 Runner-Up Dan Leighton

Occasionally our judges have had a tough time picking just one monthly winner. Luckily that was the case for North Carolina resident Dan Leighton who won two Cree CR6 LED downlights to replace the CFLs in his master bathroom. “My wife and I noticed an immediate change when we first flipped the switch. The Cree LEDs lit up the small area and made it feel bigger, a dramatic difference from the yellowish-orange glow of the CFLs emitted,” Dan wrote me in a recent follow-up email. “I have not done it yet, but I plan to install a dimmer now that I have that option.”

Before Dan installed Cree LED lighting in his bathroom.

Before Dan installed Cree LED lighting in his bathroom.

After Dan installed Cree CR6 LED downlights in his bathroom.

After Dan installed Cree CR6 LED downlights in his bathroom.

We love that Dan’s new LED lighting provides the same warm light you would expect with 65-watt incandescent bulbs, but conserves significantly less energy. And he would have been hard-pressed to dim the CFLs, if he’d tried. The CR6 LED downlight consumes only 10.5 watts, and is designed to last 50,000 hours, many lifetimes longer than incandescent and even CFLs.  And it’s a good thing too, because it doesn’t look like it’s easy to change a bulb in Dan’s bathroom.

If you have spooky lighting of your own that you want to eradicate with LED lighting, enter our July photo contest. Submit a photo of scary lighting at your home or office for your chance to win five Cree CR6 LED lights.

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Posted in Contest Winners | 3 Comments »

March LED lighting contest winners already love LED lighting

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011


Rob Gully is an early adopter. The Missouri resident says he has been using LED lights for five years, back when it wasn’t even on most people’s  radar. The first LED lights Rob bought were only bright enough for use in his refrigerator! Five years later, Cree LED lights are now bright enough to illuminate his entire kitchen.

Rob is the winner of the March LED lighting giveaway. He won 5 Cree CR6 LED downlights, and he says they’re the best LED lights he’s found yet.

“I always pick up a few LED light bulbs every year just to see how things have improved and I must say the CR6 bulbs are currently the peak of the LED evolution,” wrote to me in an email.

rob gully march winner

Here's the photo Rob submitted to the contest.

The CR6 LED downlight delivers the same warm incandescent light you’re used to, but consumes significantly less energy. The 10.5 watt CR6 downlight can replace a 65 watt halogen light. And it’s designed to last significantly longer than a halogen. Rob’s new lights are designed to last 50,000 hours, which means he could leave them on eight hours a day, seven days a week and it could be more than 17 years before he would have to change them!

“A friend came over recently and I took him to the kitchen and told him I wanted to show him some new LED bulbs I got.  Only after I pointed out the CR6 could he tell the difference.  The biggest compliment about these bulbs is the quality of light is nearly identical to incandescent or CFL (once they are warmed up),” Rob wrote.

Rob isn’t the only March winner. Massachusetts resident Jonathan Hunt also scored some LED lights. Jonathan was a runner-up, receiving 2 Cree CR6 LED downlights. Our judges just couldn’t pass up a chance to save Jonathan from this bad lighting situation:

Here's the image Jonathan submitted.

Here's the image Jonathan submitted.

Jonathan and his wife are big on saving energy. They blog about ways to live a more sustainable life. We’re eager to see Jonathan ditch the CFL reflector bulbs that he has been using in the kitchen.

If you think your lighting is bad enough to catch the eyes of our judges, then submit a photo in our June LED lighting giveaway. One lucky winner will receive 5 Cree CR6 LED downlights. We’ll be announcing the April and May winners soon. Stay tuned.

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Posted in Revolution | 2 Comments »

December Cree LED lighting contest winner wants to save energy and money both at home and at work

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

Rusty Ponder is always looking for ways to save energy and money. As the Energy Management Coordinator for the third largest school district in Mississippi, Rusty was recently researching new lighting technology for work. In fact, it was his quest to find ways to save energy and money that led him to our website and our LED lighting giveaway.

Rusty is the December winner of our monthly bad lighting photo contest. He wins five Cree CR6 LED downlights for his home. In his entry, Rusty submitted this photo and wrote:

dec 2010 winner

“This house has very little foot candles in every room. Actually it is like living with candles and no electricity!”

Well anyone who talks in foot candles gets a shining star in the lighting geek book. And we couldn’t let Rusty feel like he was living in the dark. Turns out he has bigger plans for his new Cree LED lights. When I wrote Rusty to tell him he won, I asked him why he entered the contest. Here’s what he wrote:

“I thought if I can win these, I can show my bosses the LED technology and do some light meter readings and demos, so they can see firsthand how good they are. Then I can install them in my house and enjoy them for years to come.”

I think that makes Rusty a true LED Revolutionary. Because he’s going to spread the good word about high-quality LED lighting before enjoying them himself. And indeed, these lights could keep Rusty’s home lit for many years. They’re designed to last 50,000 hours, which means he can leave them on eight hours a day, seven days a week for 17 years. The lights are also dimmable, which means he can bring some mood lighting home. And since they only consume 10.5 watts, Rusty will be saving energy and money, which was his goal all along.

“I believe I will have a lot more evenly-spread light with better color and use a lot less energy, which will help me save money and help save the planet at the same time,” Rusty wrote.

This will be the first time Rusty has used an LED light. We’re pretty sure it won’t be his last.

If you want to try to win five Cree LED lights of your own, hurry up and enter our February LED lighting contest. Simply submit a photo of bad lighting in your home, office or business here. Next month, you could be joining Rusty in the LED Lighting Revolution.

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Posted in Cree, Revolution | 2 Comments »

Idaho resident wins Cree LED lighting contest, will finally turn on his living room lights

Monday, August 30th, 2010


You know the lighting in your home isn’t working for you when you intentionally avoid turning the lights on. That’s what Jerry Saltzer has been doing in his home’s living room and office for some time. Instead, he relies on floor and table lamps to illuminate the areas. How come?

“The living room (and office) in our house is equipped with incandescent downlights in 16.5 foot ceilings,” Saltzer told me in an email. “The light they produce is fine, but replacing those light bulbs is such a big production that we are inclined to leave them off as much as possible and use floor and table lamps instead.”

Jerry is the winner of the Cree’s July LED lighting giveaway. He submitted this photo of his problematic lighting situation:

July Contest Winner

Jerry wins five Cree LR6™ LED Downlights, which he plans to install in his living room. The LR6 downlight consumes only 10.5 Watts and delivers the warm light of a 65 Watt incandescent light. And Jerry’s new LED lights are designed to last 50,000 hours, which means he won’t have to deal with the hassle of swapping out his living room lights for years to come.

“Installing LED lights with an expected lifetime of 50,000 hours means that we can turn them on every evening and yet probably won’t need to change them until 2050,” Jerry wrote.

There are only a two days left to enter the August Cree LED Lighting giveaway. Just upload a picture of bad lighting in your home or office to Cree LED Lighting Revolution and you could be featured here next month.

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Posted in Revolution | 4 Comments »

New York-based Design firm wins the June LED Lighting contest

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

The lobby of Stressdesign may look modern and chic, but look closer and you’ll see that the Syracuse, New York-based Design firm is actually employing some pretty ancient technology – incandescent lighting!

Stressdesign president Marc Stress wanted to improve the lighting in his office, so he snapped a photo and submitted it to our monthly photo contest. Today, we’re pleased to announce that he is the June winner and will receive five Cree LED lights to replace the halogens heating up his workspace.

Here’s his winning picture and what he wrote about the lighting:

“We have a mix of incandescent and CFL lamps in our office. The CFLs are inconsistent at best, and all the incandescent lamps (add) to heat and $$$ on utility.”

lobby photo

This was the winning photo for the month of June.

I e-mailed Marc to tell him the good news. He opted to receive the Cree LRP-38 ™ light which will replace the 75W Halogens that hang from tracks over the office.

Some facts about the Cree LRP-38 lights that Marc is receiving:

  • The LRP-38 consumes only 11 Watts, while producing light comparable to a 75W incandescent.
  • It’s designed to last 50,000 hours. That means Stressdesign could leave the lights on for eight hours a day, seven days a week for just over 17 years.
  • But these lights won’t burn out instantly at the end of their life, like the incandescents Marc is currently burning.  Cree’s LED lights are designed to provide at least 70 percent of their initial light output at the 50,000 hour mark. Many different factors (such as fixture design and operating conditions like temperature and current) determine the actual lifetime of an LED fixture or bulb.
  • The light quality is beautiful. The LRP-38 light delivers warm light (2700K) and gorgeous color (achieving 90 out of 100 on the color rendering index).

Marc said he can’t wait to bring LED lighting to his Design firm.

“I’ve been using LED lighting solutions in various applications in my home and office for the past 5-7 years. I’ve used them for guide lighting, ambient lighting and supplemental area lighting. Early attempts were novel in their power savings, but light output and quality was lacking,” Marc wrote to me.

“Lately, I’ve noticed a huge jump in lumen output, CRI quality and lamping options. I am expecting the new Cree lamps to exceed expectations and provide a better alternative to CFL lamps,” he added.

If you want to give Cree LED lighting a try in your home or office, enter our July photo contest. To qualify for our giveaway, all you have to do is submit a photo of bad lighting to our site. We could be featuring you next month on our blog.

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, For Fun | 1 Comment »

Sacramento guitar shop owner wins five Cree LED lights with photo submission

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

It’s hard to be inspired under bad lighting. Seriously, if you’ve ever worked in a place with dim, greenish or too bright lights, you probably know what I’m talking about.

But each month Cree tries to change that for one lucky person by giving away some of our beautiful LED lights in our monthly photo contest. The November winner is Dave Lynch, a Sacramento, Calif. business owner who has been putting with fluorescent lighting for over a decade.

He sent us this photo, where you can see one of his fluorescent tubes burned out above his head and wrote: “I’ve got these horrid fluorescent lights overhead, been here 13 years, and they’re making me old! What can I do??? Help!!!!”

guitar winner dave

Anyone who uses four exclamation points is probably at their wit’s end. Dave’s entry earned him five Cree LED lights. He chose our LRP-38 lamps. His new LED lights won’t reverse the aging he says his horrid fluorescent lights caused (sorry, Dave), but they will help him save energy while also making the colors in his store pop.

I e-mailed Dave to tell him he won and included some links about our lights. He quickly wrote me back, using even more exclamation points! Looks like he did his research (and has a future in marketing if he gets bored with his guitar shop), because here’s what he wrote me:

“The lamps, the LRP-38’s would give us a huge head start in creating the basis for a beautiful energy efficient and attractively lit shop lighting system worthy of the 21st century.”

I can’t argue with that. In fact, consider this:

  • The Cree LRP-38 lamps he won are designed to last 50,000 hours, which means they could last 17 years if he keeps the lights on 8 hours a day, 7 days a week! Can you imagine not changing a light bulb for 17 years?
  • Each LRP-38 uses 12 Watts of energy, but provides the equivalent light of a 50 to 90 Watt halogen bulb. So his new lights will also consume significantly less energy than traditional lighting!

  • His new lights will provide beautiful, warm light and make the colors in the merchandise pop. Here’s why (be patient, I’m going to get a little geeky on you, but this is truly interesting and information you can later wow your friends with):

The ability to make colors look true – that is to have a tomato look like a tomato – is called color rendering. The color rendering index (CRI) characterizes light sources in view of their ability to produce “natural light” and can be between 0 and 100. A higher CRI means that colors are rendered more naturally and the light is perceived as more pleasant. The CRI of fluorescent tubes is often around 72, but the Cree LED light that Dave is receiving has a CRI of 92! His guitars can look stellar under his new true light.

After he found out he won, Dave e-mailed me some additional photos showing the icky lighting in his shop. Take a look:

guitar shop

I have to say it’s pretty exciting to give away LED lighting to someone who is so enthusiastic about it. You have a chance to win each month. Just submit a photo showing off bad lighting in your home or office.

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Posted in Revolution | 3 Comments »