Made in the (Cellular) Shade

Cellular shades for homes have become a big deal. It doesn’t matter if you’re a distributor for home finishing products, a designer or architect, or a contractor; homeowners will be asking about them. And even those homeowners who aren’t thinking about shades, will be glad to hear about what cellular shades can add to their home because cellular shades like Serena from Lutron provide homeowners with the features they’re looking for.

Comfort
Homeowners can reduce midday heat by filtering the amount of daylight that comes into a room—which, of course, helps reduce summer cooling costs. And when winter rolls around, homeowners can easily raise their shades to capture light and natural heat from the sun.

Convenience
Serena cellular shades are also incredibly easy to use. You can remind customers and clients that they’ll be able to raise or lower their shades—even hard-to-reach foyer windows—with single touch on the remote from anywhere in the room. If they’re watching a movie on the couch, they can cut the glare right from where they sit—and open the shades again whenever they want.

Privacy
With today’s emphasis on lots of glass and open interiors, privacy is more of an issue than ever. Remote-controlled shades allow homeowners to have the privacy they want without heavy, cumbersome window treatments.

Practicality
Serena cellular shades are a contractor’s dream to install. They can be mounted in three easy steps. And the Tap n’ Tilt™ technology on the remotes makes it a snap for homeowners to change batteries. Of course, with the Triathlon™ power technology that provides a 3-year battery life, they won’t have to do that often!

All that, and beauty, too!
Serena cellular shades are as beautiful as they are functional and come in a variety of opacities—from sheer and translucent to room darkening. All cellular shade fabrics come with a white backing that acts as a reflector that keeps living space cool and comfortable inside. And while homeowners can pick a color that fits the unique design of each room on the interior, the exterior will have a uniform appearance.

Here’s more specific information about Serena Cellular Shades.

Six Reasons to Turn Your Customers and Clients on to LED Lighting

You’re a lighting expert—at least that’s one way your customers and clients view you. Whether you distribute the light fixtures they use, specify them for a home or office, or install them; people expect you to steer them in the right direction. So why will customers and clients be happy when you turn them on to LEDs? Here are six reasons.

LED Lighting saves electricity—and money. More and more individuals (and companies) are concerned about energy use. And everybody loves it when they can save money. LED light bulbs are eight times more efficient than incandescent bulbs–and twice as efficient as compact florescent lights (CFLs). You can be an economic hero by saving your clients a lot of money.

LED lights are “kind” to sensitive materials. Because they don’t produce ultraviolet light, LED lights are safer for things like photos, artwork, and other sensitive materials. That means, unlike florescent or halogen lights, they won’t cause fading or aging.

LED lights don’t require warm up time. Florescent lights take time to get to full strength. CFL lights are much faster, but still have a bit of “lag” time before they reach full brightness. LED lights are at full brightness as soon as you turn them on.

LED bulbs don’t have to be replaced as often. One LED light bulb will last longer than 30 incandescent bulbs. And even though CFLs last longer than incandescent bulbs, a single LED bulb will last longer than 6 compact fluorescents. As a matter of fact, an LED bulb can be in operation for more than 30,000 hours. LEDs are less sensitive to some of the things that destroy conventional bulbs, such as shock, vibration, and the extreme temperature changes.  Unlike florescent bulbs, they aren’t affected by being turned on and off frequently.

LED lights contain no mercury. That’s a big deal when it comes to disposing of bulbs. Fluorescent lights contain mercury and have to be disposed of as hazardous waste.

LED lights are really cool! Really! Because they operate at much lower temperatures than halogen and incandescent bulbs, the risk of fire is dramatically reduced.