Oct 20, 2010

Christmasworld: festive lighting in fashion: tips for saving energy indoors and outdoors

When the days draw in and the temperature falls, the yearning for fairy lights, candle arches and Christmas lighting grows. And, in the coming season, the focus will remain on quality and design. “The homing trend is still highly topical. In the cold and dark months around Christmas, most people like to turn their homes into an even more comfortable place to spend time”, says Jutta Baumann, Christmasworld Director. At the leading international trade fair for festive decorations in Frankfurt from 28 January to 1 February 2011, manufacturers will present the latest decorative products and trends for all festivities of the year. Festive lighting is one of the main themes of the huge range of products to be seen at the fair and the exhibitors include Best Season, Blachère Illumination, Cinter, Hellum, Konstsmide, Markslöjd, Sirius, Star Trading and STT AG Staudacher Trading. More and more manufacturers in this sector are turning to energy-saving solutions because, although they create a pleasant atmosphere, fairy lights and illuminated articles can also cause electricity consumption and costs to rise sharply. However, this is not necessarily the case because it is possible for consumers who do not want to go without these attractive accents in their homes and gardens to keep power consumption down.

In common with many other segments of the lighting industry, the light source of the future in the decorative field is the LED (Light Emitting Diode). Manufacturers have made great headway in recent years. With a life expectancy of over 10,000 hours, the new illuminant is vastly superior to a conventional light bulb, which burns for just about 1,000 hours before it needs replacing. Moreover, using LEDs results in a power saving of up to 90 percent. And manufacturers of festive lighting have not been slow to take advantage of this. Hence, energy-saving LEDs are now being used for an increasing number of products, from fairy lights and illuminated Christmas stars to animated lighting objects. Although such products are more expensive to buy, consumers should not be put off by this, says Norbert Schäfer, CEO of decorative-lighting manufacturer Konstsmide: “The saving in electricity is so great that it pays to change over to LED lighting.” However, anyone who is not prepared to exchange their existing festive lighting for a more up-todate version can also cut their power consumption because the conventional light bulbs in the majority of products can simply be replaced by LEDs.

In the outdoor segment, low-voltage LED systems rank among the winners because they make it possible to operate a variety of different lighting elements with more than 1,000 illuminants from a single power source. Thanks to the modular design, all conventional lighting elements – from standard fairy lights, via ‘icicle’ light sets, to ‘ropelights’ – can simply be connected in series, i.e., one after the other. Some manufacturers even offer all-year products including illuminated planters, party fairy lights and plant spots. “This means customers can install the main components (transformer, extensions, etc.) permanently and only change the season-specific parts as necessary. The result is a maximum in terms of impact at the same time as minimising the work and energy costs involved”, says Daniel Famme, Sales Manager of manufacturer Best Season. Regardless of whether the lighting is installed indoors or outdoors, modern time switches are a must. They enable the days and times to be programmed exactly so that the lighting provides brightness when required and doesn’t waste electricity at other times.

Further information about Christmasworld can be found on the internet at www.christmasworld.messefrankfurt.com.

Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is Germany’s leading trade fair organiser, with € 424 million in sales in 2009 and more than 1,660 employees worldwide. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international Sales Partners, giving it a presence for its customers in more than 150 countries. Events “made by Messe Frankfurt” take place at more than 30 locations around the globe. In 2009, Messe Frankfurt organised more than 90 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany.

Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds, featuring 578,000 square metres, are currently home to ten exhibition halls and an adjacent Congress Centre. The company is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent. For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com