Q: Why is a more interactive customer-employee relationship so important to State Line Lighting?

A: Unfortunately there are many lighting products that look similar, but which operate on entirely different principles.

At best a mistake made purchasing an item online will cost you time, money and aggrevation. In a worst case scenario the wrong purchase can result in a fire that destroys everything you own.

I know that may sound a bit dramatic, but there is a reason that all light fixtures come with a warning label stating something to the effect of: "CAUTION: To reduce the risk of fire use (such and such type) bulbs rated (fill in the blank) watts or lower."

Let's take a quick look at two lighting products.

Both of these lamps are 35 watts, come in a PAR20 shape and are made of heavy glass. The only visible differences in the two is that one has a "neck" one-half inch longer than the other with an aluminum base and the other has a shorter neck and a brass base.

Both products will screw into a standard medium base household socket, but only one of them will work. The reason being that one of these is a halogen lamp and the other is a high intensity discharge metal halide lamp, which requires a separate voltage regulating ballast to operate.

Small differences in wattage, voltage, amperage, size, shape, color, etc. can be the difference between ordering what LOOKS correct and ordering what IS correct.

We realize that lighting is probably not the most important thing on your To-Do list (until it gets dark) so take advantage of our professional experience and get the right item the first time.

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Q: I make it a point to be an educated consumer. Besides, there is a difference between a light bulb not working and a light bulb burning down my house. Where's the fire?

A: Being an educated consumer is great. It will make it easier to identify what you actually need when you contact us, but please understand that older time-tested lighting technologies are being legislated out of existence.

The goal of government and the lighting industry is to replace incandescent bulbs with new technologies that save energy and are more environmentally friendly. However, with new technologies come new problems. Sometimes they're problems even the manufacturers can't forsee.

Let's take a look at one technology the government is pushing hard on the public, compact fluorescent lamps or CFL's.

The basic CFL that you'll be using in your homes will be comprised of three parts: a fluorescent tube, a ballast and a base. This "one-piece" configuration is relatively new, designed to fit into existing incandescent fixtures, although that doesn't always work out as intended.

Hopefully you know beforehand that some CFL's are built for dimmable circuits and some are not. If you didn't before hopefully you do now.

Anyway, you'll screw the base of the CFL into the light socket and flip the switch. The ballast of the CFL will send a jolt of electricity strong enough to arc from one end of the fluorescent tube to the other. After this "ignition" of the gases inside the tube the ballast will begin regulating the lamp at a consistent lower voltage.

That high initial voltage needed to ignite the lamp and ongoing ballast heat are just two of the many reasons why CFL's work best in situations where they are well ventilated and left burning for an extended period of time. It's also why the ones you flip on and off all the time seem to burn out so fast.

What the lighting industry learned from real world use of their products was that a chance existed for the lamp to burn out before the ballast; and, in some rare cases, the ballast would continue trying to light the lamp with this high voltage until such time that the ballast might begin to overheat, melt the outer plastic housing, emit smoke and possibly catch on fire.

What? You don't believe me? Well, you just met me so I can't blame you for feeling that way. Do an internet search for "cfl fire" and you'll find some people posting their personal experiences. Somewhere in the search results, probably near the top, will be the the federal government's statement on the issue, found here:

Can CFLs overheat and smoke? - Energy Star's Answer

Although there is some question as to whether the CFL itself catches fire or if the excessive heat simply ignites a nearby flammable substance, the end result is the same.

Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices; or at least that's how they describe themselves here:

About ENERGY STAR

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Q: Ok, so now I know what to look for. What's stopping me from taking that information and ordering an Energy Star rated lamp from someone that offers online ordering?

A: The short answer is that there is nothing stopping you. If we imparted some important new facts to you then this website has served its purpose. First and foremost this site is intended to be an information portal for our employees, our manufacturers and our end-using partners.

If you do choose to order from another online site for the convenience factor, before clicking on the "BUY" button for that Energy Star rated lamp, send them an email asking if the particular item they'll be shipping was manufactured before "end-of-life" technology became required. Light bulbs have a long shelf-life and what got stamped with an Energy Star rating in November of 2008 might not qualify for that same Energy Star rating today.

If you do try to communicate directly with those online ordering sites you might learn the hard way, as I had to learn the hard way, that the listed point of contact for that website actually has no idea about lighting. For many online ordering sites their internet presence is basically a glorified "answering service" whose sole function is to ring up maximum sales with minimal effort.

At State Line Lighting we take pride in the fact that every employee has "hands-on" real world experience with the products that we sell. Everyone here has unloaded a truck, stocked the warehouse shelves, pulled orders, attended manufacturer meetings on new products and taken samples home to test and review in real world use.

There are several points to all this:

Firstly, I can be a major windbag when I'm writing. Fortunately, for you and for me, I am aware of this and do my best to connect you with our excellent Customer Service Partners as quickly as possible, thus limiting your exposure to the likes of me. ;)

Secondly, when done properly, lighting can be functional, beautiful and a joy to behold.

If your sole criteria in lighting is to find the lowest price then you may find that your lighting is functional, but it looks like crap, strains your eyes and gives you headaches.

Who knows, you might even get a hidden surprise with that online purchase!

Lastly, sometimes what looks like a bargain is not a bargain. The best chance of getting what you paid for is to discuss your particular situation with a lighting professional who understands that one size does not fit all and that your input is an important part of getting you the right item at the right price and in a timely fashion.

While we rely on the internet to communicate quickly, effectively and efficiently, we are careful to remember that the most important source of information is you, the customer. Hopefully, with this in mind, you'll forgive us for deciding not to make another internet-light-bulb-bargain-bin with self-checkout-service.

Give us a call or shoot us an email, you might be surprised at how good it feels when you work with people who listen and care.

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