The Hospitality industry in the last few years have been moving more toward an environmentally friendly posture by adapting processes and procedures to reduce operating waste and utilizing recycling even more. In doing so the operation costs can be significantly reduced along with marketing value to the consumer through a Green Certification award listings. By eliminating the use of disposable fuel holders, solid waste and use of petrol fuels are both reduced along with elimination of heat energy produced by flame.

But that’s not really what I want to discuss, although it demonstrates the most important technology advance for this article… the LED (light emitting diode). More specifically the brightness, and now even white light output color. LEDs have been around awhile, but the cost of producing them has sharply decreased while the brightness has increased, allowing for all sorts of new products to hit the market, and one being electronic candles.

You may have seen or heard of electronic candles and I’ll guarantee you will know a lot more about them in the near future. These LED based candles try as much as possible to give the look and feel of real flames, and in most cases undetectable by the viewer. The products come in different configurations, such as rechargeable battery, replaceable battery, disposable and AC powered and in different sizes to fit lamps or stand-alone candle designs. This can be confusing with so many choices, so lets see if we can wade through some of the benefits and reasons for these different designs. The following discussion will take through the most important features and uses of LED Candles and Lamps.

Safety
This one is easy, most people would agree safety could be the primary benefit for use. No flame, therefore no burning napkins, menus, fingers, hair, etc. Also you will never leave for home after closing, and obsess wondering if you put out all the candles that evening. Electronic candles eliminate wax mess on the table or in the back, and no soot clean up for the lamp globes and I don’t need comparing to solid wax cleanup labor. For outdoor dining wind is the enemy, especially for the candles, and I’m tired of seeing hurricane lamps on every outdoor table. One last benefit is no odor from burning wicks, in fine dining you don’t want the food taste to be altered by candle fumes.

Cost
This is where it really gets interesting. The cost saving over wax candles and fuel cells are very significant and can be attributed to different factors such as the labor of changing the wax candles or liquid fuel cells, cost of the fuel itself and fuel waste since you don’t want to let the cell run dry in the middle of dinner. And don’t forget as we discussed in safety, the cost of damage to tableware.

Theft/loss is always part of the equation, since electronic candles cost more to replace than liquid fuel cells, you will need to determine what your shrinkage factor would be. The cost of individual rechargeable candle cells vary between $15-20 each, while the replaceable battery type candle cells vary from $2-5 each. Looking at these replacement costs, and if you think theft may be an issue, the replaceable battery type may be your best choice.

For rechargeable type candles the, total saving is estimated by amortizing the initial purchase cost over time. The average life of a rechargeable candle is 700-1000 recharge cycles, and if you use them 7 days a week then the life expectancy is about 2+ years. So compare your cost of wax candles or liquid fuel compared to the initial cost over a 2+ year period.

For the replaceable battery type there is virtually (100,000 hrs.) no end of life, so you can calculate an even longer period of use, then add the cost of batteries over the same or longer period for comparison.

Example:
You have 24 tables using 18hr liquid fuel cells operating 8hr/day, 7 days/week; your current cost over a 2-year period is approximately $7800.00.

Replacing those fuel cells with replaceable battery candles such as a FC5001 FlickerCell™, your total cost over that same 2-year period is approximately $425.00, including the initial purchase cost of the electronic candles.

That’s pretty dramatic savings, so you can put that money in your pocket or redecorate to bring in even more business.

Insurance savings? I’ve spoken to insurance agents and companies at most trade shows I attend asking them if they have a policy discount based on not using real flame on table, so far the answer is no, but we’ll keep watching. The only cost benefit here, so far, is saving 80 bucks or so by not needing an open flame permit.

Fire Code
This is a simple decision, check with your local Fire Marshall, I’ve had more than few panic calls from owners for non-flame table lighting when it’s discovered that open flame use is not allowed. Fire codes vary from city to city and are changing quickly, so you will need to check at the local level to determine what the code restrictions are for your area.

Brightness
Brightness is generally a comparison to natural candle brightness, As we know, natural candle brightness varies based on the actual source, ranging from low output solid wax tealights to high brightness fuels cells used for shaded lamps. One of the first considerations is how bright do you need, do you want the customers to read menus or do you want just ambient lighting? The current low cost electronic candles that use amber LEDs are considered to be for ambient lighting purposes. The holder, or I should say the globe itself also has a lot to do with the ultimate brightness. For amber color LED candles, frost white is the best choice. The reason for this is, the LEDs output is a narrow and specific color band of light measured in wavelengths and is easily filtered out when color globes are used, which reduces the total amount of light allowed through the glass. On the other hand, natural flames have a full spectral light output and are not nearly as reduced when using colored globes. Color globes can be used with LED candles by selecting a color LED candle such as red or blue with a matching color globe insuring full light output. Some LED candles have changeable operating colors and these should be only used with frost white glass or neutral wax sleeves. For the brightest output, read on to rechargeable electronic candles.

Battery vs. Rechargeable
Rechargeable means the individual electronic candles will operate between 8 to 20 hours per charge, then removed from the table and placed in a charging base at closing. The recharge time can be from 8 to 10 hours depending on the product. Comparably brightness for battery powered LED candles tends to be lower than rechargeable LED candles but both good for ambient lighting environments.

For very bright light output, let’s say for menu reading or when using a fabric-shaded lamp, the large capacity rechargeable type candle cells are available and recommended. While these do tend to be more expensive, they have a light output similar to a real candle flame using an incandescent bulb or a very high intensity LED cluster.

Electronic candles that use replaceable batteries, two sizes are prevalent, tealight and votive. Votive size electronic candles typically use AAA or AA battery sizes and operate from 90 to 350 hrs. The tealight size typically uses a 2032 lithium coin batteries and operate from 45- 60 hours before replacement. Some manufacturers offer version that use two 2032 batteries with an operating time of up to125hrs. Both votive and tealight sizes usually include an on/off switch so the candles can be turned off between uses with out requiring removal from table, saving on time and labor. There is no notable difference in the flickering effect between these two types, although the light output for the tealight size tends be less bright to conserve on the smaller battery capacity. Also be careful about the size of the electronic tealight candles, some tend to be larger than an actual wax tealight standard diameter. Coin batteries (typically 2032) are mote expensive to use than AA, AAA or rechargeable designs. The biggest benefit to AA or AAA type candles is their long operating time between maintenance. Great for locations that are difficult to access since you can leave these operating for two weeks with touching them.

Color vs. Flickering effect
The largest volume of product sold at this time is the flickering type since they most closely represent a natural environment. The new color standard is Natural Warm White, which is the most similar in color to a real flame. For nightclubs, events or other occasions, non-flickering blue, red and other colors are growing in popularity. Word of caution, color output candles should be used with a matching color or frost white globe otherwise the brightness and color will not be as effective.

MoodLyte Technologies manufacturers an electronic candle that incorporates both very bright selectable colors (RGB) and natural flicker effects with remote control.

Remote Control
The newest versions now are offering remote control of On/Off, Flickering, and Auto-Off Timer functions to remotely control the Color and Function Modes wirelessly with the handheld remote control. Imagine a nightclub venue where the DJ can adjust the table or wall mounted lights for a constantly changing mood. For restaurants, CandleFX™ can simply use less labor by not requiring removal from the lamp holder to turn On or Off, just use the handheld remote control to save time and labor over non-remote types. CandleFX™ operate up to 16 hours per charge and allow an unlimited number of LED lamp engines to be controlled through the Infrared signal from a single or multiple handheld remote control.

Inductive Charging vs. DC Plug Chargers
Inductive charging systems is newest form of charging and avoids all pins, prongs or bothersome slots to line up and also greatly improves the life and reliability of the product. Just drop the LED lamps into the charger slots, very quick and easy use.

Disposable vs. Non-disposable (replaceable/rechargeable battery)
Some Food Service distributors have chosen a slightly different direction with electronic candles, selling disposable electronic candles, when the battery is depleted you simply dispose of the battery package or the complete candle cell. Since you cannot replace or recharge the batteries, the disposable type is really more expensive than liquid fuel cells. These disposable products however, do fill the need of the distributor by accommodating customers that no longer are able to use open flame, while maintaining a delivery relationship with the customer.

Loss & Theft Considerations
Over the last seven years of selling a servicing out LED candle customers we find loss from theft to be less than 2% of the total original purchase on average per year. If this is still a concern a couple of designs offer theft deterrence features that will alarm when the LED candles moved in a certain manor. Obviously this type of product will cost you more up front and doubt you would actually see the payback in this extra investment. Best advise is to make sure the holder being used obscures the LED light engine well enough as in ”out of sight, out of mind” besides, rechargeable candles need a specific charger device and customers generally know that.

Decision Guides and Tools
MoodLyte Technologies offers the largest selection of Rechargeable and battery operated electronic candles. These products are all designed to take the place of liquid fuel cells while fitting traditional lamps and holders. The product designs are carefully considered based on our knowledge of the market area. Each product fills a specific requirement depending on the type of environment and service demand.

The following application questions are the most important in deciding what product will best fit the operating environment.

1. Tabletop use or other application?
2. Does local fire code restrict using open flame?
3. How many operating hours per day for table lighting?
4. How many hours between uses per day? (charge time required)
5. How many tables?
6. Is the table lighting for decorative ambient use or is usable light required such as menu reading?
7. What are the ambient lighting conditions. Indoor or outdoor use?
8. What type of lamp or holder will be used? If shaded lamp, then what type of shade material. If fabric, then high output light will be required.
9. Is theft or loss a significant cost consideration for your location?
10. What is the purchasing budget?

Use the EcoLytes™ Candle Cost Savings Calculator to compare the savings over liquid wax fuel use.

Use of the following chart allows to you to easily pick the best LED lamp for your application:

MoodLyte Product Lineup Feature Chart

This discussion should give you a good overview as to the differences and nuances of this newly emerging product segment. To insure the product is right for your facility, you can view product demos online at RestaurantLights.com or call to discuss if a demonstration is needed to make sure the products looks as expected in your lamp of choice and on your table.

For more information you can visit RestaurantLights.com or call us at 954-670-1600.