Operating industrial spaces consumes an incredible amount of energy just to keep the lights on during business hours. If we were to look at the operations budget, a significant line item would be the energy expense every month. The good news, however, is that there are great energy-efficient lighting solutions that are now on the market. Light-emitting diode (LED) technology is changing the landscape for lighting in industrial buildings. Today, we will look at the reasons to consider LED’s for your facility.

 

Why Use LED Lighting In Your Industrial Facility

LED light fixtures are quickly making more traditional types of lighting obsolete. There are three main reasons for this: energy efficiency, reduced maintenance expense, and better light quality. Let’s look at each one a little closer:

1. Energy consumption and efficiency: Retrofitting your current industrial lighting with an energy-efficient LED solution can save you up to 80% in your energy costs. The savings are so significant that you can finance the replacement with the energy cost savings you will realize as a result.
2. Reduced maintenance cost: In addition to the massive costs savings from energy consumption, LED’s can also save you money by reducing maintenance costs. Due to the way LEDs generate light, the way they progress through their functional life is much different. Instead of ceasing to function properly once a fuel source is significantly reduced, LED generated light output degrades very slowly over time. As a result, the functional life of an LED product can be significantly longer than that of an HID Lamp.
3. Lighting quality and performance: Light emitted from LEDs is likely to be much higher quality than traditional lighting solutions for two principal reasons. First, the way that objects are revealed when subject to LED emissions is very close to natural light; LED lighting has a much higher Color Rendering Index (CRI). For instance, grass will appear green at night under LEDs, but colorless or yellowish under HPS lights. Second, the amount of light that hits the target area is likely to be much higher for a given power rating than it will be with virtually any other light. In other words, the area you care about will get all of the light!

 

What is the best LED product for my application?

 

1. High Bay Fixtures are often used in warehouse settings which have ceilings approximately 25 ft and higher. They are used to light both horizontal and vertical working planes, and can be used with a variety of reflectors. Typically, high bay lighting fixtures have used fluorescent bulbs or metal halide bulbs in the past. While these types of industrial lighting have their advantages, LED high bay fixtures will outperform fluorescents and metal halides in important ways.
2. Low Bay Fixtures are used in warehouses and other commercial facilities where both ceilings and mounting height are lower. High bay lights are not appropriate in these buildings because they may not distribute light properly. Like high bays, low bay lighting fixtures also typically use metal halide and fluorescent bulbs…but both are quickly losing ground to LED warehouse lighting fixtures.
3. Linear Strip Lights are a great fit for large places like department stores or grocery stores. Some of their benefits include a smaller footprint and a cleaner look. When you consider LED strip lights for commercial spaces, there is also a smaller energy footprint as well. Historically, T12 and T8 light fixtures have been used when industrial strip lighting is required or desired.
4. Recessed Troffer lights come in three standard sizes: 1’ x 4’, 2’ x 2’, and 2’ x 4’. Conventional Troffer fixtures often include T12 and/or T8 Fluorescent lamps, ranging from 2-4 lamps per fixture. They can be surface mounted, pendant mounted, or chain-hung. LED Troffer solutions can consist of new LED fixtures, or LED Linear Tube retrofits, with the best option depending on existing operating conditions. Troffer applications exist in a variety of Warehouse and Industrial buildings and facilities. Whether you choose recessed or surface-mounted depends on ceiling fit and desired light performance.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are using metal halide or other legacy lighting in your facility you are most likely overpaying for energy. Additionally, your maintenance on the lighting is probably happening too frequently, and finally, you are probably settling for a lesser quality of light in your facility. If you would like to learn how LED’s might address all of these issues for your facility reach contact Action Services Group by calling 610-558-9773, email [email protected], or schedule a call that fits your needs by clicking the button below.