Bickerstaffe Blog - Garden Parties
You see the thing about the summer, in the UK anyway, is that the weather can surprise you. There you are, looking rather balefully at your diary in May and thinking "I wonder how many layers I'm going to need for the Garden Opera next month or the Pop in the Park at Painshill." Don't look now but I think that was onomatopoeia, by the way. Doubtless someone will correct me.
And the weather forecast is really helpful, isn't it? True story, this. A Met Office man was once asked what percentage of the time they got the weather forecast right. Quick as a whippet, and with misplaced confidence he replied. "About 48% of the time". Back came the follow-up question. "In that case, why don't you forecast exactly the opposite of what you expect and you'll be right 52% of the time?" Now, I know what you're thinking - what is he talking about? Well, it's about perception, and perceived wisdom. We all assume that Meteorological Officers know their stuff because they have years of experience in their chosen field when, quite honestly, they're in the dark like the rest of us praying that the barby's going to be alright. And speaking of in the dark (you have got to be joking, the reader groaned, a pun from the 19th century?) it's not unlike the perceived wisdom about LED lighting. Some people, let's be honest lots of people, still believe that the light quality or luminosity is not yet good enough, that the difference between traditional lighting and LED technology will not only be discernible but largely unwelcome. Well, obviously, you don't stop reading here....
Another little story. I was at an outdoor summer opera a couple of weeks ago in the heart of London and was entertaining some clients, colleagues and companions. We had erected a gazebo and watched the show while being pleasantly served with, I think the polite word is, refreshments. After the show finished, at about 10.30 pm, we then spent a further happy hour discussing it, business and whatever came to mind. The business bit was all about sustainable products, and (you're with me, I'm sure) particularly LED technology. The place where the evening's entertainment took place is an extremely well-known London square with an ever-increasing number of LED advocates such that I am beginning to refer to it as not Red Square but Led Square. Ah, ha - yes, I am so funny.....but anyway....And guess what, our gazebo was lit entirely by LED latest generation 4ft T8s and a string of the globe 7 watt multi-headed and liquid LEDs run off a portable generator. And this is the thing about perceived wisdom (finally...), we didn't tell anyone that the entire tent was lit by LEDs and no one noticed anything different. It was genuinely very bright inside with a warm white glow from all of the units. When we eventually revealed the secret at the end of the evening with a little dramatic ran ta ta ta ta ta taaaa...! people were so surprised and impressed that we now have four more clients in the square. And the prices are falling too. In the corporate world, a 50 watt fluorescent tube light used for perhaps 12 hours per day will use approximately £50 more energy per year than our latest Mark 1 Solid State LED tubes for the same level of light. They cost (obviously depending on the size of your order, Mr. Customer) about £60. And this does not include any maintenance, wiring or switch mechanism cost savings derived from the lower power consumption of the LEDs. Therefore, in a little more than a year, the lamp has paid for itself and will save you a further £50 each year. The mathematical geniuses amongst you will have immediately worked out that if you happen to have 2107 bulbs in your premises you'll be saving £100,850 per annum on electricity. Wait a minute, you could hire Ronaldo for the week, wait...no, 4 days, no...well, you'd get him for the weekend at least.
During the summer you'll see a lot of LEDs, unless you're a boring old stick in the mud who never goes out. You'll see them at every open air concert where they use coloured lights for the stage or the surroundings. You'll see them when you climb into your car and look at the dashboard when you drive off for dinner. You'll see them at the airport on the departure screens when you leave for your holiday. And soon, very soon, you'll see them in your offices and in your homes. LED general lighting has arrived and is here to stay, at least until OLEDs arrive in about 10 years. They save up to 80% of your lighting bill. They are environmentally responsible as they don't use mercury or emit UV, and they last for over 50,000 hours; that's 5.7 years at 24 hours of every day non-stop. So, by my reckoning, if you fitted one tomorrow, Saturday 4th July, perhaps to celebrate those pesky Americans giving us the bum's rush a couple of centuries ago it would go out on March 16th 2015. Who knows? We might have won a Lions Tour by then.
Talk to you next month and thanks to all of our new clients.
Bickers