The Power of Intelligent Lighting Controls in Commercial Spaces

In the toward energy efficiency and sustainability, businesses are increasingly turning to LED lighting solutions to save money and energy in their commercial spaces. However, simply swapping out traditional lighting fixtures for LEDs is only the first step towards maximizing energy savings.

As technology advances to improve savings, we’ve consistently implemented intelligent lighting controls. Smart network controls for LED lighting are a game-changing technology that enhances the benefits of energy-efficient LED upgrades by providing unprecedented flexibility, customization, and control completely remotely. Here are a few reasons why we recommend upgrading to network-enabled LEDs.

1. Maximizing Energy Savings

One of the primary advantages of LED lighting is its inherent energy efficiency, offering significant reductions in electricity consumption compared to conventional lighting technologies. But intelligent lighting controls take energy savings to the next level by allowing precise adjustment of light levels based on occupancy, daylight availability, and time of day. Through features such as occupancy sensors, dimming capabilities, task tuning, scheduling functionalities, and more, businesses can fine-tune their lighting systems to minimize energy waste without compromising illumination quality. The result is substantial reductions in utility bills and a more sustainable operating environment.

2. Enhancing User Comfort and Productivity

Commercial spaces are dynamic environments with varying lighting needs throughout the day. Intelligent lighting controls empower users to tailor lighting settings to suit specific tasks, preferences, and occupancy patterns. Whether it’s creating zones with different lighting levels in open office areas, adjusting color temperatures to promote focus or productivity, or implementing daylight harvesting to balance natural and artificial light, these controls put users in control of their lighting environment. Businesses can create a more conducive and enjoyable workspace for their employees and customers by optimizing visual comfort and supporting productivity.

3. Streamlining Maintenance and Operations

Managing a large-scale lighting system can be a daunting task, especially in complex commercial environments with multiple zones and fixtures. Intelligent lighting controls simplify maintenance and operations by providing centralized management and monitoring capabilities. With remote access and diagnostic tools, facility managers can easily identify issues, schedule maintenance tasks, and monitor energy usage in real time. Proactive maintenance and troubleshooting not only minimize disruptions but also extend the lifespan of lighting fixtures, maximizing the return on investment for businesses investing in LED upgrades.

4. Facilitating Adaptability and Future-Proofing

The business landscape constantly evolves, and commercial spaces must adapt to changing needs and trends. Intelligent lighting controls offer unparalleled adaptability, allowing businesses to reconfigure their lighting systems as occupancy patterns, usage requirements, and regulations evolve. Whether it’s reprogramming lighting schedules to accommodate flexible work arrangements, integrating with building automation systems for seamless operation, or implementing advanced analytics for data-driven insights, these controls future-proof commercial spaces and ensure they remain agile and responsive in the face of change.

5. Promoting Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

In an era of heightened environmental awareness and corporate social responsibility, businesses are under increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint and demonstrate sustainable practices. Intelligent lighting controls play a crucial role in optimizing energy usage, minimizing waste, and supporting green practices. By showcasing their commitment to sustainability through energy-efficient LED upgrades with controls, businesses reduce their environmental impact and appeal to environmentally-conscious customers and stakeholders.

Intelligent lighting controls are indispensable companions to energy-efficient LED upgrades in commercial spaces. By harnessing the power of advanced technology to optimize energy savings, enhance user comfort and productivity, streamline maintenance and operations, facilitate adaptability, and promote sustainability, businesses can unlock the full potential of their lighting systems and achieve lasting benefits for their bottom line.

Contact a member of the Relumination team to learn more about our turnkey approach that makes it simple for property owners and site managers to upgrade to intelligent LED lighting systems.

How Energy-Efficient LED Lighting Benefits Sustainable Practices

Sustainability has become more than just a buzzword—it’s a guiding principle driving businesses to adopt environmentally responsible practices. As companies seek ways to reduce their carbon footprint and minimize energy consumption, one solution stands out as both effective and economical: energy-efficient LED lighting.

Sustainable practices are the goal, but how does LED lighting contribute to the greater picture of sustainability in business? Let’s dive deeper.

1. Significant Energy Savings

One of the most compelling reasons to switch to LED lighting is its remarkable energy efficiency. LED bulbs consume significantly less energy than traditional incandescent and fluorescent lights, translating into substantial savings on lighting-related energy costs for businesses. By upgrading to LED lighting solutions, companies can slash their energy consumption by up to 90%. These savings benefit the bottom line and show management the impact sustainable practices can have on the business.

2. Extended Lifespan and Reduced Waste

In addition to being energy-efficient, LED lights boast an impressively long lifespan compared to conventional lighting technologies. LED bulbs can last up to 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs and up to 10 times longer than compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), minimizing the frequency of replacements and reducing waste. By investing in durable LED fixtures, businesses can significantly reduce the amount of lighting-related waste sent to landfills.

Most LED lights are also made from recyclable materials that can be used to create the next generation of energy-efficient lighting.

3. Improved Environmental Footprint

Beyond energy savings and waste reduction, LED lighting offers numerous environmental benefits that contribute to overall sustainability efforts. Unlike traditional lighting technologies, LEDs do not contain harmful substances such as mercury, making them safer for both human health and the environment.

Many businesses will consider their ESG score, which measures energy consumption among other factors of sustainable business practices. By choosing energy-efficient LED lighting solutions, the lowered energy consumption will raise this score and businesses demonstrate their commitment to improving standard processes within their industry.

Energy-efficient LED lighting is a powerful tool for businesses seeking to enhance their sustainability efforts. LED lighting solutions empower organizations to make a meaningful difference in their business and in our environment.

Speak with a member of the Relumination team today to learn more about improving your site’s sustainability practices!

Making The Most Of Your Capital Budget

qode interactive strata

Capital budgeting is the planning process used to determine whether an organization’s long term investments such as new machinery, replacement of machinery, new plants, new products, and research development projects are worth the funding of cash through the firm’s capitalization structure.

How To Prioritize Projects

Capital budgeting is a difficult task for any business. Prioritizing projects is challenging and an upgrade could benefit any part of a building structure.  If you own a large building, it’s crucial to have adequate lighting for the safety, aesthetic and efficiency of your building. When it comes to prioritizing your next upgrade consider lighting as one of your options.

When To Start Planning

Planning can start when you feel comfortable with your budget and have a good idea of what you want the results to be. Once you have selected an area you wish to upgrade you can set a price point, look at contractors and look at different materials needed for your project.

Evaluating Quotes

When evaluating quotes, keep in mind that these are just estimates and can be too low or too high. Be cautious of quotes that seem too high or too low. Saving money is always great, but cutting corners to save costs could result in fees to fix the mistakes later on. Have a good idea of what the price should be at so you don’t get overcharged.

Choosing The Right Contractor

When it comes to choosing a contractor, you want to make sure they have a good reputation and customer reviews. You want to select someone easy to communicate with and who is open with you throughout the process.  It’s also essential to choose a contractor who has expertise working in the area you are trying to upgrade.

Relumination is committed to reducing overhead costs, saving electricity, minimizing facilities management expenses, and helping decrease environmental footprints. Consider us for your next interior or exterior lighting upgrade. Contact us to start planning for next year’s budgets.

How to Overcome Your Leadership’s Objections to a Lighting Retrofit

Your facility’s need for a lighting retrofit is clear to you. Yet, your supervisor, the owner, or another leadership team member needs to be convinced it’s time to move forward. Objections to a commercial lighting retrofit frequently are based on misconceptions you can overcome with facts. Here are ways to advocate for your facility’s commercial lighting retrofit in the face of three common objections.

Objection: A lighting retrofit is costly. Our organization has other budget priorities.

Response: Many organizations realize a return on investment for their lighting retrofit in less than three years. Today’s highly energy-efficient lighting solutions decrease maintenance and energy costs. For example, an Oregon grocery distribution center saved $189,811 in annual energy costs and $47,000 in annual maintenance costs as a result of its lighting retrofit. Experienced lighting solution providers like Relumination offer free lighting consultations to determine the viability of a lighting upgrade.

Also, a lighting retrofit usually qualifies for significant utility company incentives. The professionals at Relumination know how to get the maximum utility rebate their clients are eligible for.

Objection: We did a lighting upgrade 12 years ago. We don’t need a lighting retrofit now.

Response: That upgrade was to T8 fluorescent lighting. Switching to energy-efficient LED lighting would reduce energy costs. Although we did see a measure of energy savings from going to T8 fluorescent lighting back then, a portion of those savings resulted from T8 fluorescent’s lower light levels. By choosing LED lighting, we could simultaneously increase light levels and lower costs.

Objection: There isn’t a business need for a lighting retrofit.

Response: Commercial lighting retrofits have benefits for all of our stakeholders. Since a retrofit can improve light levels, employees make fewer mistakes. In turn, quality control improves and the risk of injury decreases.

In addition, better lighting makes customers feel safer when they come to our facility. For management, the advantages of a commercial lighting retrofit are in the bottom line.

When you overcome your leadership’s objections to a commercial lighting retrofit, contact us at Relumination for a free lighting consultation.

IIoT Lighting for Commercial and Industrial Businesses

While most consumers remain focused on the IoT (Internet of Things), the IIOT (Industrial Internet of Things) continues to grow in the background. With recent developments in the digital, networking, and processing circles, the dream to have smart commercial facilities is now realizable. Intelligent lighting has emerged as the unsung hero of IIOT. Through integrated lighting systems through a network and sensors, smart lighting is quickly earning its preserve in commercial spaces.

IIOT lighting systems are proving a must-have for commercial and industrial spaces for a variety of reasons:

Benefits of IIOT Lighting

Using IIOT lighting, businesses are not only able to control lighting, but the system installed can also provide detailed energy-consumption reports. The reports are essential for companies looking to cut costs by saving energy.

By integrating sensors, the lighting system can detect occupancy and turn on the lights then turn them off when they are not in use. This is a critical measure that can save the business money in energy consumption and minimize running costs.

IIOT lighting also allows you to control the lighting in the entire facility from the palm of your hand. As a facility manager, you can manage all aspects of lighting inside the building using a laptop from across the world.

Using the dashboard connected to the primary device, you can also identify inefficiencies and anomalies in the facility that can help you improve business operations and productivity of employees.

Downsides of IIOT Lighting

There are downsides to everything – even with this revolutionary technology. Weighing both sides of the coin is essential in helping you make an informed decision.

The initial cost of setting up is the most intimidating factor for most facility managers. Even though the cost of setting up the lighting and networking might be significant, maintenance costs are minimal.

Once installed, smart lighting provides an immediate and quantifiable return with documented reports and improved energy consumption. Cumulatively, these savings justify the cost of transitioning into intelligent lighting for the facility and even earn the facility profits.

The Takeaway

The future of intelligent lighting is bright! At the moment, the main goal is to help to run a more energy-efficient facility and save costs. In the future, the technology could be used to raise security alerts, monitor productivity in the workplace, and even keep inventory fresh!

What to Consider When Comparing LED Products

A good LED system will last for years, deliver the right amount of light for the area and the people working in it, and will not generate unnecessary heat. A bad LED system will have a shorter effective working life, may not generate enough light for as long as expected, and may also cause other problems. So, knowing what to look for and how to spot a bad LED will pay dividends.

Warranty

LED lighting should last for many years. Most manufacturers offer a minimum 5-year warranty and many are beginning to offer a 10-year as the standard. Any fixture with less than a 5-year warranty suggests a higher potential for quality issues.

Illumination

Brightness is given in lumens, not wattage. Older technologies typically offer an omnidirectional output, while LED offers the ability to direct the light where it is needed using specially designed optics built into the fixture.

The LED Chip and Capacitor

The quality of the product depends to a critical extent on the chip. Traditionally, the best chips were manufactured in the USA and Japan, but now Korean and Chinese companies also make high quality chips. Chip quality depends on both the material used and its size. Smaller chips have a shorter life and provide less illumination. All LED fixtures will have a life expectancy, many quality manufacturers offer an L70 rating over 100,000 hours.

Color Temperature and Accuracy

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) is a gauge of how yellow (warm) or blue (cool) the color of light emitted from a light bulb appears. It’s measured in the Kelvin unit and is most commonly found between 2200 Kelvin degrees and 6500 Kelvin degrees. Color Rendering Index (CRI) is a measure of a light source’s ability to show object an object’s “truest” color. Simply put, the metric is a number between 0 and 100 that is used to predict how well a product renders color. The closer to 100, the better – or truer – colors should look under its light. Color accuracy matters in many manufacturing plants where detail is key.

Summary Point

LED lighting is essential for a safe and efficient work environment. Choosing and installing the right type of lighting for each area is essential for both worker efficiency and product life. There are countless online retailers and fly by night manufacturers that can offer an LED fixture, although quality manufacturers offer quality materials, heat sink technology and design to provide a long lasting, energy efficient product. Contact us, to discuss your needs.

LED and Controls for Manufacturing

In today’s competitive manufacturing world reducing costs can be the difference between profit and loss. Lighting is one of the least expensive ways to trim costs. As well as trimming costs lighting has been proven to boost worker morale and bring a positive mood into your space. Relumination is committed to helping commercial and industrial businesses reduce overhead costs, save electricity, minimize facilities management expenses, and decreasing our environmental footprint. Here is how we can help with LED and controls for manufacturing.

Benefits Of Manufacturing Lighting Solutions

– Reduced lighting  electricity and maintenance costs

– Improved lighting colors, levels, consistency and layout leading to increased productivity

– Longer fixture/lamp life span resulting in no production shut down

– Zero lost workdays to due to improved safety

– Reduces production turn-backs/mistakes

Why Led Is Better For Manufacturing Facilities

– Outdated incandescent or fluorescent fixtures won’t provide proper lighting

– LED uses a fraction of the power when compared to traditional bulbs making them energy efficient

– The lifespan of a LED bulb is up to 10,000 hours

– LED generates less heat, making it easier to keep a large facility cooler

– LED is durable and can hold up in a most workplace environments

Why Controls Help Manufacturing Facilities

– Dimming controls

– Programmable control zoning

– Sequence of operations

– Motion sensing

– Humidity/Temperature monitoring

– Data collection

Using LED paired with controls in your manufacturing building will benefit your budget, productivity, and employees.  LED will help take your lighting to the next level and reduce overall maintenance and operating costs. You have control over the rest of your manufacturing building and having control over your lights is important too.

Don’t just take our word for it. Check out some of our previous manufacturing projects to see for yourself how we can take your building to the next level. Contact us today to learn more about LED and lighting controls in your manufacturing building.

 

 

How To Use IoT Controls To Aid Social Distancing In Your Facility

A major issue that businesses and workplaces are facing today is encouraging its workers to abide by social distancing guidelines. In larger facilities, this is not always easy to monitor and can be overwhelming. However, an LED lighting system that utilizes IoT (Internet of Things) technology can put this task at your fingertips and eliminate the need to tour your facility. This technology monitors the people and assets in your facility and reports back to you in real time, and also allows for LED lighting adjustments for worker safety. IoT controls can also make it easier for your employees to meet social distancing guidelines and stay safe.

Social Distancing Controls

Employee Location Monitoring – IoT applications are able to track the location of people in your facility and uses an advanced algorithm to provide accurate data by the room. Employees and others wear tags for tracking purposes which are detected by smart sensors. You can also use these applications to replay data and see where people have been in the past, and whether they have broken any social distancing guidelines. Searches and alerts are also available.

Occupancy Tracking – Other IoT applications make use of location tracking to calculate the occupancy of a specific room or area in your facility. Sensor networks are able to track the movement of your employees and provide accurate views of occupancy in real-time, highlighting problem areas where social distancing isn’t (or cannot be) practiced. These IoT applications can also show where employees tend to congregate over time.

Facility Insight – The ability to sense the lighting levels and occupancy for an entire facility will reveal hidden problem areas and reduce human error. Real-time and historical data is made available in one central location. Monitoring the environment in your facility, or multiple facilities is vital to understanding worker behavior. HVAC failures and other equipment failures can cause workers to abandon social distancing and congregate in more comfortable areas, and alarms can be used to alert you to potential problems before this occurs.

Safety Controls

Advanced Lighting Controls – A wireless IoT system will allow you to easily adjust lighting levels by room and area not only to enhance worker comfort and safety but to encourage workers to practice social distancing in problem areas. Different lighting profiles, made by collecting data on employee movement and occupancy, can be configured by area throughout an entire Smart Building and adjusted accordingly throughout the day.

Fine Tuning – Other IoT apps can allow for occupancy sensing and adjust light levels automatically, and can be used to program the lighting system to dim a problem area progressively during high-occupancy times. These functions can be customized room by room for easy management of social distancing and can be done from virtually any mobile device.

Conclusion

The current health crisis is one that large facilities have never seen before and innovative solutions are needed to protect worker safety, health, and productivity. Using an IoT system with your LED lighting will make monitoring social distancing manageable and offer innovative solutions for enforcing worker safety. If you have questions or need more information on how an IoT system can help you, be sure to contact us.

Top 3 Reasons to Upgrade Your Lighting

Business owners and building managers alike have been waging a war against lower-efficiency facility lighting for generations. Now, with LED lighting more accessible and affordable than ever, facility managers are faced with the question not only of replacing their out-of-date lighting systems, but the question of why they haven’t pulled the trigger on the energy-saving solution yet. With cost-saving effects, lower rates of failure and therefore lower maintenance costs, and better working conditions, business owners are going to want to strongly consider upgrading to energy-efficient LED lighting sooner rather than later.

Save Money on Utility Bills

It’s a well-known fact that LED light bulbs use considerably less energy than their fluorescent counterparts. These energy savings, when spread over an entire facility’s lighting system, could save thousands of dollars over the course of a year. Not only do these lamps save on the utility bill, but utility companies offer rebates simply for switching to LED systems. Business owners would be wise to consider these utility rebates in addition to energy bill savings.

Lower Rate of Failure

Not only do LED lights offer the obvious energy-efficient savings on utility bills, but they also offer energy efficient savings in terms of lower maintenance costs and labor requirements. LED lights last on average, years longer than traditional lighting and therefore present fewer needs for maintenance, replacement, and quality-control measures.

High Quality Lighting Equals Good Working Conditions

Lighting conditions and quality of work go hand-in-hand when it comes to commercial facilities. Business owners and building managers are wise to consider the best and most energy-efficient lighting solutions possible in order to provide safe and productive working conditions for their team. LED lights provide quiet, consistent lighting solutions, allowing employees to focus on the task at hand.

Overall, the energy-efficient benefits of LED have long outweighed their traditional lighting predecessors. So, as a business owner or building manager, the next question isn’t whether to make the switch but rather when is the best time? Contact us to make the switch today!

Choosing Quality LED Fixtures for Your Business

As with many business decisions, selecting the best LED fixtures for your business requires a careful weighing of cost against quality, value, and functionality. The wealth of choices and options available can seem overwhelming, and the decision hard to make without expertise in lighting. Here are some suggestions for examining your options.

How to Evaluate LED Fixtures

What should you look for when selecting LED fixtures? Keeping the lights on is, of course, essential, and is a significant cost of running your business, so you’ll want to know how to evaluate available options. Some aspects of LED fixtures to consider include:

  • Maintenance – LED fixtures have a dramatically longer lifespan than traditional incandescent or fluorescent lighting, at up to 250,000 hours. They also do not require ballasts, so you will see savings in the frequency of replacing bulbs as well as in not having to replace worn out ballasts. In addition, because LED lighting doesn’t “burn out” in the traditional sense, you won’t see sudden outages, but can schedule bulb replacement more flexibly.
  • Energy Consumption & Efficiency – It’s no secret that LED fixtures consume far less energy than traditional lighting. Understanding comparative energy consumption of traditional versus LED lighting can clarify potential savings.
  • Lighting Controls – Integrated lighting controls can be a key driver in lowering lighting expenses with features such as automated dimming and daylight and activity sensors. Lighting controls can provide substantial additional value in safety, ambience, and in employee and customer satisfaction.
  • Environmental Considerations – Do you have special environmental considerations for LED lighting? These could include high- or low-temperature spaces, indoor or outdoor settings, or moisture exposure. LED lighting, for example, is not cold-sensitive as fluorescent lighting can be.

What to Look for in Quality LED Fixtures

When you’re evaluating LED lighting solutions, here are some important specifications to note.

  • Lumens per Watt – Lumens measure how bright a bulb is, while watts show the power consumption of a bulb.  The measure of lumens per watt, indicates how efficient a bulb is.    Lumens per watt will vary depending on how a bulb makes light (incandescent, fluorescent, LED, etc.), the quality of materials used to make it, and how much energy is wasted as heat rather than light output. With traditional lighting, more watts = brighter light, so more electricity is needed to create brighter light. With LED lighting, the correlation is less direct. As an example, a 100w incandescent bulb has an efficiency of 16 lumens per watt, a 26w CFL bulb rates 61 lumens per watt, and a 22w LED bulb is most efficient at 73 lumens per watt.
  • Warranty – As with any smart business decision, be sure to consider warranties on parts and labor so you’re not left in the lurch if a problem arises.
  • L70 (LED Lifetime) Ratings – With traditional lighting, bulbs either emit light or don’t (they burn out). LED lighting will very slowly decrease in brightness over time. In general, it’s best to replace LED lighting when it has lost 30% of its brightness — that is, when it’s producing 70% of its original lumens. That 70% level is the L70 rating of an LED bulb.  For example, an LED bulb with an L70 or LED Lifetime rating of 50,000 hours means that it can be on for a minimum of 50,000 hours before it will have lost 30% of its brightness.
  • Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) – The visual temperature of lighting, measured in Kelvins,  indicates where the color of the light falls between cool, bluish-white and warm, golden light. Bright, cool light will generally be better suited to a warehouse or outdoor situation while warmer light will usually work best in a restaurant, hotel, or office.  Areas within a facility may also require different temperatures of light.
  • Motion Sensors – Motion sensors allow you to automate whether lights are on, and even how bright they are, depending on activity. You may want to have lighting that comes on automatically when someone enters a conference room or a particular warehouse area, for example. Because LED lighting doesn’t require warm-up time to come to full brightness, lights can come on quickly, as needed.
  • Dimming – Dimmable fixtures can be very useful in situations where constant light is needed but only active areas require the brightest light. Automatic and even manual dimming can dramatically reduce lighting costs by lowering usage in unneeded spaces.
  • Advanced Controls – various capabilities of a lighting control systems including, but not limited to, daylight harvesting, scheduling, task tuning, energy usage reporting, humidity/temperature monitoring. Advanced controls allow a broad or granular bird’s eye view allowing more specific controls for needs of the space.
  • Type of Fixture – The types of LED lighting fixtures available are nearly endless, and can be chosen and mounted to suit any need and environmental considerations. High bay lights can illuminate large warehouse areas, linear lighting can work well in aisles, troffer lights are common in offices and schools.

How to Compare Competitor Products

With so many options to consider when evaluating LED lighting choices, you will need to compare options carefully.

  • Credibility and Experience – Are the fixtures produced by a company with experience in the field and a solid reputation?
  • Value – The upfront cost should not be your only consideration. Cheaper LED lighting will often fail to achieve its stated L70 rating.
  • Up to Date – If you want to take advantage of the latest advances in integrated lighting control and automation, you’ll need to select compatible products.
  • Compliance – The Federal Energy Management Program has efficiency requirements for some commercial and industrial LED lighting. Other regulations may also be applicable. Ensure your lighting and contractor are knowledgeable and in compliance with such requirements.

The experienced team at Relumination is ready to help you choose the best LED lighting for your business, and apply our years of expertise and high standard of service from needs analysis through project completion, service, and support. Contact us today to see how we can work together for a brighter future for your business.