Implementing the right commercial lighting can be one of the most important choices you make for enhancing the working environment of your employees and to engage customers at the same time. One of the latest trends in commercial lighting is the addition of motion sensors, also known as vacancy and occupancy sensors. Besides savings, the most often quoted priorities for many businesses switching up their lighting game are based on safety, health and social responsibility. The two major factors associated with commercial and industrial lighting are energy use and upfront costs. Having said that, the most recent popular type of commercial lighting are light-emitting diode bulbs, which although expensive, are far more energy-efficient and provide money-saving benefits in the long run. This type of lighting is specifically designed to meet the needs of stores, offices, malls, hospitals and other facilities.
What Do You Need to Know About Commercial Lighting Efficiency?
As a business owner, when you’re considering the different options for lighting your commercial space, it’s important to determine which solution will best fit your application and space. Between initial costs, yearly energy expenses, lumen output, colour rendering accuracy, and frequency of replacement, picking the ideal product can quickly become daunting for project managers and business owners. Luckily, LED commercial lighting is so energy efficient and durable, making it the no-brainer choice for most applications. No matter whether you’re looking to illuminate a warehouse, office, outdoor space, hallways or anything in between, LED commercial lighting is your best bet for the job.
The Importance of High-Quality Commercial Lighting
It’s no surprise that many business owners opt for energy-efficient over quality lighting. After all, they’re conscious of the fact that the lighting in their business premises contributes heavily to the utility bills. However, what most don’t realise is that choosing efficiency over quality oftentimes means sacrificing productivity and sales. But you don’t have to choose between quality and energy efficiency. Here are some of the things you need to consider before updating your commercial property’s lighting.
- How is it Used – Getting dimmable lights can be a great solution that prevents you from going over budget, but if dimmed lighting affects the productivity of your workers, are those savings worth it? Without proper lighting, your workers won’t be able to perform their jobs efficiently, and your customers won’t be able to see your products properly. In other words, there’s no point in spending money upgrading your commercial lighting if it adversely impacts your productivity and sales
- The Scope of Investment – Once you figure out the amount of light you need to properly light your facility, consider the type of investment you’re willing to make with the lighting upgrade. A lighting retrofit will let you replace fixtures with a more efficient solution, which is the more budget-friendly solution. On the other hand, a complete revamp may prove to be the better choice long term – combining high-quality lighting and energy-efficiency on a full-scale effort.
How Does LED Compare to Other Options?
Incandescent light bulbs changed the world of lighting, and they were the most popular choice up until recently. The science behind incandescent bulbs is pretty basic – a resistance coil of wire is placed inside a vacuum-tight enclosure, and by agitating electrons through the coil by applying voltage you get a restive coil which gets white-hot. So hot, in fact, that it produces light. The more resistance there is, the brighter the illumination. However, incandescent bulbs aren’t the most durable, nor the most energy-efficient, simply because they lose a lot of their energy as heat. On the upside, they’re widely available and quite affordable.
Then came fluorescent lights, which were the first contender to replace incandescent lights. Fluorescent lights work by driving an electric current through mercury vapour, making it produce a short-wave UV light which makes a special coating inside the bulb glow. These lights have been used in commercial settings since 1938. However, they require special fixtures and are most commonly found in large commercial spaces. While superior to incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs still lack behind LEDs in all areas.
Enter LEDs, the newest, most advanced lighting technology. Light-emitting diodes operate by sending an electrical signal along a semi-conductor, creating electromagnetic radiation, resulting in light. LEDs have been around since 2006, but it wasn’t until recently that they become affordable enough to become commercially available. LEDs offer the most longevity out of all types of light bulbs, oftentimes reaching 50.000 working hours. They’re an environmentally friendly option and provide long-term cost-saving benefits, but all of this comes at a higher initial price.
Conclusion
Commercial lighting should be designed with energy-efficiency and quality in mind. It should also provide functionality and ambiance in the workplace. The right commercial lighting solution can be transformative for a business, providing aesthetics, security and security. There’s an abundance of choice that you can choose from, so rest assured, there’s a solution that fits your specific needs and requirements.