A chandelier as defined by Wikipedia “is a ceiling-mounted fixture with two or more arms bearing lights”. But when one thinks of a chandelier, one usually has in mind the bold and expensive chandeliers adorning the ballrooms of the rich and famous. However contemporary chandeliers are the “in thing” today, as they are not too expensive, come in various designs, and light up the room with a nice ambience.

What really sets Contemporary chandeliers>contemporary chandeliers apart is the attention to shape, design, and function. In fact, most contemporary chandeliers implement various color schemes and patterns, which help to add a distinct and warm glow to any room. Contemporary chandeliers also feature unique patterns of the lights.

The days of classifying chandeliers as pricey or limited to a certain class are certainly gone. With so many different types of contemporary chandeliers available, we now have the ability to turn our own homes into something of an art gallery. These intimate pieces are sure to give the rooms in your home a different personality, and you are sure to receive admiration from your family and friends.

A contemporary chandelier is sure to give any room in your home a whole new personality; an interior fashion face-lift if you will. Contemporary chandeliers come in different patterns, color schemes, styles and designs, with each one giving a distinct glow to your home.

There are fibre optic chandeliers which provide the ultimate impact in hallways, stairwells, dining rooms, bedrooms and living spaces. Some of them have as many as 200 sparkling fibre optic tails arranged in four rings and staggered in length.

Some of the contemporary chandeliers have remote control to control the colour wheel to switch from white light to continuous gentle colours. This revolutionary light sculpture is not only unique and dramatic space filler but also boasts therapeutic effects.

Unlimited Light – The number one online source for contemporary chandeliers and the most highly regarded fibre optic lighting company, offers contemporary chandeliers which deliver maximum impact in hallways, stairwells, dining rooms, bedrooms and living spaces.

For those in need of a refresher, CFLs provide numerous benefits over other options. Some of the features of CFLs include:

CFL bulbs last longer, saving your customers money:

Although they cost more to purchase, consumers actually end up saving money because of the longer life of the bulb (up to ten times longer life). An Energy Star qualified bulb will save customers about $30 over the lifetime of the bulb. This savings gives vendors the opportunity to up-sell additional products.

CFLs are energy efficient:

CFL bulbs use about 75% less energy than tradition incandescent light bulbs. Not only this, the energy they do use is being used more effectively. Up to 80% of energy used by incandescent is wasted as heat, not light. Ultra efficient bulbs don’t have this problem, making them run both cooler and more efficiently.

What are they?

Compact fluorescent light bulbs don’t operate the tradition way: running current through a wire filament until it gets hot enough to glow. CFLs drive current through vapors, creating ultraviolet light, which is then converted inside the tube into visible light. Older CFLs have magnetic ballasts which often buzz, new CFLs have replaced this with electric ballasts, which operate silently. Newer energy efficient CFLs really are a fascinating and unique concept.

Mercury: the honest truth:

Yes, CFLs do contain trace amounts of mercury (about 4 milligrams in each bulb.) On the other hand, power plants emit a significant amount of mercury. The reduced energy consumption of CFLs means that there is a net reduction of the amount of mercury emitted for lighting purposes. Also it is worth mentioning that broken CFLs can be cleaned up without involving the fire department.

As compact fluorescent lights grow in usage it is important that vendors stay abreast of all the options and considerations of newer light bulbs when suggesting an effective lighting solution to their clients. These energy efficient light bulbs truly do offer superior performance over incandescent.

For more about CFL light bulbs, energy efficient lighting options, or to order light bulbs (both retail and wholesale) please contact Florida’s lighting experts, Superior Lighting. We can be reached on the web at http://www.superiorlighting.com or by calling (800) 432-7995.

This treatement is done with the help of special light therapy lamps.

In autumn or winter a large number of people feel tired, have no energy, their morale is low and they eat more than usual.  For certain people, this state could send them into depression.

These symptoms are due to our metabolisms difficult adaptation to the autumn winter season, with shorter darker and depressive days.

At its peak this phenomenon is called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).  It can also show itself in a lighter form called “Winter Blues”.

These phenomenons are between the months of September and March.

Almost 20% of the population suffers from winter blues.  5% of the population becomes victims of deep depression: Loss of sense of humour, a desire to be alone, weight gain and a loss of interest for usual activities.

Light therapy is a simple, effective and medically recognised way to beat these symptoms.

Find all the information you need on light therapy at Solvital. 

A slow increase in light that helps you to wake up without any stress : that is the dawn simulator also known as the sunrise alarm clock or even light alarm from SOLVITAL.

Imitating the sunrise in the morning and dusk at night so that you can wake up and fall asleep naturally and without stress.

Finished stressful wakeup calls with ringing alarms, which make you jump, with the sunrise alarm clock you can wake up naturally to light, just like in the summer and, the same at night to the gradual decrease in light.  An original idea for a present, for those who have trouble sleeping and, for those who have trouble waking up.  The dawn simulator is used for children aswell as adults who will sleep naturally and wake up with no problems.

 6 reasons for using the dawn simulator :

- The dawn simulator has been clinically tested,
- The dawn simulator allows you to wake up naturally,
- Being woken up by dawn simulation ensures the natural secretion of Cortisol,
- The dawn simulator ensures biorhythm regulation,
- The dawn simulator helps fight insomnia,
- The dawn simulator helps you to fall asleep at night.

Solvital site is also a specialist in bright light therapy, which is very different from dawn simulation.  This treatment helps to fight against all problems linked to a lack of natural sunlight.  When light intensity is inferior to 2000 lux (light intensity) the body naturally secrets melatonin (sleeping hormone) which in turn brings on moodiness, tiredness, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) etc… Simply being exposed to an intensive bright light designes specially for therapy use, the production of melatonin is blocked and normal activity and energy is regained.

 For more information Solvital light therapy and sunrise alarm clocks

Light therapy has been used for a number of years to get round the loss of light in winter.1 man out of 10 and 1 woman out of 5 suffer from winter blues and in certain cases seasonal depression called SAD Seasonal Affective Disorder.

We are coming up to the shortest days of the year, a period where there are the most cases of seasonal depression, winter blues, which is tiredness in the morning, lack of dynamism, becoming irritable, gloomy humour, sleeping trouble, a lack of libido.  These symptoms are due to a loss of sleep, which can easily be beaten thanks to the use of light therapy lamps.  All you have to do is be exposed infront of a lamp that reproduces natural sun light (about 2500 and 10000 lux), preferably in the morning, for about half an hour.  You will find all your energy as if you were in August.

To find out more on light therapy, its medical basics and to find a light therapy lamp or light therapy glasses LUMINETTE which have been agreed by the EU medical board go to :

Solvital light therapy

Think of them for birthdays or anniversary and offer your friends a bit of well being.

Although English people are only just starting to discover light therapy lamps, there is a new product on the market : the light therapy glasses called LUMINETTE.

This products’ clarification was done by researchers of Liège University and its’ industriel partners who wanted to creat an original model giving maximum theraputic effectiveness bringing the source of light to the eye without any complications.

The advantage of this high-tech product is that you can wear it while going about your business and still benefit from the light therapy at work or while doing your daily activities without any discomfort you can even wear the luminette with perscription glasses.

A reminder for those who do not know about light therapy yet.  It is just as the name suggests therapy from lights.  Light therapy started in the United States thanks to a famous professor Rosenthal who first discovered the link between winter depression also called seasonal depression and the lack of light.

The treatment consists of a daily exposure to a light therapy medical lamp due to a loss of sunlight in winter.  It helps to beat seasonal depression, tiredness, gloomy humour and to find energy and vitality in the middle of winter.

The use of these lamps is also recommended to night workers to people who do alot of travelling, to compensate for the effects of jet lag.  In these 2 cases, the straightforwardness and the easiness of the use of the luminette can be particularly appreciated.

Doing sport regularly and having a good diet is essential for our well being. Research by Leppämaki S, Partonen T, Lönnqvist J have shown that associating light therapy and sport improve the results sensibly.

In principle : Physical exercise lessens the depressive symptoms, aswell as being exposed to light (paricularly in the winter seasons).

The object of the test : to compair the effect of just exercise or to combine it with light therapy and to verify the effects on our humour and the quality of life.  The test lasts 8 weeks and the results of the questionnaire on humour and quality of life are relative to our health and are linked.

Results : Physical exercise were effective to diminue the depressive symptoms if the person was exposed to light therapy.

So, if you exercise at home install a light therapy lamp infront of your apparatus, the result can only be better.

Professional athletes have understood the interest :

Certain football clubs have been equiped in the changing rooms with light therapy lamps (Baseball football team from Switzerland).

The british rowing team, gold medalists in the Olympic games in Athens in August 2004, were equiped with dawn simulators (also known as sunrise alarm clocks or even light alarms) : 4 members of the team used the dawn simulator to awake them during the games.

One of the members ED Cooke said, “when the final starting getting closer we had to get up earlier and earlier, because it is not light in Athens till 6h30 in the morning, it was great to wake up with sunlight at 4h45 in the morning.  The simulators woke us up full of energy for the final”.

In conclusion Ed Cooke is without ambiguity :

“The simulators have certainly made a difference.  It was alot more useful than we thought it would be!”.

You will find any additional information needed on the dawn simulator or on light therapy at Solvital light therapy.

The winter season which depresses us

The loss of light affects directly our morale.  One summers day brings a light intensity of 100 000 lux (light intensity) and in the bright office, we recieve only 400 lux.  This contrast affects directly our matabolisme by the changes of our hormones with an over production of melatonin (sleeping hormone) during the day.

Light therapy, a treatment against winter blues and seasonal depression

Light therapy can be used in the home or in a number of hospitals.

The use at home of this light therapy can be used for comfort.

How to use it

All you have to do is be exposed to a light therapy lamp, at a respectable distance and a duration of time. The results of this treatment are quite quick as it consists of sending a light message via the retina and the nurotransmitters so as to inhabit the secretion of the melatonin.

You will find all the information you need on light therapy and Seasonal Affective Disorder on the Solvital light therapy website

It is an age old question.It has kept many a man up at night,pencil in hand,scribbling figures and measurements endlessly on ream after ream of paper.Still it perplexes even the most astute scholar of mathematics:How many lights should I put on my tree?When decorating indoor and outdoor trees for the holiday season,just how many lights should be used?The Christmas Light Source has found a solution to the problem.No more sleepless nights,no more endless formulas to compute.No,all you have to do is visit their website to see the Christmas Lights Calculator and answer a couple of questions to find out pretty much instantly how many lights you should put on your tree.
While not everyone decorates their tree the same way,this tool is a good place to start.Individual taste usually dictates how many lights a tree should have.What is simple to one person may be extravagant to another.There are not hard fast rules,but there are some standards that can work as guidelines for designing the perfect tree.The tool calculates the size of the tree and the type of lights that the person intends to use.It then recommends how many lights should be used,but they can do more or less,depending on personal taste.The calculator is intended for trees that have kept their leaves.In the case of a tree that has lost its leaves,Christmas Light Source recommends using up to half of that number of lights.For indoor trees,they suggest adding 30% to the highest recommended amount of lights if you like your Christmas tree lighting to be over the top.It should also be noted that the tool is trees.
“We had so many people calling in asking for advice,”says Shellie Gardner,co-owner of Christmas Light Source.”So we thought we’d create this tool to give them an easy way to see what changing the sets of lights would do for the quantity that would be required.”And it is certainly doing its job.Along with pithy but fun comments returned to users,the little tool keeps with the lightheartedness and humor that is prevalent throughout the Christmas Light Source website.They have managed to solve yet another holiday dilemma with a creative,effective,user friendly tool.Now,if they could only solve the fruitcake issue…
Christmas Light Source is a one stop shopping source for Christmas lighting needs.From hardware to lights and everything in between,Christmas Light Source has everything for holiday lighting decor as well as tips,tricks and do it yourself projects.For more information,visit their website at christmas-light-source.com

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A quarter of the population sees their life turned upside down by the season’s rhythm, where as 2 or 3% of people suffer a severe depression due to this time of year.  It is only since the middle of the 80’s that researchers started looking for the reasons of this depressive state.  Someone suffering from seasonal depressions have a tendancy to see their appetite increase, have a taste for sugar and have an excessive need for sleep.  As the symptoms are different to a regular depression, Dr Marc Hébert researcher and professor at Laval Robert Giffard University, thinks it is necessary to treat patients differently. Instead of giving them a percription for antidepressants he praises a healthier solution : exposure to light.

The eye : window to the brain

“Contrary to what many people think the eye is not an external organ, but an extention of the brain” explains Dr Hébert.  All the plays between the two ears, but as it is extremely difficult to study the organ in vivo, the study of the eye is composed of an interesting window.

If the brain seems to be affected by the lack of light, we do not know what makes certain people more vulnerable than others.  It is by analysis of the retina that multidisciplinary directed by Dr Hébert, composed of researchers in neuroscience in opthalmologyof psychologists and psychiatrists resulting in knowing a little more about the role of light on the brain.  “Alot of sick neuropsychiatrists think that the eye is the vision of the person not affected, he says (…) we are capable of studyin neurotransmitters presents the eye and we can see the effects after four weeks of light therapy sessions.”

Seratonine and dopamine are the two most common neurotransmitters that are directly linked to the humour.  If there is a chemical inbalance of the neurotransmitters it can start a depression.

Light therapy

Light therapy, lux therapy or photo therapy consists of exposure to an intense light at eye level of 5000 to 10 000 lux (light unities), in controled conditions.  A headline comparison, of regular lighting that we can have at the house or at the office of only 100 to 150 lux.

The advantage of this treatement is that it can be done at home.  A light therapy lamp costs about 250 $.  Certain pharmacies also offer a months trial.  The cost of renting deducted if the person decides to buy the lamp.  It is better to buy a lamp specially made for this effect rather than fabricate your own, says the specialist (it is a danger for the eyes and your skin).

The use of a light therapy lamp can be diversified, because the user can stay active during sessions. Dr Hébert personnaly uses all the time a lamp at work at his desk.  He suggests also to people to put it on the table while they are having breakfast or when they are reading a news paper.  The person should keep their eyes open, but not to keep looking at the light.  The person can then carry on about their business, while being exposed to the light. You can equalise the sessions of exposur and the intensity of the light by your own energy and needs, which can change each month each year.  After an hour a day, the benefits generally show about a week later.  Sure it is firstly recommended to consult a doctor so as to decide if the problem which is affecting the person is actually seasonal depression.

Sceptics

Despite its benefits, light therapy still has scepitcs in the medical community.  “There are psychologists and psychiatrists