Light emitting diodes (LED's), are small diodes that are comprised in LED lamps and fit easily into an electrical circuit. But, unlike incandescent bulbs, they do not have a filament that will burn out, and they do not get especially hot. They are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material, and last just as long as a standard transistor.

LED bulbs are the lighting of the future and with each passing year they are becoming increasingly efficient and still maintaining quality. Currently, LED bulbs are more than 85% more efficient than incandescent bulbs since they emit less heat and have extremely long lives. Most of the energy emitted from incandescent bulbs is converted to heat instead of light, which significantly decreases their efficiency rate.

Although CFL bulbs have made progress over the years, they still have the drawback of being damaging to the environment since they contain hazardous materials, such as mercury and therefore need to be properly disposed of. LED bulbs do not contain mercury and they do not emit damaging UV rays. Furthermore, they are also 50% more efficient than CFL bulbs, are instant-on lights and will dim without any flicker.

Instead of going to the store and grabbing an incandescent off the shelf, you now have several options when shopping for light bulbs:

• LEDs: The most efficient option, LED bulbs are 75-80% more efficient than traditional incandescents and last 25 times longer.

• Energy-saving incandescents (Halogen): These lower wattage incandescent bulbs have a tungsten filament like standard bulbs, but are surrounded by a halogen gas, rather than argon or nitrogen, to provide bright light with better efficiency. These are 25% more efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs and will last three times as long.

• Compact fluorescents (CFLs): Though early versions of CFLs tended to offer harsh light, new bulbs have more color options and are even styled to look like traditional incandescent bulbs. These bulbs offer 75% energy savings over an incandescent and last ten times as long.

All of these bulbs will cost more than a traditional incandescent bulb—halogen incandescents being the least expensive and LEDs being the most expensive—but the energy savings will add up over time. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates you’ll save $6 a year for each incandescent you upgrade to a CFL—and the savings only grow over time, since these bulbs all last significantly longer and won’t require replacing as often as a standard incandescent. If you replace 15 bulbs in your house, you can expect to save $50 in energy costs every year—and on top of that, you won’t have to buy light bulbs nearly as often.

If the bulb you buy is Energy Star certified, which are tested to meet specific efficiency standards, you will save more—even though you’ll also spend more up front. If you want to know exactly how much a bulb is going to cost you, the label on packaging should tell you how much it will cost to use it for a year as well as how long it will last.

If you’re looking to replace specific bulbs in your household, you’re probably used to picking up a bulb that’s 60-watt, 100-watt, or the like—but wattage is based on how much energy the bulb uses and, therefore, it is not an accurate way to tell how much light the bulb produces.

Instead you need to look at the “lumens” which is a measure of how much light a bulb produces. Here are some guidelines to understand lumens:

• If you used to buy 100 watt bulbs, look for a bulb with 1600 lumens.

• If you used to buy 75 watt bulbs, look for a bulb with 1100 lumens.

• If you used to buy 60 watt bulbs, look for a bulb with 800 lumens.

• If you used to buy 40 watt bulbs, look for a bulb with 450 lumens.

Another new option you’ll see is color temperature. Because few people are fond of the harshness of fluorescent lights, most CFLs now come in colors designed to mimic the warmth of an incandescent bulb. Color is measured in Kelvins, ranging from 2,700K (the warm light of a typical incandescent) up to around 5,500K (daylight or natural tone). Though all of these bulbs produce white light, warmer lights will have a more yellow tint—better for bedrooms and other soft lighting conditions—while cooler lights will have a blue tint—better for reading. It is recommended to check the packaging to see what kind of light a bulb produces before you buy—and if you’re not sure, your local hardware store should have a display showing different colors.

A & C shown below are the Lighting Facts labels and they can be found in front and side panels of the packaging. Brightness in lumens and estimated energy cost per year are shown in the front whereas the Lighting Facts label on the side has more detail on life, light appearance (also known as color temperature) and energy used. On some packages, you will also find B which shows the color temperature of the bulb.

Compact fluorescent lights have a small amount of mercury inside. In standard use, the mercury stays inside the bulb and there’s no risk. However, if you break a bulb, you’ll want to take care to clean it up. But don’t be too alarmed: according to EPA, CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury—less than 1/100th of the amount in a mercury thermometer. When your bulb has burned out, you should recycle it to prevent that mercury from winding up in a landfill. Your city or waste collection provider may offer recycling services, but many major retailers also accept CFLs for recycling. Home Depot, Lowes, IKEA, Ace Hardware, and True Value will all recycle bulbs—just check with your retailer when you buy your bulb to see what to do.

Do not mix different battery types, batteries of different capacities and batteries of different chemistries in a device. Attempting to mix used batteries can significantly increase the potential for leakage and can cause damage to your device. Please always use same type of batteries in one device to keep the performance of your device or batteries stable.

Batteries should be removed from the device that will be stored for a long period of time (months or longer).

Alkaline batteries stored at “room temperature” self-discharge at a rate of less than 2% per year. If they are stored at 85ºF (29ºC), they will lose about 5% and at 100ºF (38ºC), they will lose about 25% per year. In other words, batteries should be stored in cool and dry temperatures.There is no need to store them in the fridge. Batteries should be stored in original packaging until you are ready to use them and away from metal objects that may short-circuit them.

Alkaline and zinc-carbon batteries can be safely disposed of with normal household waste. It is important not to dispose of large amounts of batteries in a group. Some communities offer recycling or collection of batteries. Consumers should contact their local municipality for this info. Rechargeables, lithium, alkaline & silver oxide with mercury content & zinc air should be recycled. To find out where to recycle rechargeables, go to www.call2recycle.org. For Canada, go to www.call2recycle.ca.

If you are not completely satisfied with your battery purchase, we will refund the batteries fully. Our warranty does not cover misuse of batteries. For any damaged device resulting from use of our batteries in the device, please contact our Customer Service at our toll free number 1-877-383-6399. Our agents will evaluate the claim and get back to you on the resolution of your claim.

Super Heavy Duty batteries are a type of zinc-carbon batteries that can be used in a variety of low drain applications such as remote controls, clocks, flashlights, portable radios & smoke detectors (9V). Super Heavy Duty batteries are characterized as having low cost and acceptable performance for a great number of applications.

The duration of operation for a Super Heavy Duty battery is mainly impacted by power consumption of thedevice it will be used in. Therefore, it is very important to use the battery inthe device recommended for that chemistry. Super Heavy Duty batteries are only recommended to be used in low to medium drain devices. For more information on how to select the right device for your battery, please consult our Device Selection Guide in Learning Center menu.

Generally speaking, Super Heavy Duty batteries will not leak under normal conditions. However, the potential for leakage will significantly increase if batteries are subject to charging, mixed use of battery chemistries, physical damage and abrupt deep discharging which happens when 80% of battery’s maximum capacity has been discharged. A Super Heavy Duty battery that leaked should be handled with care and contact with skin or eyes should be avoided. In the case of skin, eye, oral exposure and inhalation of fumes, please consult a physician immediately.

Super Heavy Duty batteries are single use batteries and they should not be recharged. Attempting to charge these batteries will significantly increase the likelihood of battery leakage, fire, or explosion.

There is no mercury added in our Super Heavy Duty batteries. This means mercury is not intentionally added in the manufacturing of these products and conforms to standards set by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).

Alkaline batteries are made of manganese dioxide and can be used for a variety of high drain applications, such as digital cameras, motorized toys, high beam flashlights and portable stereos. Compared to Super Heavy Duty batteries, they are characterized as having higher energy density, better service performance, longer shelf life and greater resistance to leakage at a relatively higher cost.

The duration of operation of an Alkaline battery is mainly impacted by power consumption of the device it will be used in. A higher drain device such as a digital camera will drain the battery faster compared to a lower drain device such as a remote control or a portable radio. For more information on how to select the right device for your battery, please consult our Device Selection Guide in Learning Center menu.

Generally speaking, Alkaline batteries will not leak under normal conditions. However, the potential for leakage will significantly increase if batteries are subject to charging, mixed use of battery chemistries, physical damage and abrupt deep discharging which happens when 80% of battery’s maximum capacity has been discharged. An Alkaline battery that leaked should be handled with care and contact with skin or eyes should be avoided. In the case of skin, eye, oral exposure and inhalation of fumes, please consult a physician immediately.

Our Alkaline batteries are single use batteries and they should not be recharged. Attempting to charge these batteries will significantly increase the likelihood of battery leakage and damage.

There is no mercury added in our Alkaline batteries. This means mercury is not intentionally added in the manufacturing of these products and conforms to standards set by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).

“Pre-charged” or “Ready to Use” is always indicated on packaging if batteries do not need to be charged before first use. If this is not mentioned, battery needs to be charged before first use.

Capacity is measured in milli Ampere hour (mAh) whichis shown either on the packaging or on the jacket of a rechargeable battery. The higher the mAh, the more electrical energy battery can store. For example, if a low capacity AA battery such as 800 mAh is used in a digital camera, it will not perform. For digital cameras and other high drain devices, you should opt for high capacity rechargeable batteries.

Our pre-charged NiMH batteries retain up to 80% of the charge for over 1 year of storage. Normally a fully charged battery can be stored at room temperature anywhere between 2 to 3 years.

Overcharging NiMH batteries may somewhat reduce their life cycle and NiMH batteries are sensitive to continuous overcharge.

We don’t recommend charging batteries of different capacities together. Mixing batteries of different capacities can lower battery’s performance and might damage the battery.

NiMH batteries do not have a memory effect which means they do not lose their maximum energy capacity if they are repeatedly charged after being only partially discharged.

NiMH batteries can be recharged and used hundreds of times.For this reason, rechargeable batteries can result in significant cost savings compared to single use batteries.

Rechargeable batteries canbe recycled at any Rechargeable Battery Recycling location. To find out where to recycle rechargeables, go to www.call2recycle.org. For Canada, go to www.call2recycle.ca. You can also call the toll free number for Call to Recycle found on our packaging for rechargeable batteries.