LED Lighting is the wave of the future. We will get back to that later in this post. Right now, we have to say something about the replacement décor rings and glass lenses for Halogen lights. For years, Eclectic-ware has been offering replacement parts for the products that we offer. Items that are available from the manufacturers, we have supplied. We never forced anyone to buy a new under cabinet light when they could just replace the décor ring or glass lens and make their lights look new again.

A few years ago, Hera decided to discontinue their H11 light (EH11 and AH11). This is one of their oldest lights going back to the 1990’s. It was a very popular premium halogen light used on boats also. Germany continued to make them, but Hera in the US did not stock them or show them in their catalog. Yet, Hera did bring them in to the US per our request so that we could still offer them to our customers. Last year, Germany decided to stop making them. As of the date of this post, we have just under one dozen left in our stock (June 2016 = all gone). The white, black, gold, and chrome décor ring and frosted and clear glass lenses for this light were also discontinued. Our stock is winding down on those. The glass lenses are actually all gone. But we discovered something when trying one of the Xenon glass lenses in the back of the DR series décor rings for the H11 lights.
IT FITS.

The EH11 replacement rings with the Xenon glass lenses

Shown in this first picture above, are the X-GLFR lenses laid in the backside of the DRWH, DRBL, and DRGO replacement rings. The lens fits between the two tabs on the inside diameter of the ring. The lens does NOT snap into the tabs and thus lock in place like the GLFR and GLCL lenses did. For two reasons: a) It is just a bit smaller in diameter, and b) It is thicker. The GLFR lenses were very thin. And if you just need replacement rings and your existing lenses are not broken, RE-USE your lenses. No reason to spend money on something you do not need because you already have them.

Replacement décor rings and glass lenses for EH11 lights.

The X-GLFR lens, because it is a bit smaller has some shifting room side to side. It fits really nicely between the tabs and does not shift that direction, but the other way, it can move side to side about 3/32″. So if used in your house, it would be fine if just set in the ring and then reattached to the light. But if on a boat, that will rock with the waves, the lens will move side to side and you may hear it do so. It will not fall out, but I think it is advisable to insert it with a few drops of super glue. It will make it permanent to that ring, but it will keep it from shifting. And the lenses do lay nice and flat within the lower ridge circle of the décor rings. Select this link to go directly to our Hera replacement parts page. (As of June 2016, we are almost out of this lens.)

The light looks the same with the Xenon lens subbed out for the EH11 lens.

When the décor ring is reattached to the light with the X-GLFR lens, it looks the same. You will not detect a difference. This is a short term solution for anyone needing replacement lenses right now. Unfortunately, the Xenon lights and replacement parts for them have also been recently discontinued. So our supply on the Xenon lenses will last a little while, but not indefinitely. Thus, Halogen and Xenon will have to step down and make way for LED Lighting.

LED Lights. Hera has created many. LED is pronounced L-E-D, not lead. It means Light Emitting Diode. LED Lighting is very energy conscious. A 3-watt LED light is the equivalent to a 20 watt halogen. Just the other day, someone mentioned to us how much of a drain the halogen lights are to the battery on his boat. If you have 10 of the 20-watt halogen lights in your cabin, that is 200 watts of power used while they are on. If you had 10 of the 3-watt LED lights, that is 30 watts used. A considerable difference – per hour.

Hera Lighting’s LED line up offers many selections. Two we really want to point out are the R55-LED light, a 3-watt. And the KB12-LED light, just 1.6 watts each. These two LED lights are awesome replacements for the EH11 light we talked about above. Now the LED lights are a 24 volt system, thus you have to make arrangements for that, especially on a boat feeding your lights directly with 12 volt DC. You will need to use the Hera LED power drivers from the AC on your boat to power the 24 volt low voltage LED lights. If using in your home, you will use the 24 volt LED power drivers and remove your old 12 volt halogen transformers. The nice thing about the R55-LED and KB12-LED is that they are designed to fit into the same 2-1/8″ dia. hole that Hera’s EH11 and E1 lights fit into. The KB12 halogen light also fits in the 2-1/8″ diameter hole. So far, the KB12 halogen light is still being produced. But as LED continued to expand, one day, all halogen lights could become a thing of the past.

Special note for boat owners running cabin lights directly from your 12 volt DC.  Check out the Loox 2020 12-volt LED lights that we now offer.  It is a great direct substitute for the Hera E1 and H11 lights.

Eclectic-ware is not just a retailor of products. We actually learn about our products and offer design and technical assistance. We have over 18 years experience with the Hera Lighting brand. And we still remember their old lights that are long gone. The LED lights come in various strengths and sizes. The spotlights come in 1.2 watt accent lights, to 3 or 4 watt under cabinet lights, to 7.5 watt high power under cabinet lights and display lights. The linear LED lights in shorter lengths are just a couple of watts to longer lengths in the 18 or more watt range. And you might be thinking, 7.5 watts, that is not much. How bright will it be? LED is not like our understanding of incandescent lighting. It is way different. The 15 watt ELite-LED lights I have put in my own home throw about the same light as a 100 watt incandescent bulb. And very little heat. So having the lights on is not jacking up my AC expense, nor my electric bill. Most of the LED lights will cost a bit more in the beginning, but the savings comes over time. Many are rated for 50,000 hours. In retrospect, that EH11 light uses a 4,000 hour halogen bulb, you will have gone through 12 bulb changes in 50,000 hours. So with halogen, you buy the light and buy 12 bulbs over the course of 10 to 20 years. With LED, you install the light and not change any bulbs.  There are many benefits.

Within the Hera Lighting section of our web site, we have 24 web pages showing their various LED light systems. For under cabinet, display, and commercial uses. When you are ready, visit that section of our web site. We can help with your kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom lighting needs that pertain to cabinet or furniture lighting. And for boat owners, we have solutions for you too….

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Hera Lighting cabinet and furniture lighting has many uses.  Predominately, it is used on the underside of your upper kitchen cabinets.  This is where it first started, and where is continues to prove popular.  But in today’s kitchen, things have changed.

Accent lighting is now used inside cabinets too.  And with LED leading the way, the concerns of heat build up inside your cabinets is no longer a concern.  Many of todays kitchens have glass front doors.  You can look into your cabinets without opening the doors.  Thus, you are choosing to show off what is in the inside.  Now if your glass front cabinet doors have a few boxes of Wheaties or Quaker Oats resting right behind them, you need more help than the scope of this blog.  Generally, glass front cabinet doors will have some nice China platters or plates you wish to display.  You may keep vases in your cabinets.  You could have a small statue behind a kitchen cabinet door.  Can you see these things with the glare of the ceiling lights on the glass?  Probably not too well.  So … add some interior spotlight lighting to the inside of your cabinet and show off what you proudly wish to display.

Hera Lighting has Tape-LED lights that you can mount to the underside of your cabinets, above them to accent the wall going up to the ceiling, or add to your toe kicks.  Sometimes you want a little low level lighting under your toe kick.  It will brighten up the kitchen more.  Linear LED lighting has become very popular for the underside of your upper cabinets.  It throws an even light amount across your counters.  Giving you lots of light to work with when preparing meals.  There are several linear LED lights to select from, some that connect end to end without unsightly connection points; they look like one long continuous light.  And when the evening winds down and you do not want a bright task light on, dimming options allow you to bring down the level of light to create accent lighting with the same lights.  For more focused light, traditional spotlights in round or square, pinpoint light where you need it.  Some come with swivel functions to point the light more precisely.

Walking out of the kitchen for a moment, and into the bathroom – what kind of lighting do you have in your bathroom?  Is it the single glass globe in the middle of the ceiling that is turning yellow and not allowing as much light through?  Are they sconce lights on both sides of your mirror?  Is the area of the bathroom where you NEED the light, not getting the light?  All bathrooms are not created equally.  If you need light above the counter so you can see what you are doing better, add some.  If you happen to have a shelf unit in the bathroom that you would like some display lighting on, add it.  Every application and every need will be different.  Going across a dual sink area, you may need 5 or 6 spotlights.  In the upper side of a linen closet, you may consider 1 or 2 spotlights.  Or possibly the Big6/2-LED for a strong amount of light from one fixture.

We will continue our discussion on Hera in another post.  We do wish to say that Hera Lighting can be used in almost any residential and commercial application.  It is commonly found in boat and motor homes.  It is used in furniture making.  You may also see it installed at the doctors office the next time the dentist leans you back in his chair.  Next time you visit a hotel or Japanese steak house, look at the utility and accent lighting.  Cabinetry lighting is found most everywhere!  Eclectic-ware proudly distributes Hera Lighting.

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