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What is quality energy efficient lighting?

For any lighting project to be successful four conditions must be met.

1. Good light quality
2. Good electrical properties
3. Appropriate fixture type(s)
4. Proper location(s).

1) The lamp light quality/ quantity must be appropriate. Appropriate color temperature and good color rendering (see article, "I Hate Fluorescent"), also, appropriate light quantity is needed (this is a very complex issue and at the heart of lighting design), and appropriate lamp light distribution.

2) Electrical properties must be appropriate. No buzzing or flickering ballasts, no humming transformers, properly zoned switching, and wattage levels that are sustainable.

3) The light fixture style/ type needs to be appropriate. Reinforce building design aesthetic (decorative or utilitarian), proper fixture distribution type (direct, indirect, etc.) appropriate scale.

4) You must have proper fixture location. The right fixture in the wrong place, or in the wrong quantity will not give optimum results. (see article, How to begin a project)

Most lighting fixtures use either incandescent (Inc.), fluorescent (FL), or high intensity discharge (HID) lamps (light bulbs). Each of these categories can be sub divided further and for this discussion it is important that we do so. Incandescent can either be standard (St. Inc.) or halogen (H. Inc.) and each of these can be either line voltage, which is 120 volts, or low voltage (LV) at 12 volts. The fluorescents can be either "large lamp" (the long tubes with pins at the ends, double ended) or compact fluorescent (CFL). The CFLs can have either a regular screw in type base (medium) or a pin type base (like the large lamps but just at one end. The screw base CFLs are mainly used in retrofit applications. The HID lamps are sub divided into; Mercury Vapor (MV, rarely used today for quality lighting applications), High Pressure Sodium (HPS, used extensively for its perceived efficiency but has poor light quality)

Most lighting distributors can buy products from a wide variety of manufacturers but only stock a limited range of products in an effort to control inventory costs. The main reason shoppers looking for quality Efficient Lighting Fixtures have trouble finding them is a simple case of Supply & Demand, or in this case Demand & Supply. Lighting stores want to stock what will sell, and in today's market the vast majority of retail shoppers are looking for incandescent light fixtures (which are on the whole, non-efficient). In part this is due to misconceptions about the quality of new fluorescent products (see article, "I hate fluorescent"). Also good quality fluorescent fixtures often have a higher first cost than an incandescent counterpart (see article, First cost vs. life cycle cost). The small amount of ELF products that are stocked are usually very generic and inexpensive (cheap) that may be attractive to someone who is only concerned with a low first cost, low maintenance solution and not fixture appearance or quality.

The method that I recommend you use to find ELF products is as follows: Rather than starting out by looking in catalogs, you should go to a lighting store. Find a fixture that you like and ask the store if they can order you one just like it that is designed for compact fluorescent or T-8 lamps. The advantage to this is that you can; see the fixture, judge the quality, have an idea of the cost and you know that the distributor can buy from that manufacturer (because they have one in the store). Many manufacturers can make a fixture for a variety of light sources but most distributors stock only incandescent or old technology fluorescent types. Also this gives you an opportunity to explore other possibilities like different finishes, lens types, size, etc. If you still can't find one that you like, then begin looking in catalogs (or do a web search) and see if you can find something that you like. Be aware that there are hundreds (thousands) of lighting manufacturers and not every lighting distributor will (or can) buy from all of them. So your best bet is to go to some lighting showrooms first to shop (most "home center" type stores will not special order items that they don't normally stock). Also be aware that most lighting stores will require some prepayment on special order items and will rarely take them back (if you change your mind about the fixture) with out a restocking charge (unless it's defective in some way).