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Elation Beam Design Moving Heads: Moving and Turning Heads Like None Other

By BulbAmerica Editor

As moving head light fixtures become more popular and more ubiquitous, it is harder and harder to choose the one worth your money and that is right for your needs. In this article I will discuss Elation Professional’s Design Beam series of moving heads and what I believe makes them unique and warrants an extra look. So, let’s get started. One feature that sets the Elation Design Beam series is their versatility. The Elation Design Beam 300 and Design Beam 1200 Compact can serve as spot, wash, and beam projectors with their respective 7.5˚ and 6.7˚ beam angles and by opening and closing the head’s frost filter, which changes the hardness of the beam’s edge. This versatility allows you to change the role of your moving heads as well as the look of your lighting effect on the fly. The Design Beam moving heads silently pan 630˚or 540˚ (user selected) and tilt 265˚, allowing for lively performances. The Design Beam and 300 and 1200 Compact also share nearly identical gobo performance with the ability for dynamic gobo prism and rotation effects. The Design Beam 300 and 1200 compact, however, have some distinguishing features that are essential to highlight.

The Design Beam 300 is distinguished from the 1200 Compact foremost by their different lamps. Both moving heads feature Philips MSR HID lamps. The 300 features a 300w MSR that puts out an impressive 33,150lux at 30ft. The 1200 Compact features a 1,200w MSR which produces an extremely bright 107,500lux at 25ft. One of the key differences between the 300 and 1200 compact is obviously their power and luminosity. In selecting between the two you want to consider how much power you have available, how high your trusses will be from the stage, and how much other light is being produced by other fixtures in your system. Another important difference between the two moving heads regards their color capabilities. The Design Beam 300 and 1200 Compct both feature CMY color changing, but the 1200 Compact also offers variable color temperature orange (CTO), in order to correct colors and make their rendering precise.

Elation’s Design Beam 300 and 1200 Compact are high quality and powerful moving heads. What sets the Design Beam heads from other moving heads is their unique frost filter that allows you a great deal of flexibility in deciding how you will use them. In short the Design Beam 300 and 1200 are an outstanding choice for performance spaces of all sizes.BulbAmerica has both moving heads in stock right now, so check it out today!

The American DJ Galaxian: Bring Your Show to Life with Lasers

By BulbAmerica Editor

LED Strobe Lights: An Essential Effect for the DJ on the Go

By BulbAmerica Editor

LED Scanners: An Illuminating Lighting Effect

By BulbAmerica Editor

Out of the Fog: A Fog Machine Guide for the Perplexed

By BulbAmerica Editor

Great Options for LED Lighting Effects Are Here

By BulbAmerica Editor

A DJ’s performance is a spectacle of not only of sound, but also sight. The DJ’s lighting is essential to creating an environment where the music can come alive and entertain the crowd. Derby effect lighting is one of the most popular types of lighting effects in the DJ’s arsenal, and with the application of LEDs to these lighting effects, their lights are that much more powerful. Two lighting effects fixtures are particularly exciting. Chauvet’s Kinta X and American DJ’s Shooting Star LEDs are two of the brightest stars in DJ lighting and whose features will be highlighted in this article. Both the Kinta X and the Shooting Star LED use LED bulbs, allowing these fixtures to light up and switch colors incredibly quickly while remaining cool. These lightweight and high power fixtures both provide overall great lighting performances, but they do have some key differences.

The Chauvet Kinta X features a huge beam angle of 135°, and at only a power draw of 24w, the Kinta X will make the dance floor bright while not using too much power. One of the best features of the Kinta X is its ability to be not only linked up via master/slave, but it can be directly linked to Chauvet’s LED Mushroom and Double Derby X and then mounted together in a vertical column via Chauvet’s XBRACKET. The Kinta X’s various light programs and strobing patterns make it a lively addition to your DJ lighting set up.

American DJ’s Shooting Star LED has a slightly smaller beam angle, 112°, than the Kinta X. The Shooting Star makes up for this with American DJ’s TRI Color LED technology. Fixtures outfitted with this technology feature a 1 X 10w 3-in-1 RGB LED cluster. By having the fixture’s LED consolidated in a cluster, exciting colors such as cyan, yellow, white, and purple can be created through the mixing of colors. The Shooting Star achieves amazing colors using only a maximum of 20w. Like the Kinta X, the Shooting Star features a ¼” input for optional remote control to avoid using extra wires. Remote control is especially useful for the DJ on the go who has limited space, or installing a lighting system in a room with limited space. The Shooting Star is slightly larger than the Kinta X, weighing 9-lbs and being 12”x9.25”x11” versus the Kinta X, which weighs 6-lbs and is 11.1” x 11.7” x 10.4”.

For a derby lighting fixture, either the Kinta X or Shooting Star LED is a fantastic choice. Luckily BulbAmerica has both, giving the most options and at a great price. Check it out!

In the Spotlight #7: Choosing the Right CFL Shape

By BulbAmerica Editor

As CFLs become the go-to replacement for incandescent bulbs, they continue to multiply in the number of shapes they are offered in. What shape should you choose and why? These are good questions and in this article I will answer them for you, so let’s get started. CFL shapes can be broken down into two general shape categories, open shape CFLs and closed shape CFLs. Open CFLs refer to CFLs where the glass envelope is plainly visible such as in twists, mini-twists, and triple tube lamps. Closed CFL bulbs refer to CFLs where the envelope is concealed by another envelope such as with A-shape CFLs, globes, candelabras, bullets, and others.

The criteria you should use for deciding between closed and open shape CFL is the bulb’s application. Are you going to be using it in an enclosed fixture or in a partially exposed application like in certain wall sconces? For enclosed fixtures, most people go with open CFLs for two predominant reasons. The first is that open CFLs, such as mini-twists are often less expensive and less appealing to look at than closed bulbs, so people try to use them wherever they can get away with it. Furthermore, closed CFLs are often enclosed in an additional frosted glass envelope, further diffusing the light. Enclosed fixtures often come with frosted plastic or glass diffusers, therefore by using an A-shape CFL, or other such closed CFL, in an enclosed fixture you could be softening the light excessively or simply using redundant diffusers and wasting money. Put simply, my rule of thumb is that forclosed fixtures use open CFLs, and for open fixtures use closed CFLs. This should give you the light bulb and light you want.

When it comes to choosing between the different open CFL bulbs, you’ll again, want to take application into consideration. For lamps with shades, you’ll likely want to choose an open CFL with a smaller, more slender profile, such as a quad or triple tube bulb or a mini-twist. For larger fixtures, twist bulbs are a good choice. Similar considerations should be made when choosing among closed CFLs. Globe and Candelabra CFLs are typically used in more decorative or specialty applications like bathroom lighting or wall sconces, where the shape of the bulb itself is important. A-shape bulbs are good in many applications. Don’t forget about closed R (reflector) or BR (bulge reflector)bulbs either, they are typically used in recessed applications or ceiling fan fixtures. Hopefully this guide has been helpful and will assist you in navigating the numerous CFL shapes available.

Don’t forget to make BulbAmerica your one stop shop for CFLs. No matter what CFL you need, we’ve got it! As usual, leave us a comment or question on our blog or our Facebook. Also don’t forget to give us a call at (888)505-2111 with any further inquiries you have.

Say Goodnight to Odor with Compact Fluorescent Light

By BulbAmerica Editor

Air purifiers a great way to get rid of odors in your home or office. Unfortunately, they can be both cumbersome and expensive. Sunlite has recently come up with an inexpensive and compact solution, a compact fluorescent solution to be exact, to this problem. Sunlite’s O-ZONElite is a CFL twist bulb, available in 23w and 42w versions, coated with titanium oxide which is activated in a photocatalytic reaction as light passes through it. This reaction eliminates odors, bacteria, and fungi in rooms up to 10ft X 10ft.The O-ZONElite is a great choice in bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, basements, smoking rooms, and other spaces that are frequently exposed to odors, germs, and bacteria. With the Sunlite O-ZONElite, you are not only getting an odor/bacteria remover, but you are also getting a high quality CFL with a medium screw base and excellent color rendering. These bulbs are rated at 6,000hrs, so you will be keeping bright and odor free for a long time.

We have plenty of O-ZONElites for you to choose from, check it out today! As always, do not hesitate to leave a comment or question on the blog or give us a call at (888)505-2111.

Dimmable CFLs: Are they Really a Bright Idea?

As CFLs storm the lighting world, one sustained criticism of them has been that they cannot dim like incandescent bulbs. This was true when magnetic ballasts were the sole ballast technology for CFLs, but as electronic ballasts have become the standard,dimmable CFLs are now on the market, though not in as large numbers as non-dimmable CFLs. In this article I will take a look at the pros and cons of dimmable CFLs versus dimmable incandescent bulbs and help you decide whether they are worth your money. But first, I think it would be helpful to understand exactly how a dimmer works with an incandescent bulb, and why it is problematic when applied to a CFL. The concept of dimmer is simple, it simply reduces the voltage to the bulb and the bulb’s brightness increases or decreases accordingly. In an incandescent bulb this method of dimming works well because the reduction in voltage simply reduces the amount heat given off and therefore reduces the amount of light as well. This doesn’t work in CFLs because CFLs generate light by exciting a gas, which then yields light. If you cut the amount voltage the CFL receives it will more often than not simply go out because there is not sufficient current to excite the gas.

Today dimmable CFLs are offered by GE, SunLite, and Ushio among other manufacturers. Though dimmable CFLs are certainly an innovation, there are certain limitations to these bulbs. First, dimmable CFLs do not usually dim below 10%-20% brightness because the bulb cannot sustain light at that point. Another complaint surrounds the fact dimmable CFLs, and all CFLs for that matter, can take up to a minute to reach full brightness. This means that you cannot dim the bulb until it has reached full luminosity. Lastly and most importantly, there are limitations regarding the type of dimmer you can use with your CFL. As a rule of thumb never use photo cells or timers with any CFL unless you can do so as indicated on the bulb’s packaging. Dimmers are built to work within a certain power range. Dimmers that are designed for primarily incandescent bulbs, and especially older dimmers, will be engineered to work with wattages above 40w, this is too great for dimmable CFLs and could be problematic. More recent dimmers, particularly those released in the 1990s, have a wider wattage range and are therefore most likely compatible with your dimmable CFL. The point is that if possible, you try to find out what type of dimmer you have and what its range is before you dim your dimmable CFL. One final point is that as incandescent bulbs are dimmed their color temperature typically gets warmer and more ambient; this is not really the case with CFLs. The benefits to dimmable CFLs, however, are that they are more efficient and longer lasting and better for the environment. It is also likely that as the incandescent bulb phase-out approaches dimmable CFL technology will only improve, and rapidly. Dimmable CFLs will save you significant amounts of energy and you will not have to change your light bulb as often as if you use incandescent bulbs.

BulbAmerica has a wide selection of dimmable CFLs and regular CFLs in addition to other energy saving lighting products. We also have many, many dimmers. Check out what we have to offer!

Dress Up Your Home or Restaurant with CFL Globe and Candelabra Light Bulbs

Globe and candelabra style light bulbs have long been some of the most popular decorative light bulbs. These light bulbs have typically been incandescent, and thus inefficient and not environmentally friendly. Globe light bulbs are typically used in indoor applications where an exposed bulb cannot be avoided or is desired. Globe bulbs are used in bathrooms frequently to surround mirrors in light. This is an iconic image of the mirrors of Hollywood dressing rooms featured in innumerable films. Globe bulbs are also used in outdoor signs and marquees. Globe CFLs are not the brightest of the CFLs, and for this reason they are usually used in applications where using multiple bulbs is possible and/or favorable. Globe CFLs come in a wattage range of 5w to 30w. The color temperatures of Globe CFLs range from 2,700K to 6,500K, allowing you flexibility in applying them in indoor or outdoor applications.

Candelabra CFLs are typically used in sconces, chandeliers, night lights and other fixtures.Candelabra CFLs typically come with medium screw bases making them very easy to replace incandescent bulbs with. For candelabras, color temperature is especially important because they are often place in areas of homes or the restaurant that are important for creating ambiance. Osram and Sylvania offer candelabras with a comprehensive range of color temperatures to help you create the light ambiance you want. CFL candelabra bulbs have another important advantage over incandescent bulbs in that their improved life hour rating means less scrambling up ladders and disrupting delicate sconces to change light bulbs. CFL candelabras have life hour ratings ranging from 6,000hr to 8,000hr, a considerable improvement over incandescent bulbs.

Just because you should replace your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, does not mean you have to sacrifice your ability to use decorative light bulbs in your home or restaurant. We have catalogs full of decorative globe and candelabra bulbs, check them out today!