Lighting 101

Many lighting companies sacrifice safety and quality for a lower price point. When you install Tresco products, you can rest assured that they carry valid UL, ETL, or QPS safety certifications.

LEDs fade as opposed to abruptly burning out. “End of Life” refers to the number of hours until the LED has completely faded out, although it will have been too dim to use for many hours leading up to that point. “Useful Life”, on the other hand, refers to the number of hours until the LED reaches 70 percent of its initial light output, which is a much more practical indicator for consumers.

LEDs, as a natural result of the manufacturing process, have inconsistent color from one diode to the next. Top brand LED suppliers, like the ones used by Tresco, combat this process known as “binning” -inspecting each individual diode and matching them to ensure consistency.

“Lumens” is the measure of visible light output emitted from a fixture. For under cabinet lighting, where the goal is to illuminate a workspace to perform specific tasks, the brighter the better. For soffit, toe kick or other accent lighting, a moderate output is better.

Using puck lights with tight beam spreads under wall cabinets can create unsightly dark spots on the backsplash between lights. Beam spreads of 90 degrees or greater will reduce the dark spots. For spotlight applications, such as in-cabinet or display lighting, a beam spread of 20-40 degrees is desirable.