Reap the rewards of LED lighting with style Posted on 4 Apr 00:00

The most obvious benefit of upgrading to LED lighting is the immediate improvement in energy and maintenance costs. However, there is still a perception that LED lighting cannot provide the variety to create atmospheric ambience for hospitality, catering and retail premises. The emergence of new filament-style LED lamps which offer all the benefits of LED lighting but look exactly like traditional light bulbs, is starting to change that perception in a big way.

LED Eco Lights has developed design-driven retrofit LED filament lamps within its Bright Goods range which are carefully hand-crafted to look exactly like traditional bulbs in an array of classic, well-loved vintage shapes. These decorative-style LED lamps, in a warm, retro style, perfectly suit the ambience of pubs,  restaurants, hotels and retail premises. They can easily be retrofitted into existing fittings to highlight and improve almost every kind of interior, providing excellent illumination that is fully dimmable. This provides the advantages of energy efficient lighting without sacrificing the atmosphere, and with low installation costs offers a very attractive return on investment.

Energy and Maintenance Costs 

The energy savings associated with LED lighting are fully realised by this new generation of LED filament bulbs. As well as demonstrated energy savings of 85% or more, maintenance savings of up to 100% can be made and typical return on investment calculations show full payback from as little as 3 months.

The Bright Goods installation in the newly refurbished Oxford Blue gastropub in Windsor, is a case in point. The Oxford Blue, was acquired in 2015 by Steven Ellis, former chef at three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. After a lengthy refurbishment, the pub opened its doors last New Year's Eve and boasts a 44-cover venue with a wine attic for private dining, a 14-seat lounge for drinks and a 16-cover outside dining area.

Fettle Design was commissioned to create an interior that combined the historical elements of the building with modern efficient lighting technology. Fettle specified Bright Goods linear LED filament lamps which were installed throughout the premises and each lamp boasts an impressive 100Lm/W efficiency.

Andy Goodwin, Director of Fettle said, "To create the intimate dining atmosphere we were looking for, the lighting had to be spot on and the Bright Goods LED filament lamps aesthetically look beautiful and created the correct colour light whilst still being energy efficient with low maintenance costs."

Installation Costs 

The Oxford Blue was being fully refitted anyway, but even if this isn't the case, moving to LED technology can be achieved cost effectively without throwing away the existing infrastructure and past investment. LED lamps and luminaires are readily retrofitted within the current lighting scheme, reducing the replacement cost and enhancing the return on investment.

A good example is the installation of Bright Goods LED filament lamps, as an ongoing project, throughout the Fuller's 200 managed pub estate to reduce energy and maintenance costs. They were first installed in The Sail Loft, a newly built Fuller's pub in Greenwich, in a lighting scheme created by The Light Corporation, one of the UK's most foremost lighting design specialists.

Fuller's was impressed with both the appearance of the lights and the energy efficiencies achieved and recommended that Bright Goods LED lamps be retrofitted into existing Fuller's pubs as they are refurbished and installed in other new pubs as they are built.

Commenting, Peter Turner, Property Director at Fuller's said: "We were very impressed with the appearance of the Bright Goods LED lights. They provide illumination that is warm and welcoming as a filament bulb, maintaining the all-important ambience of the pub in the evening. It is also highly controllable, and can be dimmed as required. It allows us to maintain a traditional feel while reducing our carbon footprint."

Appearance

Bright Goods LED lamps promise all the benefits of standard LED lighting with the decorative style demanded by pubs, restaurants, hotels and retail premises and will instantly create a warm and cosy ambience in any establishment. Another installation of Bright Goods LED filament lamps has helped recreate the atmosphere of a traditional Bavarian schloss, or country house, within Manchester's newest music and entertainments venue, Albert's Schloss. A popular daytime destination for business and social meetings, Albert's Schloss transforms at dusk into an energetic live-music venue, where LED filament lamps complement the overall appearance and ambience.

The Light Corporation was commissioned to design a spectacular lighting system that not only achieved the performance and visual impact of incandescent bulbs, but also ensured flexibility, versatility and energy efficiency. "The Bright Goods LED filament lamps were ideal first choices to bring our cutting-edge design to life. Offering a perfect combination of elegance, style and energy efficiency, the Josephine and George models enabled us to create the atmosphere of a traditional Bavarian schloss in the pulsing heart of Manchester. Although initially sceptical about using LED lamps to create the desired ambience, our client was blown away with what we were able to achieve and he's delighted that we've helped to meet the overall goal - a customer experience that's second to none." says Michael Wake of The Light Corporation.

Controllability

By contrast with some other energy efficient lighting technologies, LED lighting is highly controllable and compatible with building automation and control systems. It is fully dimmable, and doesn't' suffer even with building automation and control systems. It is fully dimmable, and doesn't suffer even if frequently turned on and off. An example of how a Bright Goods installation allowed complete control of lighting levels in My Front Room, as Edinburgh coffee house that opened for business in the summer of 2026. Creative designer Keiron Calder designed the coffee house with a modern, functional and contemporary feel.

When it came to choosing lighting for My Front Room, co-owner Nick Keenan had originally entertained the idea of using Edison style filament bulbs. However, their inefficiency, short lifespan and poor light output made them unsuitable. After a successful trial of two colour temperatures, the warm colour temperature (2.7K) was preferred as it complemented My Front Room's decor. The LED filament light bulbs are used with a dimmer switch, ensuring lighting levels are fully controllable.

Commenting on the LED filament lighting, Nick enthused: "The energy-saving benefits from these bulbs are second to none. They were exactly what we needed - modern efficiency, right output and a great piece of design. I was very pleased from the array of samples received, to the overall cost, plus the outstanding and continued service received from LED Eco Lights. The George bulbs are exceptional."

Conclusion

With a fast growing take-up from the catering, hospitality and retail industries, new LED filament-style lights offer a perfect combination of elegance, style and energy efficiency. With glass-to-cap finishing, the new LED filament-style lights are changing the perception of LED technology and are supplied with a 2 year guarantee against failure.