Just as compact fluorescent light bulbs have all but fully replaced incandescent lights in nearly every application, LEDs are on their way in. In much the same fashion, LEDs are plagued by high initial prices that are taking time to come down.
Even with the high price of LEDs, their advantages are many. One common complain about compact fluorescents is the ramp-up time to full brightness. Even instant-on CFLs have a ramp-up time; they start at a relatively low lumen count and then steadily get brighter until they’ve reached maximum lumens. LED light bulbs do not have this problem and as such turn on instantly with full brightness.
With the instant full intensity of LEDs, they are great for rooms/applications where cycling is a factor (turning on and off frequently). Repeated power cycling does not harm or hinder LED light bulbs. On a similar note, LEDs can also be dimmed as normal, albeit by slightly different means; a pulse-width modulator or lowering the forward current.
LEDs have a “slow failure”, that is their failure is a gradual dimming with a stop at the end. Incandescent bulbs have a direct failure that can easily result in bulb explosions if not carefully handled during removal. CFLs can shatter as well, if the screw-in base becomes stuck.
LED size can be misleading considering the tiny size of the bulbs and their incredible life span, which is estimated at 35,000 to 50000 hours. If you use the LED light bulbs in the right places (away from extreme heat), they should attain the aforementioned life spans. Compared the lifespan of the LEDs the incandescent is expect to perform 1000-2000 hours, and the compact fluorescent light bulb is engineered to last 10,000 to 15,000 hours.
I’ve seen LED lamps in use to replace flood lights in a basement. They didn’t provide the same amount of light as I would have wanted, but they must have been an equivalently lower wattage than the incandescent had been. This is part of the cause for the high price; more expensive parts and equipment cast more to produce and run.
I think that with all the advantages of LED light bulbs, once the prices start coming down we’ll see them used a lot more in homes and business. They’re already being used in the streets with LED traffic lights, although that has raised issues of its own. Nonetheless, I look forward to using them in my home.
Cabinet refacing is the simple process of replacing the front of your existing cabinets with similarly sized new doors, handles, hinges, and shelves. Other details can be ironed out with your contractor, but the end result is a set of new cabinets in little more than a few days.
The real appeal of this remodeling technique is the fantastic turnaround time in regards to completion. You could make an inquiry on Monday and then have fully functional cabinets with no sawdust laying on the ground, no screws or heavy machinery waiting to rips apart your walls, just a spot free installation process.
A full cabinet replacement can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000 depending on the scale. That’s a figure that would end up at a much lower estimate if cabinet refacing were the choice. In addition to the inflated cost of cabinet replacement is the length of the overall process, which can prove to be long and drawn out process. All in all a full cabinet replacement can take generously more than 4 weeks – a time that would without a doubt leave you kitchen-less.
The cabinet refacing process is one that should take no longer than five days. Obviously work on a very large scale can take five days, but a typical cabinetry layout in a normal sized kitchen might only take a day or two. This extremely shortened installation process is just one of the reasons why cabinet refacing, which uses real wood and comes in a wide variety of colors and styles, is such a popular choice in the home remodeling market.