House of Blues gets a little greener with LED switchover

Ever been on a video shoot? Let me tell you, it's hot, especially with all the lights associated with making whomever's on camera look human. So, it follows that the recording and studio lighting equipment you need to lay down an award-winning audio track is likewise pretty much of a heat-generating energy hog.

Well, it may not have been able to do anything about the microphones yet, but the House of Blues Recording Studio in Nashville reports that it recently switched to LED lighting to help keep things a tad more energy efficient, and cooler. The studio is using Definity LED bulbs from Lighting Science Group, which were developed as replacements for traditional incandescent bulbs. Here's a comment from Mike Paragone, the studio manager:

"Not only have we cut our lighting energy cost by close to 80%, we have also greatly reduced the studio’s heat load, which was substantial before with the traditional bulbs and studio equipment.  In fact, one artist recently told me to turn the thermostat up—that almost never happens!"

Lighting Science Group's A19 Definity product, which is dimmable, is priced around $20, which is about half of what a comparable GE bulb is expected to cost. The company has an arrangement with Home Depot, for which it is producing a special edition of the A19 40-watt replacement bulb -- the first in the retailer’s ECOSMART LED brand line. The bulb carries a retail price of $19.97.