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Compelling Reasons to Choose LED High Bay Lights over Traditional High Bays

High bay lights are normally found in wide, open spaces with ceiling heights over 20 feet. These fixtures are used to light up large horizontal and vertical spaces and typically have a very high lumen output.

Because of the ever-increasing cost of electricity – as well as the impact of greenhouse gas emissions – businesses, organizations, and institutions have had to adopt environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient lighting solutions.

In places where high bay light fixtures are used – like warehouses, gymnasiums, factories, football stadiums, sports courts, industrial facilities, and big box retail stores – LED high bay light fixtures are now used (instead of traditional high bay lights) because they are more efficient. Many LED high bay lights are designed to generate diffused light which minimizes glare.

The lighting fixtures used in high bay locations normally have a high lumen output and produce between 15,000-100,000 lumens. Since high bay lighting fixtures operate for a minimum of 12 hours a day, it makes a lot of financial sense to replace traditional high bay lights with LED high bay lights. These fixtures are usually mounted directly on ceilings but can also be mounted on ceilings via hooks and chains.

High bay lighting fixtures should only be mounted on ceilings that are over 20 feet above the floor. If these fixtures are used in a low bay ceiling (a ceiling that is 12-20 feet above the floor), the place will be overwhelmed by the light. And if low bay lighting fixtures are used in a high bay ceiling, there will be poor illumination in the space as the light distribution will be inadequate.

The general guideline for using high bay lighting fixtures is when a ceiling is 20 feet above the floor. However, it is worth mentioning that high bay lighting fixtures can be mounted on ceilings that are as low as 15ft, it all depends on the location. High bay luminaires are usually mounted at lower heights (15-20 feet above the floor) to generate light distributions that range from wide to narrow, depending on the need for vertical illumination and the application itself.

LED high bay lights offer many benefits to large open spaces. Their most important benefit is that they provide the right light spread in the area. Another beneficial feature is that they are made with a focus on long-lasting performance and heavy duty construction because they are typically used in areas like warehouses, manufacturing plants, and industrial locations – which need hard-wearing lighting fixtures. They work excellently in environments with corrosive and harsh substances like oil and dust particulates.

How High Bay Lighting Has Advanced Over the Years

Before LEDs were introduced to the market, high intensity discharge lights controlled the high bay market. Lighting systems such as HPS lamps, mercury vapor lamps, and metal halides were used in all high bay applications. But because they had many shortcomings, they were quickly replaced by fluorescent lamps – which had better light output and a longer lifespan.

But as we all know, fluorescent lamps are not perfect and also have a host of downsides. For starters, they buzz and flicker and can affect the performance of those who use them. Secondly, they contain mercury, a toxic chemical, and must be disposed of properly. Thirdly, they have limited color temperatures and are not suitable for applications where color discrimination is important.

These are only 3 of their downsides, there are many more.

This is why LED high bay lights were quickly embraced from the moment they were introduced. And over time, they have replaced numerous HID and fluorescent high bay lights. LED lights offer a range of benefits that are not provided by older lighting systems – such as high quality light, reduced maintenance, low energy consumption, and much more.

Back in 2016, the Department of Energy conducted a research study and reported that 874 million LED lighting products had been installed in different applications up until that time. It also reported that the market penetration of LED had increased to 12.6%. The department estimates that by the year 2030, LED technology will have achieved a market penetration of 84%.

These days, the two biggest factors in construction projects are energy codes and energy-saving opportunities. As contractors build, they must ensure that they follow the energy codes – which are always changing. They must also take advantage of energy-saving opportunities and help their clients to save money in the long run.

If you’ve been thinking about installing LED high bay lighting fixtures in your application, here’s something to help you make the switch sooner: utility companies usually give rebates and incentives that promote LED technology, particularly for highly efficient lighting products and controls. Additionally, businesses and industrial facilities are switching to LED technology because of regulations set by the government that lower the availability of inefficient lights.

Why Are LED High Bay Lights Better Than Traditional High Bays?

They Consume Very Little Energy and Save You Money You Would Have Spent On Electric Bills

One thing we wrote at the beginning of this blog post is that high bay lighting fixtures usually have a very high lumen output. Why is this the case?

Because high bay applications usually have very high ceilings and the light fixtures illuminate surfaces from very high points. If you use 1000W metal halide lamps in your high bay application, you may be delighted by the fact that each produces between 60,000 and 100,000 lumens. However, don’t get too excited because these lights only have a high lumen output at the beginning.

Another important thing worth mentioning is that high intensity discharge lamps cannot work without ballasts, and ballasts draw a considerable quantity of electricity – 15% of the electricity the bulbs draw, to be exact.

So, in actual sense, each 1000W HID lamp will consume 1150 watts of electricity. If you have 100 of these lights installed in your application, they will pull 115,000 watts of electricity. We’re pretty sure that at this point you don’t want to picture how high your electric bill will be.

Now, let’s talk about LED high bay lights. Generally, LED lights do not consume a lot of watts in order to generate many lumens. And thanks to advancements in technology, new LEDs need even fewer watts to produce many lumens.

Most of the LEDs on the market have a luminous efficacy above 100 lumens per watt and higher-quality LEDs produce more than 150 lumens per watt. When gauging the performance of LEDs, the most important factor to look at is luminous efficacy, which is measured in lumens per watt (lm/W).

Luminous efficacy tells you the exact quantity of lumens a light bulb produces for every electricity watt it pulls. It is the true measure of performance.

All the LEDs sold by The Lighting Center have a very high luminous efficacy to help you save more money on your electric bills. Our 75-125 watt LEDs produce 155-165 lumens and have a 10-year warranty.

They Have Higher-Quality Light

There are two things that differentiate LED lights from traditional lights. For starters, they have a higher CRI (Color Rendering Index). CRI measures light and shows the ability of a light source to reveal the true colors of the objects it illuminates – compared to an ideal light source, such as sunlight.

Sunlight renders colors very well and has a CRI of 100, which is the highest. LED lights have a high color CRI, unlike traditional light sources whose CRI is less than 70. When buying LED high bay lights, pick those with a color rendering index of 80 and above as they will be able to render colors excellently. Do not choose bulbs with a color rendering index below 80.

Another thing that sets LED lights apart is their high color temperature. Color temperature is very important because it dictates the color of the light. While all light sources have a color temperature, LEDs have a bigger color temperature range, which makes them perfect for different applications.

LEDs also have the L70 rating which means they generate the same light color for their entire lifetimes. If you want your LED high bay lights to give the perception of daylight, get those with a color temperature of 5000K-6000K as they produce bluish-white light which is considered to be the closest to daylight.

The Payback Period Is Very Short

At The Lighting Center, we not only tell you about the benefits of LED technology, we also calculate the payback period of your LED conversion project. There are three important things we take into consideration when calculating the payback period.

The cost of electricity

How long the lights will operate for every day

The rebates and incentives

If the electricity cost in your location is high (15 kWh or more) and the lighting fixtures operate for 12 hours a day, your payback period will be shorter than it would if the electricity cost was lower (below 10 kWh).

As we mentioned earlier, utility companies usually give rebates for energy-efficient lighting products. However, these products must meet certain requirements, like have DLC certification. The rebates given by utilities can help you to recoup your investment in a shorter period.

They Work Excellently With Lighting Controls

A good lighting design always integrates lighting controls, because they play a vital role in reducing energy consumption. Lighting controls automatically regulate the light output. There are different types of lighting controls and each plays its own role in lowering energy consumption. Dimmers can be paired with LED high bay lights to decrease or increase the intensity of the light. If lighting mood and color are crucial in your high bay application, dimmers will give you all the control you require.

LED high bay light fixtures can also be used with motion sensors which automatically switch the lights on if there’s any motion and switch them off if there is none. These lights can also be paired with occupancy sensors and timers which efficiently regulate light output.

High intensity discharge lights, which are used in older high bay applications, don’t work efficiently with lighting controls as they have a long warm up and cool down time. And while fluorescent lamps work with some lighting controls, they don’t work well with dimmers because their light output can only be lowered up to 30%.

What’s more, fluorescent lamps are usually dimmed step by step, the dimming process is not smooth and seamless. Dimming also decreases the lifespan of the bulbs. However, the case is different for LED lighting.

Lower Maintenance Costs

High intensity discharge lights do not have a long life expectancy and they use ballasts, which also have a short lifespan. Worse still, HID lights have a high speed of lumen depreciation and usually have to be swapped before they reach the end of their lifetimes. Because high bay lights are usually installed on very high ceilings, changing out light bulbs can be very costly – hence electricians usually replace HID bulbs all together.

The maintenance costs of traditional high bay lighting fixtures are usually steep because many replacement bulbs have to be bought at the same time and electricians also have to be paid for their work. On the contrary, LEDs have low maintenance costs thanks to their long lifespan (50,000 to 100,000 hours). They contain numerous LED chips for better light output and don’t use ballasts.

Talk to Us about LED High Bay Light Fixtures

The secret of high-quality LED high bay lights is the optics, and that’s why we use the best optics in our LEDs. They efficiently regulate the light distribution and direct the light where it is intended.

We have 10 years of experience in LED lighting and have installed high bay lights in industrial facilities, warehouses, retail stores, gymnasiums, indoor sports arenas, and other high bay applications.

All our lighting fixtures are UL Listed and DLC Certified. We are experts in LED high bay lighting. Talk to us and we’ll help make your project a success.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/compelling-reasons-to-choose-led-high-bay-lights-over-traditional-high-bays/

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8 Reasons LED Lights Are Better Than Metal Halide Lamps

Until a few years ago, there was a huge misconception that LED lighting was not a good replacement for traditional metal halide lighting. While this was true back in the 1970s when LED technology was still in the early stages of development, it is no longer the case. Advancements in technology have finally gotten rid of this fallacy.

For very many years, the industrial sector heavily relied on metal halide technology for its lighting infrastructure. It had the ability to deliver enhanced levels of illumination and was much better at rendering colors than other traditional lighting sources. This is why it was widely regarded as sturdy and fit for purpose.

But the arrival of energy-efficient, reliable, and high-performance LED lighting meant that it was only a matter of time before metal halides were replaced. But as the saying goes, “old habits die hard”. It has taken longer than we all expected for widespread adoption of LED to occur.

But as LED technology has continued to spread its wings through residential and commercial spheres – and as the technology has become more efficient and easy to implement – the case for converting to LED has become more compelling. Over the last 3 years, the number of LED installations in industrial environments has gone up significantly. LED technology has finally “come of age” and is now the first choice for most contractors, facility managers, and commercial property owners.

But just how different is LED lighting from metal halide lighting? How much money will LEDs help you to save? How soon will you recoup your investment after you switch to LED lighting?

Since we know that all these questions are running through your mind, we have decided to tackle them all, and a few more, in this post.

Here are eight reasons why replacing metal halides with LEDs is the best option.

1.   LED Lights Are More Efficient: They Have Better Lamp and Fixture Efficiency

First, let’s take a look at the lamp and fixture efficiency of a metal halide. A brand new 400-watt metal halide bulb has a color temperature of 4000K, a rated life of 20,000 hours, and its initial lumens are 32,000-36,000. While these figures are very impressive, a study carried out by The Dark Sky Society showed that the initial lumens of a 400-watt metal halide lamp are 20,500 and its rated life expectancy is around 15,000 hours.

But in order to prove our point, let us stick to the figures that are usually marketed. While a metal halide bulb has a very high light output initially, it loses its lumens very quickly. It is very common for a metal halide to lose 20% of its lumens in its first six months of use. This means that after 6 months, the lamp will be giving off 28,800 lumens. And since lumen depreciation for metal halide bulbs is very fast, when the bulb gets to half of its lifespan (around 10,000 hours) lumen depreciation may have gotten to 50%.

Another thing we need to consider is the operating nature of a metal halide bulb. Metal halides are high intensity discharge lamps and all HID lamps are omnidirectional. These lamps distribute light in every direction; they discharge light both vertically and horizontally. Since a lot of the light that is produced is wasted, reflectors are normally added to metal halide fixtures to gather the light and direct it where it is needed.

But the biggest problem with reflectors is that they are not very effective at capturing the light that bounces off them to the ground. Lumens that bounce off a reflector and back into the light fixture are lost.  During the reflective process, up to 30% of lumens are lost.

So, if we were to calculate the number of lumens produced by a six-month-old metal halide bulb, we will get the following figure.

20% lumens lost after 6 months = 28,800 lumens.

Lumens lost during the reflective process = 8,640

The total number of lumens produced by the light fixture = 20,160

Our calculation does not take into account any shields or lenses that may have been used in the fixture. Anything added to a metal halide fixture that may get in the way of light being emitted to the ground can reduce the total lumen output.

LED lights are different

LED lights are built differently and produce light that is directional. All the light is focused where it is needed. There are no lumens to be reflected hence reflectors are not required. And while LEDs also experience lumen depreciation, their lumen depreciation rate is not as fast as that of HID lamps.

LEDs have the L70 rating, which means they retain 70% of their lumens for their whole lifetimes. Our new LED fixtures and retrofits retain 70% of their lumens for more than 100,000 hours. So, unlike metal halide lamps that do not produce bright light for very long, LEDs maintain most of their initial light output much longer.

2.   They Have a Longer Lifespan

The average life expectancy of metal halide lamps is 20,000 hours. However, larger lamps, like 1000-watt metal halides, have a lower life expectancy – approximately 15,000 hours. When it comes to LED lighting, manufacturers use the L70 rating to define the life expectancy of their products.

The L70 rating indicates the period of time a LED will work for before it starts generating 70% of its initial lumens. This is because the human eye never notices a gradual reduction in light output. It only becomes aware that the light output has gone down when a bulb starts producing less than 70% of the lumens it produced originally.

For conventional lighting systems, the rated life refers to the time they operate for before burning out. But since LEDs do not burn out like traditional lights, the L70 rating is used to indicate how long it will take for them to drop 30% of their lumens. High-quality LED fixtures have an L70 rating of 100,000 hours.

Since metal halide lamps have a rated life of 20,000 hours, by the time high-quality LEDs get to the end of their lifespans, you may have replaced your metal halides 5 times or more.

3.   Higher Luminous Efficacy

The luminous efficacy of a light source is what determines how much electricity it will save. In simple terms, luminous efficacy is the number of lumens a bulb generates for every watt of energy it pulls. To get the luminous efficacy, you can also divide the total lumens the lamp produces by the total watts it consumes. With this in mind, let us look at the luminous efficacy of a metal halide lamp versus that of a LED lamp.

A 400-watt metal halide bulb consumes about 455 watts of electricity. But metal halides cannot work without ballasts – and ballasts also draw a small amount of electricity (approximately 15%).

The luminous efficacy of a 400-watt metal halide bulb is: 36,000 lumens divided by 455 watts = 79.12 lumens per watt. This is assuming the metal halide produces 36,000 lumens, which is not the case.

A 150-watt retrofit unit sold by The Lighting Center generates 23,250 lumens. 23,250 lumens divided by 150 watts = 155 lumens per watt.

Just by looking at the figures, it’s clear that a LED lamp is more efficient than a metal halide. And when it comes to lighting, efficiency is the most important thing because efficient lights save you money.

4.   More Energy Savings:

As we previously pointed out, a 400-watt metal halide lamp produces approximately 20,500 lumens. On the other hand, our 150-watt retrofit unit generates 23,250 lumens. But instead of consuming a massive 455 watts, it only uses 150 watts. If you replace the 400-watt metal halide lamps in your commercial application with these LED units, you will reduce energy consumption by 66% and also provide better illumination in the space.

But to be honest, we think our 150-watt LED lamps are too powerful to replace 400-watt metal halide lamps. The light they produce may be too much for your space. This is why we recommend replacing your 400W metal halides with our 100W retrofit units. Each 100-watt retrofit emits 15,500 lumens and makes a perfect replacement for a 400-watt metal halide.

If you’re still not convinced that lower-wattage LED lamps can replace higher-wattage conventional lamps, here’s some news that may help you to make up your mind about converting to LED. As metal halides get old and lose most of their lumens, their electricity consumption never goes down. As a matter of fact, they consume the same watts they consumed initially and do so up to the end of their lives.

5.   Better Light Quality

When a light expert measures light using a light meter, they get the readings in lumens. And when they take a measurement of all the light sources that contribute to the light in the specific location, the reading is in foot candles. But first, let us consider the light being measured. Metal halide lamps generate light in all spectrums – both visible and invisible.

Visible light is the light that can be seen by the human eye while invisible light includes infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectrums. LED lamps that are designed for humans do not produce light in IR and UV spectrums, because this light is not useful to humans.

This means that a light meter only picks up the visible spectrum of LED light. While a light meter may show that the area illuminated by a metal halide lamp has more foot candles, the reason is because it also measures the invisible light spectrum.

Additionally, LEDs have better-quality light because they have a higher color rendering index. When you install light sources with a higher color rendering index, you will need fewer fixtures because the quality of the light will be better. And while the color rendering index of metal halides is much better than that of other traditional light fixtures (such as high pressure sodium lamps), they do not render colors as well as LEDs.

6.   They Lower Light Maintenance Costs

Another way LEDs help you to save money is by decreasing light maintenance costs. As we earlier said, metal halide lamps do not have a long lifespan and have a very quick rate of lumen depreciation. They have to be replaced every now and then. When used in large commercial applications, they have to be replaced in groups as changing out single bulbs can be very expensive.

The higher the bulbs are installed, the higher the cost of replacement will be. And if your commercial application is filled with lights, you may spend a lot of money every year replacing burnt out bulbs. Since LEDs have a very long lifespan, you won’t have to spend money on new bulbs every now and then or pay electricians to replace spoilt light fixtures. If you have in-house electricians, they won’t spend a lot of time fixing or changing out bulbs. They can spend this time carrying out tasks that boost the company’s bottom line – like fixing machines that bring the company money.

7.   Scotopic vs. Photopic Lumens

Light sources usually produce two types of lumens: scotopic and photopic lumens. Scotopic lumens are the lumens that can be seen by the human eye while photopic lumens are not visible to the eye. A device that is very similar to a camera is normally used to measure photopic lumens.

For a long time, light experts only measured photopic lumens. The thing is, they never considered the fact that human eyes see light differently than man-made gadgets, or that the light emitted by an artificial light source can appear different during the day and during the night. But because of technological advancements, there are now two methods of labeling lumens.

In order to determine the visible light (scotopic lumens) a light source produces, a correction factor is normally applied to photopic lumen readings. This factor was created by scientists to provide common ground between different light sources. This is because different bulbs with the same photopic lumen readings can have varying visible light output.

The correction factor usually alters the value of the lumens upwards or downwards from the stated photopic lumens. The lumen quantity for most high intensity discharge lights (including metal halides) is usually reduced by the correction factor. But the case is different for LED lights; the factor increases the lumen quantity by 1.7 or more. This means that the scotopic lumens produced by LEDs are more than those produced by metal halides.

8.   Rebates

Why are utility companies always trying to convince their customers to switch to LED technology? It’s all about economics for them. The demand for electricity is constantly increasing, so once a utility reaches its capacity, it can choose one of two options: to build more capacity or to lower the demand for electricity. No doubt about it, lowering demand is way more cost-efficient than increasing capacity.

For this reason, utility companies normally give out rebates to businesses and companies that switch to LED. Your utility company knows that if you replace your current metal halide lamps with LEDs, your demand for electricity will go down. While each utility runs its own rebate program there are two similar processes and guidelines.

Utility companies provide both custom and prescriptive rebate options. A prescriptive rebate states the exact LED bulbs that should replace traditional bulbs. For example, a utility company can say that a 150-LED bulb should replace a 400-watt metal halide bulb. Custom rebates are usually for exceptions that are not covered by prescriptive rebates.

The LED products must have DLC certification. DLC, DesignLights Consortium, is a non-profit organization that is committed to increasing the universal use of high-functioning commercial lighting solutions. DLC qualification is a symbol of performance and efficiency and is the equivalent of Energy Star for commercial lighting products.

The rebates given by utility companies help reduce the initial cost of purchase and help you to recoup your investment in a short period of time. Not a single utility company gives rebates for metal halide lamps.

Should You Buy New LED Fixtures or Retrofit Units?

Now that we have explained why LEDs are much better than metal halides, we’re sure you’re thinking of switching to LED technology. However, you have one more decision to make: whether you’ll install new LED fixtures or retrofit your existing light fixtures. The choice you make will ultimately determine how much you spend.

New LED fixtures are more expensive than retrofit units and may take time to be installed in your property. If your existing light fixtures are in good condition, we recommend retrofitting as it won’t disrupt your business operations and the process only takes a short time. Well-built retrofits work just as well as new fixtures. Why not make the switch today?

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/8-reasons-led-lights-are-better-than-metal-halide-lamps/

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Applications and Benefits of LED Lighting in Food Safety

As the old adage goes, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” However, in the United States, the food and beverage industry is tightly controlled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In other countries around the world, similar regulatory agencies regulate the food and beverage industry.

To ensure sanitary conditions are always maintained, all appliances and equipment used in food and beverage facilities – including lighting – must adhere to strict manufacturing standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF International). Food and beverage plants require lighting fixtures that must function optimally under hygienic and even hazardous conditions.

The compliance standards that apply to a specific food and beverage facility and the lighting fixtures used usually depend on the specific facility. Food production facilities, food processing facilities, food storage facilities, and food preparation facilities all require different types of lighting fixtures.

These plants have different lighting needs from industrial spaces like warehouses and manufacturing plants. For example, the lighting fixtures used in food processing areas must be able to withstand airborne dust, water, steam, grime, oils, mists, effluents, and other contaminants.

The Stringent Standards in the Food and Beverage Industry

NSF International has set strict standards that are based on a location’s condition and the extent of contact with food procedures. The NSF standard that relates to food and beverage lighting products is referred to as NSF/ANSI Standard 2, or just NSF 2.

It categorizes food facilities into 3 zonal groups: Food Zones, Non-Food Zones, and Splash Zones. Each zone represents specific surroundings which include locations where there isn’t any direct contact with food produce (like food storage areas), locations where there is direct contact with food, and wet-processing locations, those that need high pressure wash downs.

NSF International also requires that food and beverage plants use light fixtures with IP65 or IP66 Ingress Protection ratings. The luminaires must also have UL damp location or UL wet location ratings. Vapor-tight lighting fixtures must be used in hazardous locations (for instance, Class 1 Division 1 and Class 1 Division 2). The fixtures should also be cleanroom-rated.

Some food and beverage plants normally use the lighting fixtures that are found in other industrial settings. However, the fixtures used in these spaces must perform optimally under sanitary and even dangerous conditions. The types of lighting products used and the compliance standards that are applicable usually depend on the environment of a particular area – because food plants usually house different environments under one roof.

A food facility might have locations for processing, staging, warehousing, cold or dry storage, distribution, offices, restrooms, lobbies, hallways, cleanrooms, and a lot more. Each of these has its own lighting requirements.

Lighting products never come into direct contact with food, so only the NSF regulations for Splash Zones and Non-Food Zones usually apply to them. LED lighting manufacturers who would like to obtain NSF-2 certification for their lighting products must make sure that the products’ design, their materials, and the manufacturing processes used comply with the NSF standards for the relevant zone.

Some food plants, such as grain processing facilities, have areas with flammable gases or dust that can cause dangerous situations. In these locations, lighting products should fall under Class 2 Division 1 or 2 and group G.

LED Technology Meets All Stringent Standards of the Food Industry

Light-emitting diodes have unique properties that make them highly suitable for different operations in the food industry. They include:

A long life expectancy

Mechanical robustness

High emissions of monochromatic light

Low radiant heat emissions

Flexibility

Because of the way they are constructed, they may decrease degradation and thermal damage in foods and are suitable for cold storage applications. Recent research has shown that LEDs can preserve or even improve the nutritive quality of food in the postharvest stage and reduce fungal infections.

LED lights can be used together with photocatalysts or photosensitizes to inactivate pathogenic bacteria in food. Ultraviolet LEDs – which were introduced to the market not very long ago – can efficiently inactivate pathogens and preserve the freshness of food in postharvest stages.

High intensity discharge lights (such as high pressure sodium, metal halide, and xenon lamps) and fluorescent lamps have been popular lighting sources in food production and preservation facilities. However, these lighting systems have broad spectral power distribution and give off a lot of heat.

To control the temperature in various applications, such as food processing plants and food storage facilities, more energy is needed to remove the excess heat they produce. In addition, low pressure mercury lamps and fluorescent lights contain mercury and must be handled with utmost care to prevent damage and leakage of the toxic metal.

Light-emitting diodes are solid state lighting devices that produce light with wavelengths of narrow bandwidths, low thermal output, and high photoelectric efficiency. They are portable and compact and can be easily incorporated into electronic systems. As we earlier mentioned, LEDs have unique properties that make for the convenient manipulation of the luminous intensity, temporal settings, and spectral characteristics of the light produced.

In the 1970s, when LEDs were still in the early stages of development, they had very low power and were mostly used as indicator lamps. But as LED technology rapidly developed, new semiconductor materials were integrated, optics were improved, and enhanced techniques of thermal dissipation were implemented. Because of this, LEDs became universal and are widely used in different applications.

LEDs have low radiant heat emissions and their efficiency improves at lower temperatures, which makes them perfect for food storage facilities. Because food safety is a major concern in the food industry at all stages (production, processing, storage, and preparation), LEDs are used in these applications to ensure that food is not contaminated and is safe for consumption.

Thanks to their long life expectancy and their compactness and robustness, LEDs are a very economical technology to adopt. And as the technology continues to advance, LEDs become more efficient and cheaper. It is expected that more companies in the food and beverage industry will convert to LED because of the benefits it offers to food and also for compliance purposes.

Complying with Food Safety Standards

The great thing about LEDs is that they comply with the strict requirements that are set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and The Food and Drug Administration. The FDA defines adequate lighting in food manufacturing facilities as.

540 lux in areas where food employees work with food equipment or utensils and safety is paramount

215 lux in locations where packaged food is sold or provided for consumption and in self-service areas

108 lux at 30 inches above the floor in dry storage areas and walk-in refrigeration areas

Meat, poultry, and dairy processing plants that want to comply with the USDA regulations for inspections must follow specific illumination criteria. The lighting guidelines stipulate:

30 foot candles in all locations where dairy products are cleaned, produced, or packaged

30 foot candles in all locations where utensils are washed, produced, or packaged

50 foot candles in all locations where products can get contaminated. Additionally, the luminaires should be protected from breakage

50 to 200 foot candles for inspection stations (the foot candles required depend on the specific inspection area)

The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) has specific illumination levels for different food processing areas. For example, the illumination levels for food examination areas range between 30 to 1,000 foot candles, depending on the intricacy of the process. Locations for color grading must have a minimum of 150 foot candles, while packing areas need a minimum of 30 foot candles.

These are some of the requirements that businesses must observe if they want to adhere to the Food and Drug Administration’s Current Good Manufacturing Practices. The guidelines also stipulate that lights in facilities where food is present must be coated, shielded, covered, or provide shatterproof protection.

The Application of LEDs in Food Safety

The food industry depends on powerful lighting systems to enhance productivity and safety in the workplace. Food processing, manufacturing, and retail establishments are shifting from traditional lighting systems (such as high intensity discharge lights and fluorescent lamps) to light emitting diode products. This is because LED technology is able to meet the strict food safety guidelines set by the regulatory bodies in place.

According to research, by 2020, the adoption of LED technology in the food industry will reach $80 billion annually. The food plants that are currently leading in the adoption of LED technology are food processing and manufacturing facilities, because LEDs provide solutions to the complex and challenging working conditions in these environments.

The successful application of LEDs in food processing and manufacturing facilities usually depends on the types of fixtures used. Explosion proof LED lights must be used in facilities that deal with explosive dust and gases. The units must comply with the guidelines set by the National Electric Code. In case of an explosion, explosion proof LEDs contain the activity and ensure it does not spread.

Operators inspecting storage tanks and confined spaces should use LED drop lights as these units are designed for tasks that require portable lighting. These LED fixtures are usually shatterproof, shock-resistant, and devoid of glass. They have hooks located at their tops that enable people to easily latch them on various structures for support.

Businesses can use LED dock lights to meet the needs of hectic delivery bays when receiving products. Hinges or extendable arms can be attached to the units to create versatile lighting options for workers.

Supermarkets and restaurants normally use LED lights to adhere to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) guidelines. Most of the time, these units are found in the backend. Since LEDs are solid state lighting devices, they contain no fragile parts, which means glass and toxic chemicals cannot make their way into food.

They also have a very low heat output, which ensures that cooking processes are not affected by high temperature levels. This feature is very critical in baking stations as a minor change in temperature can quickly melt icing, cake batters, and chocolate.

3 Benefits LED Lighting Offers Food Facilities

Energy Efficiency

The major reason LEDs are so popular is because they offer significant energy savings compared to conventional lighting technologies. Before LEDs were introduced to the market, metal halides and fluorescent lamps were used in many food and beverage plants. However, these lights are not energy-efficient, waste a lot of energy as heat, take a long time to warm up and cool down, and lose their brightness extremely fast.

LEDs can reduce energy consumption by as much as 75%. If they are paired with lighting controls, the energy savings can be as much as 90%. They have a high lumen output and do not need a lot of watts to produce adequate light. For instance, a 400W metal halide bulb usually consumes about 470 watts. A 150W LED bulb can easily replace this traditional bulb and offer better light because of its higher lumen output and Color Rendering Index.

Food plants that switch to LED don’t just save money on their monthly electric bills, they also save money during the conversion project as many utility companies and government programs offer rebates for installing energy-efficient lighting. Government programs are a big motivator in converting to LED technology. Most food manufacturers make the switch because of the rebates and incentives offered. The added benefit is that they also get better lighting and create a safer working environment for their employees.

Less Downtime and Reduced Labor Costs

While energy efficiency and compliance are the top motivators for converting to LED lighting, the real value of LEDs comes from their lower ownership costs. Most businesses don’t think of getting ROI on their lighting, but LEDs usually pay for themselves in less than 2 years.

While their upfront costs may be a bit higher than for metal halides and fluorescent lamps, the cost of ownership is considerably lower. LEDs last 10 times longer than traditional lighting technologies, meaning they have to be replaced less often. Their long lifespan lowers both downtime and labor costs.

Metal halide and fluorescent lamps have a very steep degradation curve. After one year, they may only produce 60% of their initial light output, and after 2 years they may only produce 40%. These lighting systems have no return on investment because they have to be replaced every now and then. You may pay $60 for the light bulb, $80 for the electrician, and $200 for the lift used to install the bulbs. The costs add up quickly.

But LEDs only lose about 2% of their original light output every two years. It takes approximately 10 years for the light to degrade 20%. In food processing facilities, LED bulbs can easily last 5 years and still offer sufficient illumination. The same cannot be said for metal halide and fluorescent bulbs which only offer adequate light for less than one year. When converting to LED lighting, the return on interest is more important than the initial cost of the product.

LEDs Have Excellent Color Rendition, Which Is Vital For Food Safety

LEDs don’t just provide high-quality light, they also render colors very well, thanks to their high Color Rendering Index (CRI). Color Rendering Index is a measurement that ranges from 0 to 100 which measures how precisely a light source renders colors when compared to the perfect light source, the sun.

The sun has a Color Rendering Index of 100, which means it renders the whole color spectrum perfectly. High-quality LED lights have a color rendering index of 70 and above. Those with a Color Rendering Index of 80 and above render colors very well.

The United States Department of Agriculture and the Food Drug Administration specify lighting requirements for food and beverage plants. The USDA requires food inspection areas to have a CRI of 85 and general food processing areas to meet a CRI of 70.

In the food and beverage industry, accurate color rendering is crucial for assuring product quality. It is also important for compliance because it is one of the things that are examined by food safety inspectors. In order to comply with the stringent standards that are set by the regulatory agencies, many food processing plants are making the switch from metal halide lamps to LEDs.

In days gone by, the Color Rendering Index for food inspection areas was in the high 70s. It was later changed to 80, then 83 and now it’s 85. If any changes are made in the near future, chances are that the number will be higher because a high CRI helps food inspectors to make very accurate assessments.

Forward-thinking LED manufacturers are now manufacturing LEDs with a CRI of 85 and above. They are not aiming for the current industry standards because history has shown that the standards will change, so they most definitely will.

Thinking of Switching to LED Lighting To Enhance Food Safety? Talk to Us!

At The Lighting Center, we don’t just meet your lighting needs, we also offer retrofits, replacements, upgrade parts, and industrial-grade power accessories. Our lighting experts can create any lighting plan or design to fit the unique requirements of your food facility.

Our commitment to quality, dependability, and honesty has made our company a leader in the lighting industry. Contact us today to get more information on our customized options for your specific industry needs.

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Choosing the Right LED HighBays for Your Location

High bay lights are usually found in large indoor spaces with high ceilings like sports arenas, gymnasiums, warehouses, big-box stores, and industrial facilities. These light fixtures usually have a very high lumen output as they have to light up large vertical and horizontal spaces. Many fixtures used in high bay applications produce diffused light which does not cause glare.

The word “bay” was birthed as the construction of commercial and industrial facilities became popular and technically refers to a skeletal framework used to create an interior subspace. But lighting experts use it to refer to any large indoor area that needs to be lit from a high point.

Many commercial and industrial buildings pose a lighting challenge as they have higher-than-normal ceilings and their large surfaces cannot be illuminated from a standard height.

What’s The Difference Between High Bay and Low Bay Lights?

In the lighting industry, high bay lighting and low bay lighting are terminologies used to refer to indoor lighting fixtures that are commonly mounted directly to a ceiling, a ceiling girder, or via pendants, hooks, and chains. These fixtures are usually mounted higher than fluorescent or recessed troffer lighting systems.

High bay fixtures are used in facilities with high ceilings that need to be illuminated from very high points. Generally, high bay lights are mounted on ceilings that are 20 feet to 40 feet above the floor. However, they can also be installed on ceilings that are 15 to 20 feet above the floor, it all depends on the setting.

High bay luminaires can be mounted at lower heights (15-20 feet) to generate light distributions that vary from wide to narrow, depending on the application and the necessity for vertical illumination. The fixtures also work well in environments that have corrosive and harsh substances, like dust and oil particulates.

Low bay lighting fixtures are ideal for spaces whose ceilings aren’t very high – 12-20 feet above the floor. These lights are usually designed to provide sufficient vertical and horizontal illumination and are normally mounted close to each other. They are typically used in less demanding environments and are usually aesthetically pleasing – as they are meant to match modern indoor decor in commercial lighting applications.

The luminaires for high bay applications typically have a high lumen output, each luminaire produces 15,000 to 100,000 lumens. It is worth noting that high bay lights can only be used in high bay applications. If they are used in low bay applications, the light they produce will overpower the spaces. Low bay lights also can’t be used in high bay applications as the light they produce will be inadequate and the spaces will be poorly lit.

Why You Shouldn’t Use Metal Halide and Fluorescent High Bay Lights

For a long time, only metal halide lights were used in high bay applications, because they have a better light output and color temperature than other HID lighting technologies. However, they take at least 15 minutes to attain full brightness and also take long to cool down (they cannot be switched on as soon as they have been switched off). These light sources also consume a lot of electricity, buzz and flicker, and do not have long lifespans. As they age, they lose most of their lumens and shift colors –which makes them bad choices for spaces that need to be well-lit all the time.

Because of their inefficiency, these lights were quickly replaced by fluorescent lamps. And while fluorescents are the best of all conventional lighting systems, they also have many downsides. They have a long warm up time, hum and flicker, are sensitive to temperatures, contain dangerous mercury, are not recommended for enclosed fixtures, and have limited color temperatures. They also don’t dim as smoothly as LED lights and dimming decreases their lifespans. Their biggest issue is most definitely the mercury they contain as the bulbs and the ballasts have to be properly disposed of.

Since high bay lights typically operate for a minimum of 12 hours a day, high bay applications need lights that are energy-efficient, well-constructed, and provide lasting performance. It makes financial sense to replace metal halides and fluorescent lamps with energy saving LED lights.

Compared to fluorescent lamps and metal halides, LEDs are better. They achieve full brightness instantly, last ten times longer, and are less prone to lumen depreciation (they maintain 70% of their lumens for their entire lifetimes).

They also work perfectly with dimmers, motion sensors, occupancy sensors, and other lighting controls – unlike HID or linear fluorescents. But their biggest benefit has to be the energy savings they offer. LEDs consume very little electricity and drastically cut down an energy bill, saving businesses a lot of money. The savings they offer are particularly noticeable with high-intensity lights like high bays, parking lot lights, and street lights.

The Different Types of High Bay Models

Traditional High Bays

Pay a visit to one of the older industrial buildings in your area and chances are you’ll see these fixtures mounted on the ceiling. Featuring a pendant style, they are usually fitted with reflectors made of aluminum. The fixtures usually contain high intensity discharge lamps which need reflectors to capture the light and direct it downwards.

HID lights are omni-directional by nature and discharge light in all directions, unlike LEDs whose light is focused. The light produced from the sides of the bulbs is usually lost if reflectors are not installed in the fixtures to redirect the light.

If your high bay application uses HID high bay fixtures and you would like to convert to LED technology, you don’t have to get rid of the bulbs and their fixtures. You can simply replace the traditional lamps with LED bulbs and start reaping the benefits of LED technology.

However, if you would like to update the look of your space when you convert to LED technology, traditional high bays won’t do, you will need to replace them with panel-style high bays, UFO high bays, or linear aisle lights.

UFO High Bays (Round High Bays)

When choosing light fixtures for high bay applications, efficiency is the most important thing. This is because the light will be discharged from a high ceiling, so it needs to be optimized for illumination. UFO high bays are uniquely designed and their design plays an important role in their efficiency. They are specially created with a fin style that helps them to transfer thermal properties more evenly.

These fixtures don’t need reflectors, because LED lighting is directional and the light produced is focused – unlike traditional lights. Because LED fixtures don’t contain reflectors, they have compact, low profile designs that are pleasing to the eye.

UFO LED highbay lights provide illumination that is powerful and widespread. They feature heavy-duty construction and are IP65 rated, which means they can be used in harsh environments such as grain processing plants, barns, car washes, and industrial laundries.

IP (Ingress Protection) is an International Protection Marking Code that indicates the level of protection a light fixture provides against foreign substances such as dirt and water. UFO lights are also UL listed (for safety purposes) and DLC Listed (which means you can get rebates from your utility company).

Since UFO high bays are very striking in appearance, they are perfect for locations that need to look beautiful– like large grocery stores and sports arenas.

Panel-Style High Bays

These should never be confused with LED light panels. They look like troffer-style panels and resemble T5 and T8 fixtures. Their biggest advantage is that they spread light over a large area, so fewer fixtures may be needed to adequately illuminate a space. Besides their great light distribution, they also contain large heat sinks, which efficiently disperse the heat produced by the LEDs.

If you use T5 or T8 lights in your high bay application, panel-style high bays will make perfect replacements for those lights. The lights can also replace linear fluorescent fixtures. LED tubes can be installed in the fixtures and provide excellent lighting, all you’ll need to get rid of are the fluorescent bulbs. You can also retrofit your existing fluorescent lights with magnetic LED strips.

Linear Aisle LED HighBays

You will mostly see these high bay fixtures in large grocery stores, wholesale club stores, and warehouses as they have beam angles that are specially designed to be used between aisles. If your high bay application contains a lot of aisles, consider getting these high bay fixtures. Some linear aisle LED highbays are UL listed and DLC listed, so you can get rebates from your utility company when you install them in your space.

When you mix the design of these high bays with the incredible power of LED, you get a lighting solution that is affordable, high-functioning, and practical. So, if you have aisles that need to be well illuminated, these are the fixtures you should get for the best lighting design.

LED HighBay Retrofit Kits

Retrofitting is the best way to switch to LED for those who want to save money. A retrofit kit is installed inside the existing light fixture and a LED head and driver replace the traditional bulb and ballast. Retrofits are usually more economical than new LED fixtures as they are cheaper to manufacture (fewer parts are needed to make them), cheaper to buy, and cheaper to install.  They also range in power distribution.

6 Important Things to Consider When Buying High Bay Lighting Fixtures

Lumens and Luminous Efficacy

Nothing determines the light output of a bulb more than the lumens. Watts do not measure the brightness of a light bulb, they only tell you the electricity the bulb consumes. Lumens, on the other hand, measure the total amount of visible light generated by a light source. Bulbs that produce more lumens appear brighter compared to those that produce fewer lumens.

Watts may have been the determining factor of brightness in older lighting systems because these lights need a lot of watts to give off many lumens – but that’s all in the past. These days, lumens are all that matter when it comes to light output.

Why are lumens so important?

They play a vital role in helping us to know the brightness of a LED bulb compared to a traditional light source. For instance, if your high bay application currently has high intensity discharge lamps that produce 30,000 lumens, all you have to do is look for LEDs that generate the same amount of lumens (while drawing the least amount of watts).

This brings us to luminous efficacy.

Luminous efficacy (lumens per watt) helps us to know the efficiency of a LED bulb. It measures the number of lumens produced by a light source for every single watt of electricity it consumes. The higher the lumens per watt, the more efficient a light source is.

Thanks to technological advancements, new-generation LEDs have excellent efficacy ratings. A lot of the LEDs on the market have a luminous efficacy of more than 80 lumens per watt (80 lm/W). At the time of writing this post, the most powerful LED listed by the Department of Energy was a 108w bulb that produces more than 22,000 lumens.

You can think of lumens per watt as bang for your buck. The efficiency of your new LED high bay lighting fixtures will be measured by the reduction of your monthly electric bill, because utility companies charge by the watt. LEDs with high efficacy ratings will pay for themselves in a short period of time.

Color Rendering Index (CRI)

One of the things most people complain about when it comes to high intensity discharge lights and fluorescents is poor light color. In the lighting industry, Color Rendering Index is used to define the light color. One thing that makes LED lights superior to their counterparts is their high Color Rendering Index.

CRI is a metric that measures the ability of a light source to reveal the true colors of items when compared to an ideal light source such as sunlight. It measures how a light source reveals and reflects the colors of the objects it illuminates.

Light color is one of the most important things in high bay applications because it affects things like contrast and clarity. In a sports arena, if a sportsman misses a shot, they will complain about the lighting. This space requires a high level of illumination so the flight of the ball can be followed – as do other high bay applications. Powerful lighting is usually needed to maintain the appropriate foot candle levels for sufficient illumination.

Color Temperature (Correlated Color Temperature)

One of the best things about LEDs is that they generate light in a range of colors. While high intensity discharge lamps and fluorescents also produce light in different colors, the color range is limited. Color temperature is usually measured using the Kelvin scale as it is very accurate at measuring extremely hot and cold things.

The sun’s color temperature ranges between 5500K and 6500K. In places where very bright light is needed – like assembly lines, showrooms, parking lots, and warehouses – the lights installed usually have a color temperature of 5000K.

Most offices have lights with a color temperature of 4000K. A low color temperature usually indicates that the light is warm while a high color temperature indicates that the light is cool. The standard color temperature range for commercial and industrial spaces is generally between 3000K and 6000K.

Maintenance Costs

A long time ago, HID lights were the most efficient. This is no longer the case. These lights have very short lifespans (15,000 to 25,000 hours) and have to be used with ballasts, which also consume electricity and have a short life expectancy.

As we earlier mentioned, HID lights have a rapid rate of lumen depreciation and their light output quickly decreases before they reach the end of their lifetimes. Since high bay light fixtures are typically mounted on very high ceilings, electricians usually have to replace these lights all together because changing single fixtures is very expensive (lifts may be needed during the process).

Fluorescent lamps need both ballasts and starters to work, important electrical components that need to be replaced every now and then. The bad news is that you may spend the same amount of money replacing these parts as you would buying new fixtures.

The maintenance costs of traditional lights are very high because many replacement bulbs have to be bought at the same time and money also has to be spent on labor.

Unlike these lights, this is one area where LEDs really shine. They do not need sensitive electrical components to function optimally and last longer than all lighting technologies (up to 100,000 hours). If you buy high-quality LEDs, you can use them for 10 years and still have many hours of use left.

Indicators of Quality

No doubt about it, replacing the lights in your high bay application is an expensive, labor-intensive task. The last thing you want is discovering 1 year later that the LED lights you bought – which were supposed to last more than 10 years – have started to malfunction.

So, how do you avoid this scenario?

The best way to make sure you buy high-quality LED lights is to get them from a reputable manufacturer. When shopping for LED lights online, you will come across many manufacturers. Some may even tell you that their LEDs are the only suitable ones for your space – do not believe such claims as they may be nothing more than sales gimmicks.

We pride ourselves on offering in-depth knowledge first before trying to make a sale. When buying LED highbays, consider how much information the manufacturer gives you about the lights and also check online reviews written by their previous customers.

Another quality indicator of LEDs is their warranty. A reputable LED manufacturer will always honor their warranty, as long as the warranty is still valid. However, disreputable manufacturers may refuse to honor their warranties and give different excuses for their actions.

You can test a manufacturer’s customer service by doing the following:

Checking how long they have been in business.

Calling the company’s phone number and seeing who answers when you call

Reading reviews written by previous customers (on independent review platforms, not the manufacturer’s website)

Checking if the company has physical warehouses in the U.S. where the LEDs are stored

All the LED fixtures sold by The Lighting Center come with a 10-year warranty and we are always quick to honor warranty claims. While our LED fixtures are of the highest quality and we rarely get any claims, we always respond swiftly to all customers who have issues – which is the reason why we have thousands of happy customers. There’s no better way for a company to prove its integrity to its customers than by honoring warranties.

Buying cheap LED lights can be very tempting, but when you take into account the cost and disruption of replacing all your lighting fixtures, you’ll understand why high-quality LED lights are the best option. You may save money now but spend it all (and even more) in the future.

Rebates and Incentives

Rebates offered by utility companies and incentives offered by the federal government and local municipalities can make converting to LED technology a less costly undertaking because they considerably lower the upfront costs of an upgrade. Utility companies all over America have different rebate programs and offer rebates for commercial and residential LED lighting projects.

The rebate programs differ in each area but utilities typically offer rebates for the energy savings delivered or for new energy-efficient units installed. Each utility company has specific rebate values for energy-efficient lighting technologies like bulbs, lighting controls, and fixtures. Some utilities give free energy assessments to help property owners identify prospective lighting projects and also give them information on the available rebates.

If you own or manage a property with high bay lights, contact your utility company and local municipality. The rebates and incentives offered may be enough to convince you to switch to LED. You can also find out about the available rebate programs by making use of ENERGY STAR’s Rebate Finder or visiting the Department of Energy Rebates and Savings Page.

We have installed LED high bays in gymnasiums, warehouses, big-box stores, industrial facilities and many other spaces with high ceilings. Our fixtures are UL Listed and DLC Certified and we always ensure they are evenly spaced for proper light distribution. Contact us today so we can discuss your lighting project.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/choosing-the-right-led-highbays-for-your-location/

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Good Parking Lot Lighting Can Help Prevent Car Theft and Other Criminal Activities

In movies and TV programs, dark parking lots are focal points of criminal activity. There’s one common scenario that has been repeated over and over again. A young lady is walking down a street at night. As she gets near a poorly lit parking lot, she sees an outline of a person in the dark. She quickens her walking pace, but the person gets nearer and nearer.

This scenario has been repeated so many times we always know that a crime is going to happen the next minute. Vehicle theft and muggings may not be the only criminal activities that take place in dark parking lots, but they are the most common.

Almost every company today has a parking lot. Parking lots have become vital in most business environments because clients, employees, and visitors use them to enter and exit commercial properties and to park their cars. During the day, commercial parking lots are perfectly illuminated by natural light. Visibility is clear and there are no safety concerns. However, at night, good lighting is what determines whether a parking lot is safe and secure and if there’s clear visibility.

At night, people avoid parking lots that are not well-lit as they do not feel safe. And they are right in doing so. Poorly lit parking lots attract robberies, burglaries, vehicle break-ins, and vehicle theft. Poor visibility in parking lots also results in safety issues like vehicle accidents and personal injury incidences. Additionally, people usually think a business is closed if the parking lot outside is not well lit. They may drive to another commercial property to do business, costing a company a lot of revenue time and again.

If you own or manage a commercial property, there’s no benefit you’ll get from skimping on parking lot lighting. In fact, a badly lit parking lot will only work against your property. Dark parking lots invite crime and danger and cause businesses located inside the property to lose revenue. If a crime happens, security cameras won’t be able to record clear footage because of the bad lighting. And depending on the situation, you may end up being prosecuted – something you could have avoided from the get-go.

What You Should Do As a Facility Manager

One of the first things you should do is evaluate the parking lot lighting to determine whether it is in need of maintenance or a serious upgrade. While lighting alone will not get rid of crime in your parking lot, high-quality lighting placed in the right location may prevent criminals from stealing vehicles or breaking into them.

Good parking lot lighting will also deter other criminal activities that usually take place in dark parking lots. Research has shown that 40% of violent crimes happen in parking lots. A 4-year study that was carried out by the Bureau of Justice Statistics recorded 110,000 property crimes in commercial parking lots and garages alone.

While there are a myriad of opinions on the role that lighting plays in property security, there are some great positives. First, proper lighting enables customers, employees, and residents to see better as they drive around the parking lot, in building entrances and exits, in areas such as loading docks, and around walkways.

If a crime takes place in a well-lit parking lot, witnesses can clearly see important details about offenders such as their clothing, hair color, and license plate numbers. High-quality lighting also helps people in a parking lot to look out for each other.

You should not only pay attention to the lighting inside your building, you should also focus on parking lot lighting. This lighting is particularly important in properties where cars are parked for several hours – such as shopping malls, hospitals, sports complexes, concert centers, and churches.

While you should consider installing security cameras and alarms to enhance security and safety, installing high-quality LED lighting in the most appropriate location can play an important role in making the parking lot safer for business owners, customers, staff, visitors, and residents.

How to Make Your Parking Lot Safer: 5 Great Tips

If you want to make sure that your parking lot is well-lit, there are 4 ways to go about it.

1.    Carry Out Maintenance on Parking Lot Lighting

Lighting maintenance refers to the updating, upkeep, and replacement of lighting fixtures. While it is often overlooked, proper lighting maintenance can play a large role in decreasing utility bills, especially for properties where lighting accounts for approximately 20% of the total energy consumed.

Most of the time, facility managers don’t have detailed lighting maintenance policies – all they do is replace burnt-out bulbs. Failure to maintain lighting fixtures can result in visual degradation, contributing to higher utility costs.

If you use high intensity discharge lamps in your parking lot, their lighting levels will decrease over time because these light fixtures lose their brightness as they age. Dust and debris on lamps can also affect the illumination. Consider replacing these light fixtures with LEDs which have a low rate of lumen depreciation and do not need to be replaced every now and then because of their long lifespans.

HID lamps require a lot of maintenance as you have to replace the lenses as soon as they appear yellow. The lights also have to be replaced en masse to save on labor costs, to keep illumination high, and to avoid stressing ballasts with dying bulbs.

Basic light maintenance tactics include cleaning the fixtures and their housings every 6 to 24 months and dusting them regularly. You should also inspect all of the parking lot lights every week to ensure they’re working.

2.    Replace Light Fixtures That Are Burnt Out

Burnt-out bulbs in a parking lot can lead to uneven light coverage and an increase in vandalism and other dangerous situations. A dark parking lot also sends out a negative message about your property and your neglect of such a vital area.

The location of burnt-out bulbs in your parking lot is also important. If several lights close to each other are burnt out, or if they are in key areas such as entrances, exits, sidewalks, walkways, or next to dumpsters, those bulbs should be replaced very quickly.

As the owner or manager of the parking lot, you have a responsibility to protect the people who use the area. Do not wait until it is too late, change out spoiled or dim lights as soon as you can.

3.    Replace High Intensity Discharge Lamps With LEDs

Most parking lot lighting poles use metal halide or high pressure sodium lamps. But these lamps consume a lot of electricity and take 10 to 15 minutes to attain full brightness. They are also omnidirectional and discharge light in all directions. To prevent wastage of light, reflectors are normally used to transmit the light to a specific area. But reflectors are not completely efficient and a lot of lumens are lost as they bounce off them and back to the light fixtures.

During the reflective process, up to 30% of lumens can be lost. This means that a high intensity discharge bulb supposed to generate 20,000 lumens may only generate 17,000 lumens. Before you replace HID lamps with LEDs, get a lighting expert to evaluate the brightness of the bulbs. They will tell you the LEDs that will make perfect replacements for the traditional lighting systems.

LEDs distribute light more effectively in a parking lot, require less maintenance, and lower your utility bill. They discharge white light which helps people to identify figures, colors, and shapes. They are also kinder to the environment and can last up to 100,000 hours, doing away with the need to change-out bulbs frequently.

4.    Go For Dusk to Dawn Lights or Install Motion Sensors

Dusk to dawn parking lot lights have LEDs with photocells that turn the light on at night and turn it off in the morning, when it becomes bright again. You can think of photocells as light sensors. They are extremely good at detecting light and work as light-sensitive resistors.

When the surrounding environment is dark, their resistance increases, sending a signal to the circuit to provide more current. When the surrounding environment becomes bright, their resistance goes down, signaling to the circuit to provide less current. They ensure that lights are only on when they need to be on, prolonging the lifetimes of the LEDs, lowering maintenance costs, and reducing electricity consumption.

LEDs work very well with motion sensors which switch on lights upon detecting any motion close by and switch off lights if there’s no motion. These sensors are perfect for exterior spaces that don’t need to be lit all the time.

7 Important Takeaways

Now that we’ve told you how to make your parking lot safer with high-quality lighting, here are 7 important things to remember.

LED parking lot lighting can reduce lighting maintenance costs, lower energy costs, and improve safety and security

 When replacing traditional lighting systems with LED lighting, don’t only focus on the under-lit areas. Focus on all areas of the parking lot and consider the LED light quality (as LEDs vary in quality). Also look at the areas that are over-illuminated so as to reduce glare and energy output

 Keep in mind that LEDs produce higher-quality light than conventional light sources. This means less fixtures may be needed in the parking lot to make it well lit. Get a lighting designer to carry out a lighting audit and determine the amount of light needed in the parking lot

 If you want to lower the energy consumption of parking lot lights by up to 90%, consider pairing LEDs with lighting controls such as motion sensors or using dusk to dawn lights

 Building security is a complex matter and lighting isn’t the only thing you need to look at. Consider installing surveillance cameras as well as security alarms to make the place more safe at night

 Assess the parking lot every week to determine where lighting can be increased, decreased, or altered

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/good-parking-lot-lighting-can-help-prevent-car-theft-and-other-criminal-activities/

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Why Good Parking Lot Lighting Is So Important

There’s one interesting thing about parking lot lighting – most people don’t notice its quality unless it is bad. If a parking lot is well-lit, drivers and pedestrians find it easy to navigate – and they also feel safe. On the other hand, if it is poorly lit, people feel unsafe and the rate of crime and accidents goes up.

If your business is located inside a commercial building with a parking lot, you should know that your clients’ experience begins in the parking lot. Parking lot lighting is a crucial factor for a business at night. If the parking area outside your business premises is poorly lit at night, customers will not park, stop, or shop.

A well-lit parking lot can enhance safety and security and improve aesthetics, attracting potential customers to your business. It sends a clear message to customers that your business is open and they can come in to shop.

Consider this, you go out of your way to make your business premises look good and to keep it up to par with customer expectations and strict standards. But then you ignore the parking lot. Big mistake! The parking lot is just as important as the interior.

It is an extension of your business premises and gives your customers and visitors a first impression of your business, whether good or bad. Good lighting speaks volumes about your business as a whole, but there are more reasons why high-quality lighting in your parking lot is so important. Here are 3.

It Helps Prevent Accidents

According to the National Safety Council, numerous accidents occur every year in parking lots. As people walk in unfamiliar territory, they can easily slip, fall, or get seriously injured if the lighting is bad. Those driving in the parking lot may be unable to see clearly and may crash into objects or collide with other vehicles.

If you manage a commercial property or have a business in a commercial building, it’s up to you to keep the space in good condition. This doesn’t just mean cleaning up spills or filling in floor cracks, it means providing good lighting both indoors and outdoors. If someone has an accident on your premises, you may be held liable. Some businesses have been sued because people got injured or tripped due to inadequate lighting.

People driving in your parking area should be able to see pedestrians, other vehicles, potholes, and other obstacles. The better pedestrians and drivers can see when they are in your parking lot, the lower the likelihood of accidents. Proper illumination helps pedestrians and drivers to see well enough to avoid situations that could lead to accidents. It also prevents your customers from getting lost as they visit your business premises.

Lowers the Crime Rate

If a criminal is scoping out your business premises with the intent of vandalizing or breaking in, they will be less likely to carry out their plan if the building is well-lit both indoors and outdoors. Crime and darkness go hand in hand. Criminals are more likely to conduct their criminal activities in a dark area because it keeps them hidden and they can carry out their work without being seen.

When your customers, visitors, and employees are unable to detect any movement in the parking lot, they can easily get assaulted or mugged.Their vehicles may also be broken into or stolen without the knowledge of the security staff (as surveillance cameras will be unable to capture video footage clearly).

To be broken into or stolen without the knowledge of the security staff (as surveillance cameras will be unable to capture video footage clearly).

High-quality parking lot lighting can make the area safer for your customers, employees, and business associates and reduce your legal exposure. It is also a great way of showing your customers and prospects that they are always welcome at your premises no matter the time of day.

It Reflects Well On your Business

Installing high-quality LED lighting is an excellent way to advertise your business. Just like the interior, the exterior of your business premises reflects your company and its values. Good lighting makes your clients, employees, and business associates see your company as a warm, welcoming place.

When your parking lot is poorly lit, your customers’ confidence in your business goes down and fewer people visit your business premises at night, which may have a negative impact on your sales. Just one incident of violence, theft, or assault can lose you the trust of your customers and employees – which is the last thing you want.

If you use video surveillance, high-quality LED lights will allow your cameras to capture better footage, enhancing the security. Think of your business, the bottom line, the area’s safety and security, and the people who sustain your business – your customers and employees. Make them feel cared for, not totally neglected.

Benefits of (LED) Parking Lot Lighting for Commercial Spaces

Changing all the light fixtures in your parking lot may seem like a costly, time-consuming venture, but it isn’t. Switching to LED technology is totally worth the money and time. Light emitting diodes have become common features in parking lots across the country. Businesses, organizations, and institutions use them instead of inefficient high intensity discharge lights and fluorescents

Here are 6 great benefits of LEDs Smaller Impact

If you are looking for a way to reduce your company’s environmental footprint, LEDs should be your top choice. They do not contain dangerous components which are harmful to the environment. Fluorescent lights and some high intensity discharge lights contain mercury and have to be disposed of by professionals. LEDs do not need to be handled with extra care during disposal. They also don’t pose a health risk if they happen to break.

LED lights have a long lifespan and consume less electricity than conventional lighting systems, lowering the demand from power plants and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Research has also showed that LEDs cause less ecological damage than other lighting technologies. They also generate less heat.

Financial Savings

LED technology helps you to save money in three ways: by reducing energy consumption, lowering light maintenance, and offering high quality light (which means you’ll need fewer light fixtures). The biggest benefit of LEDs is their low power consumption. They consume less than half of the energy traditional light sources consume and produce higher-quality light.

LED parking-lot lights usually consume between 65 and 450 watts, unlike HID lights which consume between 250 and 1000 watts. In addition, LEDs don’t use ballasts (which also consume a lot of electricity). As soon as conventional lights are replaced with LEDs, power consumption goes down by up to 75%. If lighting controls are added, energy consumption can go down by up to 90%.

LED lights lower lighting maintenance costs because of the way they generate light. They use semiconductors to produce light, so their light output goes down gradually over time. Individual LED bulbs are comprised of numerous small LED chips and don’t work as hard as traditional lights to produce adequate light. This helps prolong their lifespans. Thanks to their long lifespans, LEDs don’t have to be replaced for years. The same cannot be said for HID lights which use fuel sources to produce light. Their efficiency decreases as the fuel gets used up.

The third money-saving benefit of LEDs is that you may need fewer fixtures. Parking lot lighting poles normally have 1 or 2 fixtures and those installed in busy areas can have up to 4 fixtures. If you use traditional lighting technologies like HIDs, you may need more fixtures for the parking lot to be well-lit at night, because these lights lose their brightness very fast. But since LEDs generate better light, you may only require a few fixtures to produce the same amount of lumens (light) produced by conventional lights.

Lower Maintenance

One of the biggest disadvantages of HID lights and fluorescent lamps is that they need a lot of maintenance. These lighting systems have a life expectancy of 15,000 to 25,000 hours, which means they must be frequently replaced. Replacing these lights can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, depending on where they are installed. The lights also use ballasts which do not have long lifespans and must be replaced when the lights are being replaced.

Another downside of HIDs is their high rate of lumen depreciation. These lights lose most of their brightness (lumens) long before they reach the end of their lifetimes. Their lumen depreciation process is also not straightforward as the lights start to shift colors as they get old. They usually have to be changed when their efficiency decreases as most commercial spaces need maximum illumination.

LEDs have a long life expectancy (50,000-100,000 hours), and retain 70% of their brightness for their entire lifespans. They don’t use ballasts or shift colors as they get old and are virtually maintenance-free.

Better Performance

LEDs have a higher Color Rendering Index than traditional light sources and easily reveal the real colors of objects. They don’t just ensure that a parking lot is well-lit, they make sure that drivers and pedestrians can easily see objects or obstructions as they drive or walk around. These light fixtures come in a range of color temperatures and can enhance the eyes’ perception of brightness.

LED lights have a multipoint design and dispense light evenly across a parking lot. What this means is that people who are close to the lights or far away from them will be able to see clearly as there isn’t a big difference in light levels no matter the distance. Metal halide lamps, which are frequently used in parking lots, create very bright spots underneath them and the light levels decrease significantly as one moves away from the light fixtures.

The Light Is Controllable

One of the greatest things about LEDs is that their light output is easy to adjust. When you pair them with automation and sensor technology, you can save even more money. Lighting controls make sure that parking lot lights are only on when they need to be and considerably change the way electricity is consumed.

LEDs are highly flexible and you can increase or decrease their light output without having to change their housings. But if your parking lot lighting poles have metal halide lights and you need to change the lights to make the parking lot brighter at night or to follow municipal lighting codes, you’ll have to get rid of the lamps and reflectors. Additionally, high intensity discharge lights cannot be used with lighting controls as they have long warm up and cool down times.

Falling Prices

When LED technology was first introduced to the market, the lights were very expensive and only a handful of businesses could afford them. But as more manufacturers joined the LED bandwagon, the prices gradually went down. These days, LEDs are very affordable and rebates and incentives offered by utilities and the government make them even more affordable.

Rebates and incentives make switching to LED technology a less expensive venture as they drastically reduce the initial costs of an upgrade. Utility companies have various rebate programs for LED lighting and offer incentives and cash rebates for commercial LED lighting projects.

While the rebate programs depend on the specific area, utility companies generally give rebates for the installment of new energy-efficient lighting units or for the energy savings delivered. These companies usually give incentives and rebates to reduce the demand for power on the grid.

But as LEDs become more affordable, the rebate amounts offered by utilities also decrease. This is why you should carry out your LED conversion project sooner than later. Putting off the project for even a few months may mean missing out on a good check.

Buy (LED) Parking Lot Lights

As you can see, LEDs offer an economical and effective way to light up your parking lot. Don’t spend a lot of time and money on traditional light sources that only drive up your power bill – get LEDs. You will also feel great about lowering your company’s environmental footprint and landfill waste.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/why-good-parking-lot-lighting-is-so-important/

from The Lighting Center - Blog http://thelightingcenter.weebly.com/blog/why-good-parking-lot-lighting-is-so-important

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Retrofitting a 400W Metal Halide with LED

This is probably the most common HID light on the market, the 400W HID (Metal Halide or HPS) bulb. It’s not hard to find this fixture in a commercial or industrial facility. Along with their associated ballasts, these lights consume around 455 Watts every time they are turned on. Want to learn how to save 75% or more?

Replacing 400W HID with a LED 100W RetrofitKit

So what is a 100W RetrofitKit? It is essentially a kit containing everything to replace the HID bulb and ballast in an existing fixture. Using your existing fixture, we basically take all the parts out of the fixture (bulb, ballast, reflector and socket). To replace 400W HID, we recommend our 100W LED Retrofit Kit.

Our Retrofit Kit includes a LED Head and all the brackets to install the head into the existing fixture. It also includes an external LED Driver.

Installing a Retrofit Kit is quick and painless:

1. remove the bulb.

2. remove the ballast

3. remove the reflector (you won’t need it as LED light is directional)

4. remove the socket that held the old HID bulb.

Once the fixture is gutted, you will need to figure out what mounting option works best. The supplied mounts provides many options. Mount the driver where the old (removed) ballast was located and wire it to the input wires of the fixture. Install the head onto the mounting bracket you configured, and hook up the drivers red / black wires to the LED Heads red / black wires.

Clean the lens and lock up the fixture. You’re done.

Energy Savings: 100W LED versus 400W Metal Halide

Below is a chart showing how much you can save, per fixture, converting from 400W HID to 100W LED. This assumes 12 hours a day operation, 365 days a year.

100 LED Watts replacing 400 Watts for 12 hrs/day 365 days/yr saving 1577 kw/year *

Cost per kw/hSavings per year.06$95.08$126.10$158.12$189.14$221.16$252.18$284.20$315

* includes ballast draw

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/retrofitting-a-400w-metal-halide-with-led/

from The Lighting Center - Blog http://thelightingcenter.weebly.com/blog/retrofitting-a-400w-metal-halide-with-led

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How to Illuminate Different Sections of a Gym

There are several things to take into consideration when planning lighting for a gym. Gyms need a lot of light and must appear bright and airy at all times. They have different sections and each requires specific lighting. The light fixtures you choose must always be based on the needs of the area.

The success of a fitness business usually hinges on customer retention. If people love a gym, they will keep coming back. Lighting can make or break a gym. Some gyms are cold and sterile, almost hospital-like, and their lighting does not create a warm environment. The good news is that you can transform a gym just by changing the lighting. You can redesign each room to get the response you want from gym members. Light has a very powerful effect, it can motivate or demotivate.

The Relationship between Light, Mood, and Movement

Nothing has a greater impact on mood and movement in a gym than lighting. Most facilities incorporate as much natural light as possible because it has the ability to improve mood. Natural light has a positive impact on alertness, the more alert someone is, the more energized they will be.

The light color that people respond positively to is the one most similar to natural light. It is on clear, sunny days that people feel most alert and energized – which is why light that mimics natural light should be used in gyms.

We’ve installed LED lighting in many gymnasiums, so we’ve decided to give lighting recommendations for different gym sections.

Lighting Different Areas of a Gym

Workout Areas

Workout areas are the most important areas of a gym because people come to a gym to work out. These sections should have bright lights that enhance alertness. In large rooms where high-intensity workouts like aerobics or boot camps are performed, the lights should have a color temperature of 4000K.

These lights help gym members to see the instructor and also avoid injury. To enhance the effect, the lights can be programmed to change intensity or color. They can also be paired with high-energy videos or music.

In areas where yoga or meditation are done, soft light is needed. The light installed should create a calming environment. LED fixtures installed in these areas should be dimmable to create a relaxed mood.

In cycling classes where individuals don’t physically interact, darker light is acceptable. But the instructor must be able to make the room fully bright if need be – and this is where dimmers come in. Workout rooms should never be completely dark. Some lights should always be on to light up the paths and the exit in case of emergencies, or if a participant needs to leave during a session.

In the weightlifting and cardio areas, bright light fixtures with a slightly lower lumen output are recommended. This is because gym members may have to look at the light when using machines that require them to lie on their backs. If the light is too bright, it will make their eyes uncomfortable.

LEDs used in these areas can have milky lens covers or they can be combined with diffusers. Lighting designers must also pay attention to glare levels as most workout machines and treadmills will cause glare if the light is too bright or installed in the wrong spot.

Pool and Showers

The lights used in pool and shower areas must be UL Listed for wet locations. Recessed lighting is also perfect for these places as the fixtures will be more protected if they are housed inside the ceiling and not suspended.

Lights installed in the pool area must have three qualities: durability, resistance, and safety. While there are no set foot candle standards for pools, they should have a minimum of 200 lux over their surfaces during the day and night. The lighting installed in the shower area should have a high level of brightness to improve safety and visibility.

Lockers and Changing Area

The changing area of a gym plays a vital role in customer satisfaction. It should always appear hygienic and the lighting must create a sense of space and luxury.

The changing area usually serves as a relaxation spot after working out. For this reason, the lighting installed must be bright but gentle. People also need bright light as they open their lockers and retrieve or put their personal belongings. Lighting experts shouldn’t be afraid to mix and match light fixtures of different types or lumen outputs. They can install soft lights in the changing area and bright lights in the locker area.

The Exterior

The exterior lights of a gym can attract potential members or drive them away. High-quality light fixtures can make those outside the gym to see what’s going on inside and be motivated to join. The lights can also make the exterior safe and make people want to linger.

When choosing exterior light fixtures for a gym, the most crucial factor is durability. Only fixtures that are UL Listed for wet and damp locations should be used as they will be constantly exposed to outdoor elements like rain, heat, and wind.

The walkway leading to the gym must be well-lit as this lowers the chances of accidents. Lighting poles with mounted lights or wall mounted fixtures that distribute light downwards can be used – the most important thing is to create a safe, attractive walkway.

The Bottom Line

The most important factor in gym lighting is client comfort. If people don’t feel comfortable in a gym, they won’t go back. The lighting should create an environment that is inviting, safe, and enjoyable. Use the right LED lighting to create a perfect environment for exercise.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/how-to-illuminate-different-sections-of-a-gym/

from The Lighting Center - Blog http://thelightingcenter.weebly.com/blog/how-to-illuminate-different-sections-of-a-gym

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Foot Candle Recommendations: Whats the Best Lighting for Your Setting?

Commercial spaces are not equal and their lighting needs are as different as night and day. Take for example, a textile manufacturing factory. Very bright light is needed here as the workers have to make sure that the fabric colors, the stitching, and the finishing are perfect. An office, on the other hand, may not need very bright light as the tasks performed may not call for clarity and contrast.

Even if the textile factory and the offices are located in buildings with the same square feet, their lighting needs will never be equal. The activities carried out in the spaces dictate the light fixtures to be used to provide sufficient illumination.

When it comes to lighting, the last thing people think of is numerical figures. Why think of numbers when all you need to know is whether the light is bright enough or very dull? But like it or not, numerical figures play a crucial role in lighting.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), requires workplace lighting to be measured in foot candles.

Just what is a foot candle and why is it so important in lighting?

A foot candle accurately measures how bright light is 1 foot away from a light source. It is the most common unit of measurement for lighting and is used by lighting professionals to determine light levels in indoor and outdoor spaces. In short, a foot candle measures the intensity of light in a space.

In this post, we’ll be giving foot candle recommendations for 5 different types of settings.

1.   Offices and Interior Spaces

When an office is well-lit, workers are able to accomplish tasks safely and efficiently. Additionally, good light levels can help prevent eye strain, allowing employees to work comfortably for long periods of time. However, too much light is just as bad as too little light as it makes it hard for workers to do their tasks.

Since workers in an office have no way of measuring the intensity of light, there are some questions you should ask yourself if you are a building owner, a facility manager, or a decision-maker.

5 questions to ask yourself to find out whether the lighting in an office or indoor space is sufficient

Are workers able to perform their tasks with ease?

Do people frequently complain of eye strain and headaches as they work in their offices?

Do the current lights hum or flicker, affecting employee productivity?

Do the lights create bright spots, dark spots, or glare in offices?

Are there objects or components that cast shadows?

The foot candles needed in offices and interior spaces are usually dependent on the tasks that are carried out. General office spaces only need 20 foot candles. But spaces where detailed tasks are carried out, like drafting, need plenty of light – approximately 50 foot candles.

Conference rooms need about 30 foot candles as visually challenging tasks are carried out in them. Doctors’ offices need even more light as complicated, intricate procedures are usually conducted in these rooms. 100-200 foot candles are needed in these offices.

Common rooms like lunch rooms and rest rooms do not need a lot of light. 15 foot candles are enough for lunch rooms while 18 foot candles are adequate for rest rooms. The interior spaces of general retail stores, car showrooms, and service areas require 50 foot candles. Department stores only need 40 foot candles to ensure people can easily see and locate products.

Consider Reflection and Shadows

While these are the recommended foot candles for these areas, lighting designers should also take into account the reflection caused by objects and components in interior spaces. Walls, furniture, and machines in a room can reflect up to 50% light while floors can reflect up to 40% light.

When installing lighting fixtures in an office, an electrical professional should avoid spacing the fixtures very widely as this may lead to the creation of shadows. Objects positioned between such lights may also be the cause of shadows.

Primary sources of light can also create shadows if they are positioned directly above or behind workers in an office. If you are installing lighting fixtures in an office, be sure to test the area’s lighting conditions or reconstruct the office layout if possible to ensure there are no shadows when the lighting fixtures are installed.

If light is unevenly distributed in an office or an indoor space, it creates dark spots in some areas. Because the lighting levels will be inconsistent, people’s eyes will have to constantly readjust to the light, and their eyes will get strained in the process. The lighting conditions of interior spaces can be improved by painting walls white, replacing traditional light fixtures with LED, and getting rid of tinted or damaged fixtures.

2.   Warehouses

There are different types of warehouses: private warehouses, public warehouses, automated warehouses, climate-controlled warehouses, and distribution centers. Different types of activities are carried out in these warehouses, which means different light fixtures are needed. Areas that don’t see a lot of activity like storage rooms require 5-10 foot candles. Loading bays and inspection rooms, which see a lot of activity, need very bright light – 30-50 foot candles. Cold storage rooms, warehouse aisles, and open warehouses support 20 foot candles of light.

Warehouse workers have to handle products of different sizes on a daily basis. The size of the items usually dictates the amount of light required. 20-50 foot candles of light are needed in spaces where small objects with tiny labels are frequently handled. In areas where bulky items with big labels are handled, 10-20 foot candles are enough.

We know that foot candle measurements can be quite confusing for people who don’t have a lot of knowledge on lighting.

If you’re not a lighting professional, ask yourself these questions to know whether your warehouse or distribution center is well-lit.

Can workers read labels without experiencing visual stress or squinting?

Do machines or objects cast shadows and cause visual strain?

Do machines, walls, and objects in the space reflect light?

Are workers able to see all the signs around the warehouse?

The answers you come up with will help you to know the lighting needs of the warehouse space.

One of the most common warehouse tasks is identification. Workers have to read the labels and documents for products and materials. When installing light fixtures in a warehouse or a distribution center, a warehouse lighting expert must think of contrast levels to ensure they use the right fixtures. The reflective nature of machines, walls, and objects must also be considered to determine whether more or less foot candles are needed.

3.   Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities

In factories and manufacturing facilities, some work is usually done by machines. The lighting in these spaces must be bright enough to enhance safety. If workers feel safe, they can focus on their jobs and get more work done. Spaces with printing machines and sheet metal processing machines require 50-100 foot candles. These places need bright light as visual stress can lead to accidents.

Storage rooms that house machine in-feeds and machines only need 5-10 foot candles as they don’t get a lot of activity. Areas where large products are manufactured or assembled only require 30 foot candles while areas where tiny products and materials are produced need 100 foot candles.

To know whether the light in a machining facility is sufficient, ask yourself these questions.

Are workers able to see the machines and all their parts?

Do the current lights cause visual strain, making it difficult for employees to work?

Do the lights cast shadows on the machines, jeopardizing operators’ safety?

Is the lighting technology affected by long periods of operation?

When it comes to machine lighting, two issues usually crop up: odd angles and contrast levels. Large levers, exit or output points, and deep indentations can prevent light beams from illuminating some areas of machines.

To steer clear of these problems, lighting professionals can install fixtures that generate light horizontally or powerful fixtures in the areas that are not lit by overhead fixtures. They can also install different lights (like overhead lights and diffused lights) to create good contrast levels in areas where light contrast is important.

4.   Color Matching and Painting Facilities

Because of the detailed nature of the work carried out in these facilities, they usually have very high lighting requirements. But the specific nature of the work performed will determine the foot candles needed. In painting facilities where visual acuity is of utmost importance, 100-150 foot candles are adequate. However, the light fixtures must be mounted no higher than 3 feet.

20-50 foot candles are needed in spaces where simple spraying and normal hand painting are performed. But where fine hand painting and finishing are done, up to 500 foot candles may be needed. The complexity of the tasks will determine the exact foot candles required.

These 5 questions will help you to assess whether the lighting in a painting or color matching facility is enough.

Do the existing lights cause dark spots, bright spots, shadows, or glare?

Can people identify colors easily?

Are labels and documents easy to read?

Can workers operate machines and other equipment safely?

2 lighting details play a very important role in these facilities: Color Rendering Index and Color Temperature. Lights with a high color rendering index reveal the true colors of objects and those with a high color temperature look brighter.

5.   Exterior Spaces

The longevity and efficiency of outdoor light fixtures depends on where they are installed. Outdoor spaces are continually affected by ever-changing factors that can wreak havoc on light fixtures. During the day, the sun may deliver adequate light to an outdoor area. At night, the same area may need bright light. Dark public areas support 20-50 foot candles as they need to be well-lit.

If you want to know whether the lighting in an outdoor area is adequate, here are 3 questions to ask.

Are people able to see signs and objects from a distance?

Do workers experience visual strain because the lights are too bright?

Does the outdoor space look unsafe and gloomy?

The different activities performed in outdoor spaces usually determine the foot candles required. Spaces that need the least amount of light are building exteriors. Only 1 foot candle is needed in these spaces. But where safety is a priority, the number goes up to 3. Building entrances and enclosed parking lots (with area lighting) need 5 foot candles while open parking lots support 2 foot candles.

Gas station canopies require 13 foot candles to be adequately lit while pump islands need 20 foot candles. Other outdoor areas that need 20 foot candles are ATMs, active storage yards, gardens, piers, and the exteriors of car dealerships.

Closing Off

When installing lighting fixtures in any of these spaces, lighting experts should follow these recommendations and stick to the industrial lighting guidelines to ensure the fixtures they install are perfect.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/foot-candle-recommendations-whats-the-best-lighting-for-your-setting/

from The Lighting Center - Blog http://thelightingcenter.weebly.com/blog/foot-candle-recommendations-whats-the-best-lighting-for-your-setting

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How LED Lighting Improves Warehouse Safety

Your warehouse or distribution center is the heart of your entire operation, the place where you complete projects and fulfill contracts. Efficiency and productivity are crucial in a warehouse. And for your employees to be efficient and productive, the environment they work in must be conducive.

Having LED lighting in your warehouse is the starting point to enhancing safety and boosting employee productivity. While LED technology is known for the savings it offers, one of its lesser-known benefits is boosting safety. Today, we’ll be looking at 5 ways LED lighting can enhance warehouse safety.

1. It Improves Visibility, Resulting in Fewer Accidents

One of the less discussed benefits of LED lighting is the significant decrease in fire hazard risk realized when fluorescents or high intensity discharge lights are replaced with LEDs. Since LEDs pull very little electricity and produce very little heat, they are less likely to cause any type of fire.

Traditional lights waste a lot of energy as they emit 95% of the electricity they draw as heat. On the other hand, LEDs only emit 5% electricity as heat and convert 95% into light. Because traditional lights waste so much energy, they tend to get very hot. Try putting your hand close to any conventional light bulb and it can easily burn your skin. And because your hand has a different temperature, the temperature change might cause the bulb’s glass to shatter.

If traditional lights are installed incorrectly, recessed into a wall’s plaster without adequate ventilation, or left touching other materials, the heat they produce can easily cause fires. LED lights consume about one-tenth of the electricity conventional lights consume and produce the same amount of lumens (or even more). They produce very little heat and do not pose a fire hazard.

2. Decreased Work Errors

Bad lighting can cause headaches, eye strain, and poor posture. When employees are not comfortable, their concentration decreases, which affects their productivity. They are less alert and energetic and can easily make mistakes that will have a negative impact on your business or jeopardize their safety.

A light’s color temperature determines how people see objects and also impacts their mood and productivity. LED lights for a warehouse must have a color temperature between 4000K and 5000K. These lights produce bright white light that is very similar to natural light.

Get such lights for your warehouse and create a happier, productive work environment for your employees. They will find it easy to read high shelving labels and stack products properly. Shipping mistakes will also be reduced as workers will be able to read small package labels.

3. Cools Down a Warehouse

The high heat produced by traditional fixtures can cause a warehouse’s temperature to fluctuate. For instance, a warehouse may be very cool in the morning and very warm and stuffy in the afternoon. These drastic temperature changes can have a very negative impact on employee productivity.

In addition, conventional lights make the air conditioning to work extra hard to decrease the heat they produce, which means your energy bill will go through the roof. LEDs are designed to operate at lower temperatures and do not cause drastic temperature changes in spaces.

4. Reduces Damage to Property and Loss of Products

The products you store in your warehouse can make or break your business. If products get damaged or lost, your business’ bottom line will be negatively impacted. If your warehouse functions as a distribution center, you can be held liable if your customers’ products get lost or damaged. The last thing you want is your business to suffer because of bad lighting.

Since LED lights are bright and powerful, they illuminate dim corners, high shelves, and back aisles. This means your workers will easily locate products (you may have thought were lost) in the dark corners of your warehouse. LED Lighting will also ensure that your employees do not waste a lot of time searching for items that are close by.

With LED lighting, your workers will be able to organize products properly (which will ensure they don’t get damaged) and those packing them for shipping will be able to find them easily (as no product will be lost).

5. Lower Chances of Forklifts Causing Accidents

Modern warehouses are hectic places filled with a lot of activity. Most hold very many products in order to make the most revenue, which means workers are always in a hurry to do their jobs.

Forklift drivers are some of the busiest people in a warehouse as they are always organizing and rearranging products. They are always moving around in tight warehouse aisles and quickly loading and offloading products. Even the best forklift drivers hurry up to get the job done, exceeding the set speed limits in the process.

If a warehouse is poorly lit, forklift drivers can easily hit other workers or crash into products and damage them. LED lights make sure that forklift drivers see everything clearly, be it their fellow workers or objects. They can easily steer clear of them and avert disaster.

Switch to LED Technology Today

If you’re still using conventional lighting systems in your warehouse, we hope we’ve convinced you to make the switch. Create a safe work environment for your employees and take your business to the next level. LED lighting creates a win-win situation: it saves you money and protects your employees and products. That’s why upgrading to LED needs no contemplation.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/how-led-lighting-improves-warehouse-safety/

from The Lighting Center - Blog http://thelightingcenter.weebly.com/blog/how-led-lighting-improves-warehouse-safety

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4 Amazing Reasons to Retrofit Your Traditional Lighting Fixtures

One thing we’ve said time and again is that upgrading to LED technology is the best decision you’ll ever make. However, making the decision to switch to LED is only half the battle. Once you’ve made up your mind, there is another important decision to make: to either retrofit your current fixtures or buy new fixtures.

If you’re a business owner or a decision-maker, we know there’s nothing you want more than to save your company money. You may also be looking to lower your company’s environmental footprint and help save the environment. It makes financial sense to retrofit your existing fixtures as retrofits offer the same benefits as new fixtures.

Retrofitting can help you to save money and also impact your business’ bottom line positively – because good lighting increases employee productivity. Just by replacing traditional lighting fixtures with LEDs, you can lower energy consumption by up to 75%. Add lighting controls and energy consumption will go down even more – by up to 90%.

Because we want to clear any doubts about retrofitting, let us discuss how it differs from a full fixture replacement.

What Is Retrofitting?

Retrofitting means adding something that wasn’t part of the original structure. In lighting, it means replacing conventional lamps and ballasts with LEDs without getting rid of the existing fixtures. Retrofitting is recommended if a building’s fixtures are in good working condition.

What Is A Full Fixture Replacement (A Full Redesign)?

This means getting rid of traditional lamps, ballasts, and fixtures and replacing them with new LED fixtures. It is worth noting that a full redesign is more expensive than retrofitting and is only recommended if the existing lighting fixtures are dysfunctional, completely enclosed, if a building is new (and the lighting system hasn’t been installed), or if a building is getting remodeled.

Retrofitting is the most economical way of switching to LED. Here are 4 of its benefits.

1.   Low Upfront Costs

One of the reasons many businesses put off switching to LED technology is because of the associated costs. Yes, LEDs were very costly when they were first introduced to the market, but this is no longer the case, especially if you choose retrofits.

Sure, retrofitting requires an initial investment. However, the kits are cheaper than new LED fixtures. Their installation costs are also lower as electricians don’t take a lot of time fixing them.

Retrofits are designed as direct replacements of conventional lighting technologies. They fit perfectly into existing fixtures and offer all the benefits of LED technology for a fraction of the cost. What’s more, you may end up paying a lot less for retrofits as the government and some utilities offer incentives, rebates, grants, and programs that further decrease the upfront costs.

2.   Reduced Maintenance Costs

One of the biggest downsides of high intensity discharge lamps is their high maintenance costs. They have very short life expectancies and a very high rate of lumen depreciation so they usually have to be replaced before they reach the end of their lives. Because replacing these lights is a time-consuming process, electricians usually change them all together as changing individual fixtures can be quite expensive.

LEDs have very low maintenance costs as they have the longest lifespans of all lighting technologies. Their shortest lifespan is 50,000 hours, which means you can use them for years without having to replace them. They also retain 70% of their brightness for their entire lives and don’t have to be replaced before their lifetimes come to an end.

3.   A Great Way to Future-Proof Buildings

Future-proofing is a general term that can refer to infrastructure, buildings, cities, communities, countries, or even the whole planet. When it comes to buildings, future-proofing means changing a building with an aim of maximizing its whole life value when confronted with unpredictable, ongoing change.

Change is inevitable and the lighting systems that were used 10 years ago are no longer popular today. This is why it is so important to future-proof your building, because like it or not, you’ll have to change it one day.

As environmental pollution continues to have a negative impact on our planet, governments pass new laws that require buildings to become energy-efficient. If there ever comes a time when your building doesn’t meet a new energy demand, it may be demolished or you may have to redesign it. That’s why we recommend retrofitting. It makes your building energy-efficient and prolongs its lifespan.

4.   Less Waste

LED lights are designed to last. When you upgrade your lighting to LED, you may end up purchasing fewer lights as new generation LEDs have a high luminous efficacy – they produce more lumens for each watt of electricity they consume. Since LEDs have a long lifespan, you won’t have to replace them for years, which means fewer materials will end up in landfills.

LED fixture retrofits use fewer materials than new fixtures. This lowers the total system cost and the quantity of materials that need to be recycled or thrown away.

Fluorescent lamps and some HIDs contain mercury which can be harmful to the environment if it is not disposed of properly. Changing to mercury-free LEDs and using fewer light bulbs means reducing waste and conserving resources.

The Takeaway…

While retrofitting has a myriad of benefits, we’ve decided to focus on these four today. Don’t ever believe the lie that retrofits are not as good as new LED fixtures. This may just be a fabrication created by dishonest manufacturers looking to make a quick buck.

At The Lighting Center, we sell both retrofits and new fixtures so you can be sure we’re not trying to promote one product over the other. The retrofit kits we sell are just as good as the new LED fixtures. Talk to us today and we’ll help you choose the best kits for your building.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/4-amazing-reasons-to-retrofit-your-traditional-lighting-fixtures/

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Selecting the Perfect Lighting for a Warehouse

“Warehouse lighting is a necessary cost that our company has to bear. There are no savings to be made and the best thing we can do is keep expenditure to a minimum.”

If this is what you’re thinking, we completely disagree with you. Your warehouse lighting doesn’t have to impact your business’ bottom line negatively.

Yes, warehouses require many bright lights because they have high ceilings, very few windows, high shelves, and large floors. But they can be well-lit without driving up an electric bill.

A warehouse’s lighting system must do the following:

Increase work productivity

Enhance the safety of workers and their working conditions

Lower maintenance costs

Decrease environmental degradation

Refresh the area’s operational efficiency

According to the Department of Labor (DOL) slips, falls, and trips are the top general industrial accidents. If the lights in your warehouse don’t boost safety, workers will get injured and take days off work – which will affect your business. If they don’t increase productivity, your workers won’t be alert or energetic – and your business will suffer.

When buying lighting for your warehouse, you may be confused by all the available options. In this post, we’ll be discussing the pros and cons of different warehouse lights. It is very easy to make a poor purchase decision if you’re misinformed. Use the tips we’ve provided here to get the right lights for your warehouse.

Choose the Proper Lighting System

There are three common types of lights used in warehouses: high intensity discharge lights, fluorescent lights, and LED lights. And while most warehouse owners and managers have upgraded their lighting systems to LED, some warehouses still feature HID lights and fluorescents. Let’s discuss each of these lights in detail.

HID Lights

HID technology generates light by passing a current between two electrodes secured inside a bulb with ionized gas. There are different types of HID bulbs and they are all named after the gas they contain. Some bulbs use sodium, others mercury, and others metal halide.

HID bulbs are more efficient than halogen bulbs. However, even the brightest HID bulbs do not emit very powerful light. High pressure sodium lights give off very yellow light and metal halides do not produce bright white light, even though their light is better than that of HPS lamps

Pros

They are more energy-efficient than halogen lamps

They are a bit cheaper than LEDs

Cons

They have a strong, blinding glare that can cause headaches or eye strain

They use a lot of electricity

They take a long time to warm up (achieve full brightness) and cool down

They have a very high rate of lumen depreciation

Their color temperature options are very few

They don’t work well with lighting controls

Fluorescent Lights

The first fluorescent lamp was developed by four scientists at General Electric in the year 1934. And while the light has both admirers and critics, there’s no denying the fact that it is better than a HID lamp. For a fluorescent to produce light, an electric current triggers the mercury vapor which generates ultraviolet light, causing a phosphor coating on the lamp’s interior to glow.

Fluorescent lights have 2 advantages over HID lights: They consume less electricity and have more color temperature options (their color temperature ranges between 2700K and 6500K).

But these lights are not free of flaws. They don’t function well in very hot or very cold areas and their lifetimes can drastically decrease if they are used in such areas. Their life expectancies can also go down if they are constantly switched on and off.

Pros

They are more energy-efficient than HID lights

Their color temperature range is wider so the light they produce is brighter

Cons

The bulbs contain mercury which can be poisonous if inhaled or ingested

Disposing of the bulbs is costly because it must be done professionally

They are powered by an alternating current and have a tendency to flicker and hum

They don’t work well with dimmers as their light output can only be dimmed up to 30%

LED Lights

LED stands for light emitting diode. LEDs produce light by exciting semiconductors, causing them to release light particles. The first visible spectrum LED (one that produced light that could be seen by the human eye) was invented by Nick Holonyak in 1962 as he worked for General Electric.

LEDs consume the least energy of all lighting systems and produce better light because they have a greater color temperature range (2700K-6500K). LEDs are also popular because of their flexibility of design. They don’t emit a lot of heat and are cool to the touch.

Pros

They are the most energy-efficient lights and can reduce energy consumption by up to 75%

They have flexible designs as individual bulbs are made up of many small LED chips. This makes them ideal for different applications

They do not create a strong glare

They last much longer than all light sources (up to 100,000 hours) and reduce lighting maintenance costs

Frequent on and off cycles do not affect their lifespans

The lights function well in both high and low temperatures

They can be paired with different types of lighting controls

They have a fuller light spectrum and reveal details about objects other light sources can’t reveal

They retain 70% of their lumens (brightness) up to the end of their lives

Cons

They are slightly more expensive. However, rebates and incentives given by the government and utilities can lower their costs

Just by looking at the pros and cons of each lighting technology, it’s easy to see LEDs are the best. When buying the lights, here are some things you need to consider.

Determine How Bright You Want Your Warehouse to Be

One thing you may not be aware of is that the color of your warehouse’s ceiling and walls can determine the amount of light needed in the place. For instance, a warehouse with white walls and a white ceiling doesn’t need very bright lights as white paint reflects light, making a place look brighter. However, a warehouse with gray walls and a white ceiling needs brighter lights as gray paint doesn’t reflect light very well.

If you paint your warehouse’s walls and ceiling white, you may not need to get LEDs that produce a lot of lumens. And if the LEDs consume very few watts, they will significantly reduce the lighting part of your electric bill. If your warehouse has skylights, you can save even more energy by switching off all the lights on sunny days.

Pay Close Attention to the Color Temperature

Color temperature usually describes the appearance of the light produced by light bulbs. It enables us to know how the light produced by a bulb will look and feel.

The Kelvin scale is used to measure color temperature as it is very accurate at measuring extremely cold or hot things. Light bulbs with a color temperature between 2000K and 3000K are “warm” and their light color ranges between orange and yellow-white.

Those with a color temperature between 3100K and 4500K are “cool” or “bright” and produce neutral white light that may have a blue tint. Light bulbs with a color temperature above 4500K generate  blue-white light that is similar to daylight.

Optics Are Very Important

In order to make maximum revenue per square foot, modern warehouses have very high ceilings and narrow aisles. Old lighting technologies dispense light sideways and downwards. Because they have wide beam angles, they waste a lot of light by delivering it where it isn’t needed.

Most new LEDs incorporate optics for better performance. Optics shape and focus the light LEDs produce, dictating the illumination pattern. They can make the difference between mediocre and great lighting in a warehouse. They ensure LEDs deliver narrow beam angles which are perfect for high warehouse ceilings and racking systems.

Lighting experts use photometry to determine the foot candles needed in a warehouse and how the light should be distributed across the entire surface. The Lighting Centre can conduct a free lighting audit to determine the best optics for your warehouse.

Don’t Forget Lighting Controls

Lighting controls have significantly changed the way energy is used as they make sure that lights are only on when it’s necessary. They are part and parcel of every great lighting design as they automatically regulate the light output. One of the best things about LEDs is that they work well with all types of lighting controls – from occupancy sensors to dimmers.

You can significantly reduce the energy consumption of your warehouse by installing different lighting controls in different rooms. For example, you can install motion sensors in the lights outside your warehouse and occupancy sensors in the busy areas of the warehouse.

The Fixtures Must Be Properly Spaced

The placement of the lighting fixtures in your warehouse should be just right. Place them too close to each other and they will cause glare and make it difficult for your employees to work, affecting their productivity in the process. Light fixtures that are too close may also create bright spots as their light may overlap.

Fixtures that are too far apart can cause dark spots in a warehouse as some areas will lack light. A lighting designer can recommend the best placement for light fixtures and help you to steer clear of issues like glare, bright spots, and dark spots.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/selecting-the-perfect-lighting-for-a-warehouse/

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3 Ways You Will Save Money with LED Parking-Lot-Lights

The pole-mounted lights usually seen in parking lots across the country can offer building managers and property owners many excellent benefits if the traditional lamps are replaced with LEDs. LEDs operate differently from conventional lighting systems in the way they produce light and distribute it.

While traditional lighting systems like HID lamps use fuel sources to generate light, LEDs use semiconductors. LEDs have multiple diodes with separate optics and distribute light evenly across surfaces.

If your main reason for switching to LED technology is to save money, here are three ways you’ll achieve your goal.

Energy Savings

The biggest money-saver of LEDs is their low energy consumption. This is the major reason why facility managers and property owners embrace LED lighting. LEDs consume less than half of the electricity conventional lighting systems consume and generate higher-quality light.

Let us give you a short example.

High pressure sodium and metal halide parking lot lights usually have wattages between 250 and 1000. However, they also need ballasts to regulate their voltage and current. Ballasts consume about 15% of the electricity HID lights consume.

The wattage of LED parking lot light fixtures is usually between 65 and 450 and they don’t need ballasts. As soon as traditional lights are replaced with LEDs, energy consumption instantly goes down by up to 75%. Add lighting controls and you can reduce energy consumption by up to 90%. Each LED fixture can save you between $100 and $400 every year. If your parking lot has many lights, you can save thousands of dollars every year and recoup your investment in a very short time.

Maintenance Cost Reduction

One of the best features of LEDs has to be their low-maintenance, which boils down to the way they produce light. As we said earlier, LEDs use semiconductors to generate light, hence their light output decreases gradually over time. Because of the way they are designed, LEDs have a very long lifespan, which means you don’t have to replace the bulbs for years. HID lights, on the other hand, use a fuel source to emit light. As the fuel gets used up, the lights’ functionality decreases.

To service or change parking lot lights, electricians and electrical contractors use bucket trucks or lifts. But since LEDs have such long lifespans, they don’t have to be serviced every now and then. You will save money you would have spent paying electrical contractors to service or change the lights.

You Won’t Need As Many Fixtures

Most parking lot lighting poles usually have 1-2 lighting fixtures while those in busy areas may have up to 4 fixtures. When using traditional lighting systems, you may need more fixtures to ensure your parking lot is well lit at night – as they lose their brightness very fast. However, since LEDs produce higher-quality light, you may only need a few fixtures to produce the same amount of light (lumens) produced by the conventional lights. LEDs also discharge light through a multipoint design which ensures the light is evenly distributed across a surface – in this case a parking lot.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/3-ways-you-will-save-money-with-led-parking-lot-lights/

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5 Reasons Why You Should Install LEDs in Your Property

According to research, lighting consumes almost 20% of the electricity in commercial properties. Businesses and companies are always looking to improve the energy efficiency of their lighting systems in order to lower their electric bills. The introduction of LED technology and changes to lighting efficiency standards have both contributed to the drastic reductions in energy consumption by commercial buildings.

According to a report released by the Department of Energy, by 2016, LED installations had risen to 874 million units. And while this figure is massive, the LED market penetration hasn’t even reached 15%. The Department of Energy estimates that by 2035, the market penetration will have reached 90%.

LED manufacturers, in an effort to reduce the gap, came up with retrofit kits that can be used in traditional lighting fixtures. These kits come in different designs and can fit different conventional fixtures.

However, while many property owners and building managers know about LED technology, they are hesitant to make the switch because they fear the associated costs. The thing is, retrofitting is not as expensive as buying new LED fixtures. Converting to LED lighting might have been expensive in the beginning (when LEDs were first introduced), but it no longer is.

If you’ve been postponing switching to LED technology, here are five great reasons why you should do it now.

1.   You Can Carry Out the Project in Phases

The main reason businesses and facility managers put off converting to LED technology is because of the upfront costs involved in the upgrade. One way to minimize costs and avoid cash flow issues is by implementing the project in phases.

For instance, if you own a manufacturing plant, you can decide to install LEDs in the manufacturing area first before moving to the other areas. Installing the lighting in one part of the building gives your employees a chance to get used to the light and they can also give you valuable feedback. If they complain that the light is too bright or too dull, you can have it changed before LEDs are installed in the other areas of the plant.

If you’re an electrical professional or contractor who has been given the task of installing LED lighting in one part of a building, the small project can be a way to show a property owner the benefits of LEDs and get them to say yes to a full upgrade. The success of the small retrofitting project may give them the motivation they need to continue with the upgrade and they may even ask you to speed up its implementation.

2.   Rebates and Incentives

Rebates and incentives can make converting to energy-efficient lighting a less-expensive venture because they significantly reduce the upfront costs related to an upgrade. Utility companies across America have different rebate programs for LED lighting and provide cash rebates and incentives for commercial LED lighting projects.

While the programs are different in each area, utilities generally offer rebates for new energy-efficient lighting units installed or on the total quantity of energy savings delivered. For instance, the utility company PSEG located in Long Island gives a $5 rebate for a 4-inch linear LED lamp and a $50 rebate for a 2″x4″ LED panel. Companies usually have specific rebate values for lighting fixtures, bulbs, controls, and other energy-efficient lighting technologies. But in order to make the most of them, you need to be precise with your planning.

Utility companies normally give rebates and incentives to lower the demand for electricity on the grid. Many of them offer free energy assessments to help building owners identify potential lighting projects and also give information on the available rebates.

If you own or manage a property, be sure to reach out to your electric utility early on. The rebates and incentives given by the company may be enough to influence your upgrade decision. Some of the easiest ways to find the right rebate programs is by contacting your utility directly, looking for incentives using ENERGY STAR’s Rebate Finder (http://www.energystar.gov/rebate-finder), or searching on the Department Of Energy’s Rebates and Savings Page (http://www.energy.gov/savings/search).

However, it is worth noting that as the cost of LEDs continues to go down, the rebates offered by utility companies also go down. Utilities usually adjust the rebates at the end of each calendar year but at times change them without prior warning. If you wait for a year to carry out your LED conversion project, you may miss out on a good rebate check. This single reason should be enough to convince you to conduct the project earlier rather than later.

3.   LEDs Positively Impact Your Bottom Line

There are two reasons people mostly give for not upgrading to LED lighting.

“The current lights are good enough.”

“The upfront costs are too high. I can’t afford a full-scale upgrade”

The truth of the matter is, no lighting system is as efficient as LED. Sure, the lights in your warehouse may be providing sufficient light, but they probably consume a lot of electricity and don’t have long lifespans.

Some of the major benefits of LED technology are energy savings, better light output, lower maintenance, and increased property values. But most people usually make the switch because of energy savings – and who wouldn’t? LEDs consume about half of the electricity other lighting systems consume and cut the lighting portion of an electric bill in half.

Let us give you an example.

If your commercial space has a hundred 128W fluorescent fixtures and you replace them with a hundred 52W LEDs and the electricity cost in your area is 10.82 cents per kWh (which is the national average in the US) and the lamps operate for 2,870 hours every year, your lighting project will pay for itself in approximately 4.2 years and save you $41,116 during the lifespan of the LEDs. You will have a return of investment (ROI) of 411%.

If you live in New York where the average electricity cost is 15.03 cents per kWh, your investment will pay for itself in 3 years and save you $57,000 during the lifespan of the lights. Your ROI will be 571%.

A report published in 2017 by the Department of Energy stated that energy-efficient properties have higher market values, higher occupancy rates, low operating expenses, and low rental concessions per square foot. The net operating income of energy-efficient buildings is also higher than that of inefficient buildings.

4.   You Can Opt for Alternative Funding Structures

As we mentioned earlier, one of the reasons property owners and facility managers give for not upgrading to LED is that they can’t pay for a complete lighting upgrade at once. While this is a very legitimate reason, it shouldn’t be a hindrance to converting to LED technology as there are alternative pricing structures.

Alternative funding structures like Special Purchase Vehicles (SPVs) have created new opportunities for companies and municipalities to upgrade their lighting systems without coming up with the initial capital or taking on extra debt. Through SPV, you lease the lighting products for a set monthly fee. When the lease period comes to an end, you have the option of buying the assets or returning them.

Another example of an alternative funding structure is Energy Performance Contracting (EPC). Here, an energy service company installs energy-efficient lighting and is repaid over a period of time as the customer benefits from energy savings.

EPC is available in different forms, but they all comprise a service where the energy service company formulates and implements a project (which is financed by a third party) and the savings are guaranteed to be enough to pay for the implementation costs and financing of the project. Some lending institutions usually offer low interest rates for projects that enhance energy efficiency.

The third alternative funding structure we’ll talk about today is known as lighting as a service (LaaS). LaaS is comparable to services such as Spotify, Netflix, Audible, or leasing a cell phone. Property owners and building managers avoid paying the high upfront costs of LED upgrades and instead pay a monthly fee to use the lights provided by the service company.

These different pricing models break down common barriers to entry, offer instant and continuous energy savings, may allow small upgrades to the products, shift the maintenance responsibility to another party, and lower the risk of operating a full-scale lighting system.

5.   LED Lighting Improves Tenant Comfort

Most property owners usually think “The lights in my property are working just fine, why should I change them?”

As a property owner, we are sure your main concerns are profitability and tenant comfort. Sure, your existing lights may be in good working order, but they may have a negative impact on your bottom line and cause discomfort to your tenants.

If you care about your tenants – and we are pretty sure you do – you care about their comfort. If your building houses businesses and companies, the people in those establishments expect it to have good lighting that increases their productivity and doesn’t cause discomfort. If your tenants are comfortable, they won’t be looking to move anytime soon.

LED lighting increases productivity, enhances safety, decreases maintenance costs, and generates less heat than traditional lighting systems. It has better color accuracy, does not contain dangerous materials (which are harmful to the environment), can be used in low voltage applications, attains full brightness instantly, has a better lumen decay profile, and can be used in both hot and cold environments.

As buildings become better and tenants’ expectations rise, improving tenant comfort with energy-efficient lighting can be one of the best things you ever do for your building.

To Sum It Up

If you haven’t switched to LED technology yet, you’re not alone. However, you cannot afford to postpone the project any longer as there are so many benefits to be enjoyed. Sure, your current lights may be fully functional, but conventional lighting systems are getting phased out and a time will come when you won’t be able to use those lights anymore. In addition, the lights use up a lot of money and time. Make the switch today and start enjoying all the benefits of LEDs.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-install-leds-in-your-property/

from The Lighting Center - Blog http://thelightingcenter.weebly.com/blog/5-reasons-why-you-should-install-leds-in-your-property

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How to Choose the Best LED Replacements for Traditional Lighting Systems

More than 150 years ago, a product was introduced that would forever change how people used energy in their homes and offices – it was the light bulb. The invention revolutionized the way buildings were designed, kick started new businesses, and lengthened the average workday. It also triggered new energy breakthroughs – from electric motors to power plants.

Lighting has come a long way since Thomas Edison patented the first incandescent light bulb back in 1879, and more advancements continue to be made by the day. These advancements LED to the invention of the first visible spectrum LED by Nick Holonyak back in 1962 as he was working for General Electric.

No doubt about it, LEDs have come a long way since they were first introduced into the market. New LEDs are more affordable and consume less energy than their older counterparts. They also have longer lifespans.

If you’ve been using traditional lights – and you’re tired of their high energy consumption, low light output, and short lifespans – and you’ve decided it’s time to convert to LED lighting, you’ve come to the right place.

There are several things you should consider when selecting the best LED replacements for your conventional lighting systems. We’ve covered them all in this post to ensure you don’t experience buyer’s remorse after you buy LEDs.

Let’s get started.

First, Understand the Difference between Lumens and Wattage

One of the mistakes people have made since LEDs were first introduced is buying them according to their watts. Watts have nothing to do with the amount of light a LED bulb produces.

Let’s give you a little example.

You’re feeling hungry so you decide to go to the grocery store to buy some bananas. Once you get there, you decide that you also need some milk to take with your cereal the next morning. So, you buy 2 pounds of bananas and 1 gallon of milk.

“What has this got to do with watts and lumens?” You’re asking

Our point is, when buying LEDs, lumens are what you should be looking at, not the watts (wattage).

Lumens are to LEDs what pounds are to fruits. Lumens measure the total amount of visible light a light source produces. They are the most important thing in determining light output.

So, are watts important? Absolutely

Watts measure the amount of electricity a light bulb draws. They also tell you how efficient a bulb is –together with lumens.

This brings us to lumens per watt (luminous efficacy).

When you look at the lumens per watt, you are able to know the efficiency of a LED bulb. Luminous efficacy measures the lumens a light source produces for each electricity watt it consumes.

Calculate the Light at the Source and the Delivered Light

We’ll get a bit technical now, but not too technical because we know we may lose you at some point. Let’s talk a little about lumens, luxes, and foot candles .

Lumens measure the amount of light produced at the source of the light.

A lux is a metric measurement that measures luminous flux per unit area. It is equivalent to 1 lumen per square meter and is used to measure the intensity of light that passes through or hits a specific surface.

A foot candle is an imperial measurement and measures how bright the light is 1 foot away from a light source.

1 foot candle is equal to 10.764 luxes (approximately 10 times the equivalent lux measurement)

1 lux is equal to 0.09 foot candles.

What are we getting at?

As light spreads out across a surface, it becomes less intense. LEDs distribute lumens more efficiently and can yield more foot candles and luxes than traditional light bulbs, something most applications require.

LEDs are directional lights, they emit light in a specific direction hence their light output is much better. Traditional lights are omnidirectional, which means they discharge light in all directions – they don’t focus it in one place.

Let’s say you have metal halide bulbs in your parking lot fixtures and each is supposed to emit 18,000 lumens. However, they emit light all over the place (360°) because HID lights are omnidirectional, so the electrician has to put a reflector in each fixture to reflect the light back and deliver it to the parking lot below. During the reflective process, up to 30% lumens are lost.

But because LEDs are directional lights, you can use LEDs that produce 12,000 lumens in each parking lot fixture and the light they produce will be better than that produced by the more powerful metal halide bulbs. In addition, some LEDs are usually lensed to ensure all the light they discharge is directed to a particular surface.

Look At the Efficiency of the LEDs

These days, LED manufacturers are a dime a dozen so the market is flooded with LEDs of varying efficiencies. Some LEDs emit 70 lumens per watt while others emit 200 lumens per watt. This is another reason why you shouldn’t look at the watts when choosing LED replacements for your traditional lighting systems.

One manufacturer may say that their 150W LED light replaces a 450W metal halide light while another may say that their 250W LED replaces a 450W metal halide. A particular LED wattage cannot replace all conventional lights of a particular wattage. This is the main reason why utility companies find it hard to create general rebate programs for LED conversions.

Consider Light Degradation

One of the biggest upsides of LEDs is that they never lose more than 30% of their initial lumens throughout their entire lifetimes. The same cannot be said for traditional lighting technologies as their light output quickly decreases from the minute they are switched on. These lights suffer from serious lumen degradation.

Let’s say you use metal halide lamps in your warehouse. When the bulbs were new, they may have produced 30,000 lumens, which is very good. But because these lights tend to lose their lumens pretty fast, they may only produce 15,000 lumens by the time they get to half of their lifespans. If you think that’s bad, brace yourself for this: their energy consumption will never go down no matter how many lumens they lose. Now that’s pretty bad.

If you bought the metal halides 2 years ago, they could be 40% less bright than they were when they were first installed. But if the light they emit is sufficient for your space, you may want to get LEDs with a lower light output – not corresponding versions of the metal halides. The light they produce will be adequate for your space. Depending on your setting, this could be an opportunity to not only decrease your power consumption but to also lower the number of fixtures needed to provide the same level of illumination.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/how-to-choose-the-best-led-replacements-for-traditional-lighting-systems/

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The Best LED HighBay Replacements for High Intensity Discharge Lights

 LED highbay lighting is used in many public places, like parking zones, football stadiums, baseball fields, skate parks, outdoor tennis courts, basketball courts, sports halls, airport tarmacs, transportation terminals, highways, outdoor storage yards, piers, roundabouts, freeway interchanges, ports, and more. These lights are ideal for large areas that require uniform light.

But while LEDs are used in a variety of roadway lighting and street lighting applications, most high mast lights still have HID lamps. The Lighting Center manufactures industrial LED highbay fixtures that make perfect replacements for high pressure sodium, metal halide, and mercury vapor lamps.

When you replace conventional lighting systems with LED technology, energy savings can be as much as 90%, especially if you integrate energy-saving controls like motion sensors or photo sensors. LEDs provide intense, high-quality light and spread it evenly across surfaces.

A Little About HighBay Lights

The mounting height of LED highbay lights usually ranges between 60 feet and 120 feet (or more). The pole the lights are mounted on is at least 30 meters tall and several independent lighting fixtures are mounted on it. These fixtures may be 4, 6, or 8.

In rare instances, highbay lighting poles may have 10, 12, or 16 lights. These fixtures may form a square or a circular pattern to dispense light uniformly over a specific area. Sometimes the lights are usually surrounded by circular shields to decrease light pollution or to prevent light from affecting neighborhoods that are next to the highway.

While most high mast lights use high pressure sodium bulbs, LEDs are replacing these traditional lights by the day as more decision-makers realize their benefits. Freeway interchange poles normally have 2-12 1000-watt high pressure sodium lamps that are evenly spaced.

A single 1000-watt HPS lamp with a ballast draws 100 watts of electricity. If a lighting pole has 8 of these lights, its consumption will be 9.6 kilowatts. Because of the high energy consumption of these lights, most cities usually switch off the lights after 11 pm to cut down energy costs. But when these lamps are replaced with LEDs, the lights can run all night without driving up an electric bill.

5 Reasons Why LED HighBay Lights Are Better Than Traditional Lights

1.      Lower Energy Consumption – Up To 90%

One of the best things about LEDs is their low energy consumption. It is without a doubt the biggest benefit of LED technology. As we had said earlier, a 1000-watt HPS lamp with a ballast pulls 100 watts of electricity. Since most high mast poles have several of these fixtures, they send electric bills through the roof.

LEDs need very few watts in order to produce sufficient light. And thanks to advancements in LED technology, new LEDs need even fewer watts to produce more lumens. LED lights alone can reduce energy consumption by up to 75%. When paired with controls like motion sensors and daylight sensors, energy usage can go down by up to 90%.

When buying LED highbay lights, never look at the watts, focus on the lumens – especially lumens per watt. Lumens per watt tell you how many lumens the light produces for every single watt of electricity it consumes. For instance, a LED that produces 140 lumens per watt consumes less electricity than one that produces 100 lumens per watt. The high mast luminaires manufactured by The Lighting Center produce more lumens per watt. To know a light’s efficacy, divide the lumens produced by the watts consumed.

Something else you should look at is the number of LEDs a light uses to produce a specific number of lumens. Always go for bulbs with more LEDs as this means they don’t work extremely hard to produce adequate light. If the LEDs are fewer, it means they will work harder to produce sufficient light, which may affect their lifespans.

2.      They Can Be Paired With Lighting Controls

Because of their long warm up and cool down times, metal halide and high pressure sodium lights don’t work well with lighting controls. LEDs do not have this problem because they achieve full brightness as soon as they are switched on. If you want dimmable LEDs, make sure the ones you buy have drivers that are dimmable (0-10V).

You can pair LED highbays with different types of lighting controls like motion sensors (which switch lights on and off if any activity is detected), photo sensors (which switch off lights as soon as ambient light is detected), or timers (which switch lights on and off automatically at specific times).

3.      Better Light Quality

One of the benefits LEDs have over traditional lights is a higher Color Rendering Index (CRI). CRI tells you how good a light source is at revealing the true colors of objects compared to an ideal light source like sunlight. It is a scale with numerical values between 0 and 100. The higher the CRI, the better a bulb’s color rendering ability. Light bulbs with a CRI of 85 and above are excellent at color rendering. Because LEDs have a high Color Rendering Index, their light quality is much better than that of conventional light sources.

Don’t fluorescent lamps also have a high CRI? You’re absolutely right.

However, since fluorescent lights are powered by an alternating current (AC), they tend to flicker, causing headaches and eye strain. LEDs do not flicker because their drivers convert alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). The lack of flickering, coupled with the high-quality light they produce, make for a better work environment.

However, LEDs with a high Color Rendering Index aren’t required in high mast outdoor environments. We only recommend them for outdoor industrial settings where color rendering is important. Unless you’re getting them for such an environment, don’t pay more for high CRI LEDs.

4.      The Payback Period Is Short

It is the wish of every business owner to recoup their investment in the shortest time possible. When you know the estimated return on investment, you can decide whether a venture is worth undertaking or not.

At The Lighting Center, we use the 1 (cost of electricity) + 1 (hours of use) + 1 (rebates) rule to determine the LED payback period. The rebates come in last because their savings may be cancelled by the cost of electricity and the hours of use (the operating times for the lights). In addition, some utility companies do not offer rebates for some LED conversions (some utility companies only give rebates for fixtures with a DLC premium rating, not the standard rating).

What will mostly determine the payback period will be the cost of electricity in your area and how long the lights will operate each day. You shouldn’t worry too much about rebates because we have created many proposals for our customers (who didn’t get rebates when they switched to LED technology) where ROI was under 1 year.

Decreased Maintenance Costs

The biggest problem with traditional lighting technologies, like high intensity discharge lights and fluorescent lights, is that they use ballasts which have very short life expectancies. LEDs use drivers which usually have long lifespans. LEDs also have heat sinks which disperse the little heat they produce, extending their lifetimes.

The average lifespan of LEDs is 50,000 hours, which means they can last for more than 10 years without burning out. However, the driver is likely to fail first. The best drivers on the market (Philips, Inventroniks, and Meanwell) usually come with a warranty of 5 years so be wary of manufacturers who give their drivers a 10-year warranty. Be sure to buy LEDs with high-quality drivers as chances are both will stop functioning at approximately the same time.

We Can Help You Choose the Best LED HighBay Fixtures

The secret to a good lighting design is picking the right optic for the application. We have more than 10 years’ experience in LED technology and have installed LED highbay fixtures in gun ranges, parking zones, storage yards, and many other places.

In all our projects, we make sure that the poles are evenly spaced so they can spread light uniformly over large areas while maintaining the required foot candles. The lights we have installed in gun ranges can illuminate targets that are 100 meters away. We understand optics very well and know how to use them to produce the desired lighting effect.

The Lighting Center manufactures LED highbay lights that are DLC listed and eligible for rebates. Some models come with a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty. Our outdoor lights are rated IP65 or higher and are ETL or UL listed. They can withstand harsh weather conditions and temperature ranges between -30°C to +60°C. They come with different mounting solutions like wall, yoke, sport, pole, and adjustable heads.

Call us today and talk to one of our experts to help you choose the right LED highbay fixtures for your application. If traditional fixtures are already in place, we will carry out an evaluation and recommend products that will replace the current lights and meet your requirements.

  from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/the-best-led-highbay-replacements-for-high-intensity-discharge-lights/

from The Lighting Center - Blog http://thelightingcenter.weebly.com/blog/the-best-led-highbay-replacements-for-high-intensity-discharge-lights

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5 Awesome But Somewhat Overlooked Benefits of Retrofitting

With all the concerns about environmental issues – like global warming and air pollution – decision-makers are always looking for ways to lower the environmental footprint of their organizations and institutions. Thankfully, new technologies that offer environmentally-friendly solutions are in plenty.

However, many new technologies have a high upfront cost which may be prohibitive in some cases, despite their short ROI period.

Furthermore, many businesses and organizations are not willing to change their existing lighting infrastructure just to accommodate a new lighting technology. They already have lighting fixtures in place – in good working condition – and it doesn’t make sound financial sense to get rid of them.

Enter retrofitting

LED retrofit kits make perfect replacements for older lighting systems. They are designed to fit into existing fixtures and offer all the awesome benefits of LED technology for a fraction of the cost.

Retrofitting simply means replacing the lamp and ballast with a LED bulb instead of replacing the entire fixture. In most circumstances, the labor required is comparable to that of re-lamping. LEDs are usually made of smaller components and can be easily integrated into different fixtures.

No doubt about it, LEDs have numerous benefits. But today, we’ll just focus on those that are often ignored.

Here are 5.

1.      A Low Upfront Cost

Many businesses rate energy as their top operating cost concern. And for many, the initial cost is the No.1 hindrance to an energy improvement project.

If you’ve been putting off converting to LED technology, here’s some good news: the project won’t be as costly as you think.

What do we mean?

Yes, retrofitting, like any other project, requires an initial investment. However, the imaginary figure in your head is probably more than your retrofitting project will cost.

The low upfront cost of retrofitting is without a doubt, one of the best things about it. Retrofits do not cost as much as new LED lighting fixtures because they use fewer materials. Their shipping costs are also lower as they are not bulky.

In addition, the government and some utility companies offer rebates, grants, incentives and programs which can further lower the initial cost. How great is that?

2.      Lower Installation and Maintenance Costs

Retrofits are very easy to install and an electrical professional can quickly do it.

What does this mean for your business? It means you’ll spend less money on labor.

If you run a business like a grocery store or a car dealership, you can lose a lot of income if your business operations are interrupted even for a few hours. But since retrofits don’t take time to install, the electrician can change out the bulbs before or after business hours, ensuring work is not disrupted.

LEDs also have a long lifespan – between 50,000 and 100,000 hours – and do not need frequent maintenance like traditional bulbs (because they are constructed differently). Because of this, they lower maintenance costs.

3.      The Existing Lighting Fixtures Are Retained

It is no secret that new LED fixtures are more expensive than retrofits. And because many people have the misconception that new fixtures are much better than retrofits, they decide to postpone switching to energy-efficient lighting until they can afford new fixtures.

Big mistake.

Retrofits are just as efficient as new fixtures and lower energy consumption and maintenance bills, paying for themselves in a very short time. And because LEDs last longer than all other lighting systems, the savings they offer continue to increase and accumulate with time.

4.      Buildings Are Future-Proofed

As environmental pollution increases, new laws are passed that require buildings to become more energy-efficient. One way to avoid being affected by new laws is by “future-proofing” your building with new technology.

At some point in the future, buildings that don’t meet new energy demands may have to be redesigned or demolished. When you make your building energy-efficient even before the law requires you to do so, you give it a new lease on life and extend its life cycle way into the future.

“Future-proofing” is particularly important for buildings that have cultural or heritage significance. When they integrate LED technology, they lower their environmental footprint and still retain their beauty and character. As new demands for energy keep cropping up, they don’t have to be redesigned.

5.      There Is Less Waste

Retrofitting does not create as much waste as a full fixture replacement and is an economical way of upgrading to LED. With a full redesign, electrical professionals have to properly dispose of the lamps, ballasts, and fixtures. This process is not only costly, it is not kind to the environment.

With retrofitting, only the lamps and ballasts are gotten rid of, meaning waste is considerably reduced. If you are an organization or an institution looking to decrease your environmental footprint, waste reduction is the way to go.

When Is a Full Fixture Replacement Necessary?

Sometimes, a full fixture replacement (a full redesign) is the only option for a building.

A full redesign means getting rid of the lamp, the ballast, as well as the fixture (the bulb housing) and replacing them with a LED bulb and fixture. It is usually the best option if lighting fixtures are damaged, outdated, or completely enclosed.

LED bulbs cannot be incorporated into fixtures that are enclosed (unless they are specially designed to be used in enclosed fixtures) because their heat sinks won’t be able to disperse the excess heat they produce, which means their lifespans will be reduced.

Some businesses opt for a full fixture replacement in order to make their premises look attractive to their customers – like car showrooms.

A full redesign is also ideal for new buildings or those that are getting redesigned as electricians can easily access the lighting infrastructure. And while this procedure is more costly than retrofitting, it is the only option at times.

However, it is important to note that a full fixture replacement doesn’t offer more benefits than retrofitting. For instance, a retrofit kit sold by The Lighting Center are just as efficient as new LED lighting fixtures. Thanks to new technologies, there’s almost no difference between LED retrofits and new fixtures.

If you’ve made the wise decision to switch to LED technology, give us a call. Our lighting experts are always available to give you all the help you need. We promise to make the transition easy.

from https://www.thelightingcenter.com/5-awesome-but-somewhat-overlooked-benefits-of-retrofitting/

from The Lighting Center - Blog http://thelightingcenter.weebly.com/blog/5-awesome-but-somewhat-overlooked-benefits-of-retrofitting