How LEDs Impact Manufacturing Lighting

Energy intensive industries like manufacturing often look to energy-efficient technology innovations in the manufacturing process itself. However, LED lighting technology is a simpler and cheaper way to reduce costs. In addition to its low energy consumption, LEDs have other attributes that are ideal for manufacturing lighting. These are described next.

Vibration Resistance

Manufacturing plants are often full of noisy and vibrating machinery. The vibration of some operations is so intense that it permeates walls, floors, and ceilings. Because of their superior vibration resistance, LED lights are ideal for such difficult environments.

Low Operating Temperatures

Given their low energy consumption, it is no surprise that LEDs put out very little waste heat. This makes them ideal for refrigerated storage areas and warehouses. The use of inefficient lighting is like placing multiple heaters inside a refrigerator. The lighting uses excessive power that turns into waste heat, causing the refrigeration to use more power.

Lighting Directionality And Brightening Effect

LEDs are good at emitting light in one direction, which makes them perfect for lighting up work areas where assembly, machining, and inspection operations require good lighting. This highly directional light is pure white. This better lighting also reduces worker injuries.

Longer Life

This attribute reduces maintenance costs. The enormous number of lights used in many manufacturing facilities adds up to a significant replacement cost. Replacing lights in hard to reach places, such as very high ceilings can get very expensive because they require specialized rented equipment such as bucket trucks.

Compact Design

While LEDs can illuminate the largest of areas, they can also light up very small spaces such as the inside of a machine.

Control

LED lights can be readily dimmed. When combined with photo sensors, further energy savings are possible by taking advantage of natural light coming in through windows. Warehouses can save energy by altering brightness according to the frequency that people access each area.

LED lighting, is 50-90% more energy-efficient and longer lasting than traditional lighting. Lights are for lighting not heating. Why spend an excessive amount on lighting that wastes heat and lasts a short time?

 

Going Green and Saving Green With LED Lighting

Business owners are always looking for ways to decrease overhead and expenses. After all, the lower the cost of doing business becomes the higher profits are at the end of the day. If you’re looking to save money, energy, and to help protect the environment by going green, then all you need to do is tilt your head back and look up.

How LED Lighting Cuts Your Costs

Light emitting diodes (usually just called LEDs) have gotten a lot of attention recently for how much energy they save. When compared to your average incandescent light bulb an LED light bulb uses roughly 80 percent less power. While that’s a big enough reason to switch to LED lights in your business, there are more benefits to be had. LED lights don’t put out heat the way traditional bulbs do, which means there’s no need to adjust your temperature control either. Lastly, these bulbs last for years longer than traditional light bulbs do, which makes them a solid, long-term investment.

Relumination Can Help

Choosing the best lighting system for your business and your pocket-book isn’t always as simple as screwing in a different light bulb. Sometimes you need to dig a little deeper and make bigger changes.

That’s where Relumination can help you.

Our trained professionals have been working with businesses to create savings for years. No matter what a business’s particular situation is, we can come up with a plan to decrease the power you’re using without sacrificing that warm, welcoming glow that keeps customers feeling good while they’re shopping.

Bask in the Warm Glow of Energy Efficiency

Your business is booming, but your bank account is suffering.  As you look around your busy restaurant, you wonder why?  Then you see it, the flickering nuisance of another incandescent light bulb about to die.  It’s your restaurant’s lighting!  You may have remodeled everything else last year, but your lighting system is original to the building that was built in 1970.  You know it’s time to upgrade, but you’ve bought LED light bulbs for your home and while they’re long lasting they cast a blue light that leave you feeling cold even on the warmest of nights.  You shudder to think of how it will make your food appear.  Fear not!  LED light bulbs are not as limited as you may think; we can help you turn your restaurant’s lighting into something energy-efficient and beautiful!

The Kitchen

This is the place you would want those bright LED lights.  Relumination can work with you to understand your employee’s needs and design the best lighting system for your kitchen.  Perhaps the prep station in the corner has always been a bit dim or your walk in freezer could use a light or two.  Relumination can add lighting wherever you need while cutting your energy bills.

The Lobby

When your customers walk in you want to amaze them, but not blow them away with bright blue-toned lights.  Using LED bulbs with mid-level lumens (the system for measuring the color of light produced by a bulb) and strategic placement, your customers will be drawn in by the inviting atmosphere.

The Dining Area

Lower the lumens!  The higher the lumens the brighter and more blue the light.  For example a 75-watt incandescent bulb produces 1,100 lumens.  So for your dining room, Relumination would install a lighting system using bulbs that produce lower lumens and a warm, relaxing light for your guests.

The Bar

Are you paying more for colored incandescent bulbs to give your bar or other areas of your restaurant a little pizzazz?  Then the switch to LED lighting will save you money.  Not only do LED bulbs last 50,000 hours longer, but some are also color adjustable.  Having a special on Appletinis?  Change the backlighting color of your bar to green to celebrate the special without having to change the bulb!

Stop worrying about which light bulb you’ll have to change next.

Does Energy-Efficiency Eventually Pay For Itself?

Businesses have to keep a firm eye on both their bottom line and their overhead in order to maximize their profits. For example, say a business could reduce its monthly electricity bill by one-third the cost without losing any current operations. That’s an obvious win-win situation, but what lots of businesses don’t realize is that energy-efficiency, particularly in their lighting, can have results that are this dramatic.

Is It Really That Simple?

Yes, and no. Every business and building is unique, and as such the solutions for making that business’s lighting more energy-efficient are also unique. In some instances that might mean something as basic as replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED light bulbs, since LED bulbs use about 80 percent less energy, and generate no heat. In other instances it might mean re-designing entire fixtures so that fewer lights can be used to deliver the same illumination to the same area.

The way the process works is that our professionals will consult with clients, and examine the buildings in question. Once experts have examined the system that’s currently in place they can lay out options for the client, along with predictions on how much new a system or changeovers will cost initially, and how much they’ll save over time. After clients choose the options they want, our installers get to work taking a business from how it is, to how it should be.

It’s important to remember that energy-efficiency is an investment, and like all investments it will pay off in the long-term. For example, lights that use 80 percent less power and last for an additional 3 years, will allow you to spend a lot less money several years in the future, even if it feels like a burden to pay for the system today.

Why efficient lighting is an essential part of greening your business

Eco-friendly business practices are a growing concern in today’s business world, and going green is quickly becoming a necessity for any company that wants to stay in business. While you formulate a plan for greening your business, consider these three reasons to include efficient lighting as an integral step in the process.

Green Credibility

Customers and potential customers are more likely to view your company as socially responsible if they perceive that you’re doing a good job caring for the environment. Energy efficient lighting is one of the most visible and easily identifiable greening strategies for your business, so it can take your business up a notch or two in the eyes of your customers.

Energy costs

Efficient lighting costs less in the long run. This is partly because of lower energy consumption and partly because an efficient lighting plan can help you save money by reducing the number of lighting fixtures used. Calculating and installing the optimal number of bulbs, or removing unnecessary bulbs or fixtures, represents pure gain in lighting efficiency.

Maintenance Costs

The working lifespan of energy-efficient lighting is considerably longer than that of traditional lighting. This translates directly into lower overall maintenance costs, including bulb costs and labor costs. In addition, using fewer lighting fixtures means a broken fixture will occur less frequently.

Reducing your Carbon Footprint with LED lighting

Saving money and saving the environment often go hand in hand. If you’re looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint and save money, LED lighting is the way to go. In fact, Delta Airlines recently announced they’re committed to upgrading their entire fleet to LED lighting over the next three years, in a move that’s estimated to save as much as $50,000 per plane, per year.

You don’t have to be an international air carrier to save money by switching to LED lighting, though. Check out these great ways LED lighting saves you money, all while yielding huge environmental benefits:

Save on utility bills with energy efficient lighting: LED lights are as much as 90% more efficient than conventional lighting. This means you’re looking at up to 90% savings on your utility bills.

Pay less for replacement bulbs and installation due to longer life: LED lights last as much as 5 times longer than conventional lighting. In addition, they have a small, compact profile and aren’t made with glass or toxic chemicals like mercury, making them extremely durable, and safe for use in tight spaces, food prep, or clean rooms.

Lower operating temperature puts less strain on your AC: Conventional lighting generates a lot of heat, as anyone who’s changed a light bulb will tell you. LED lights, on the other hand, due to their better energy efficiency, waste less than 10% of their energy as heat. Especially in hot climates, or in industrial applications, this lower operating temperature and brighter light results in much less work your HVAC system needs to do to maintain temperature, and translates to further savings on your energy bills.

3 Great Reasons to use LEDs for Parking Garage Lighting

LED lighting has benefits for every industry and every application. For example, if you manage a parking garage. Check out these 3 great reasons you should make LEDs your parking garage lighting solution.

Energy Savings: If your parking garage has underground or otherwise dimly lit sections, at least some of your lights have to be left on 24 hours a day. Even if your parking structure is fully above ground, for safety and convenience, you’ll need to leave the lights on from dusk ‘til dawn at the least. That much up time can quickly burn out conventional bulbs and add up to major utility costs. LED lights, on the other hand, are up to 85% more energy efficient than conventional bulbs, translating to major energy savings.

Instant On: Especially as the seasons change, setting the right time for your lights to turn on can be a pain. LED lights, unlike conventional bulbs, though, don’t require any warm-up time. This means you won’t have to guess the average time of sunset for the next few months and then subtract another 15 minutes or so to account for the lights warming up. Best of all, if you weren’t able to get the right time, if it’s a rainy day, or if you have a sensor system, your LED lights will instantly turn on to the proper brightness level.

Long Life: Running lights 24/7 will quickly burn out conventional bulbs. LEDs, on the other hand, last up to 5 times as long as conventional bulbs. This means you’re spending 5 times less on replacement bulbs, and you won’t have dangerous dark spots in your parking garage.

No matter what kind of business you operate, switching to LED lighting can save you a small fortune in utility bills.

 

Reliable Ways to Reduce Lighting Costs for Your Business

Sufficient lighting is an important part of any business. It is essential to provide lighting for clients, customers, and employees, but this does not mean lighting should be excessive to play it safe.

Finding an ideal balance of lighting should be the goal, and this often means making lighting adjustments or improvements over time, which will end up reducing the cost of lighting for your business.

Dim the Brightness and Reduce Blue Light on Monitors at Nighttime

For those that work in an office setting and are on the computer regularly, especially during nighttime, a common procedure is to use enough lighting to match the lighting that comes from the computer screen. While this is effective, it also leads to unnecessary lighting usage, as there is an alternative in reducing the brightness and blue light on the screen, which allows a person to work with less lighting or in the dark.

Make Routine Adjustments to Outdoor Lighting

With some outdoor lights, such as parking lights, a timer is set to determine when the lights turn on. However, throughout the year, daylight comes and goes at different times in the day, which makes it beneficial to keep up with making adjustments to make sure the lights do not turn on too early.

Upgrade the Bulbs in Exit Signs

Whether you take over a business space that already has exit signs or you are the one to purchase these signs for your business, these signs may be making you spend more on lighting than you need to.

It is ideal to invest in LED exit signs, which consume a lot less energy.

Although some lighting efficiency tips are more common than others, you should take advantage of every opportunity that allows you to enjoy savings on lighting, especially when there are no sacrifices.

Save Energy and Money with a Commercial Lighting Retrofit

Does your business worry about increasing energy prices?  Are you searching for ways to cut business costs? Or are you worried about your carbon footprint? In any of the above cases, updating your business with a commercial lighting retrofit can save you money!

Retrofitting your business lighting – including industrial warehouses, office spaces, and more – can be a challenging task, but with the right suppliers and years of experience, the challenge will be well worth the reward.  Utilizing energy-efficient lighting will help you and your employees in many ways.  First, LED bulbs can cut lighting costs by up to 90% because the bulbs are more efficient than other choices.  This also makes the lights cooler to the touch, cutting out any excess cooling costs that you needed previously.

Other health benefits will come to you and your employees with energy-efficient and cost-cutting LED lighting by Relumination.  The benefits of better and brighter lighting help with the functionality of the space, and LED lights do not wear out over time.  As well, the light produced by LED bulbs does not cause headaches or other symptoms that fluorescent and incandescent lighting do.

On top of these major benefits to your business, LED lights last longer, – meaning you have to buy fewer saving more money – are fully recyclable, and have no warm-up time.  A broad array of designs and lighting styles are available, including dimming lights and colored lights, to suit any business’s needs.

Overall, a commercial lighting retrofit will benefit your company monetarily, environmentally, and socially.

Taking a Lesson from History – Section 179d Tax Deductions Extended for 2015?

Last December, Congress approved the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 which retroactively extended the 179D lighting deduction through the end of 2014.  Since the Section 179d tax deductions save taxpayer money with energy-efficient public facilities, encourage sustainability and offer substantial tax savings to building designers and owners, it garners widespread support.

The president and congress show a history of extending the Energy Policy Act of 2005 but waiting until the last-minute to act and having the policy apply retroactively.  Since LED lighting has inherent savings even before tax considerations, upgrading to LEDs is worthwhile while the 179D incentive carrot hangs out there for 2015.

Furthermore, any LED retrofits and installations performed in 2014 can still qualify for the 2014 tax return deduction.  So if your project accomplished a 40% reduction in lighting power density or 50% for warehouses, determined by the minimum requirements in the ASHRAE/ESNA 90.1-2001 standard, it should qualify for the $0.60 per square foot deduction.

For light system installations that achieve a 25% lighting power density reduction, there is a $0.30 per square foot reduction available if you meet other lighting controls and levels prerequisites.

LED lighting system improvement to commercial buildings, apartments of at least four stories and public buildings qualify for the 179D provision.  It is available for tenant-owned leasehold upgrades, building renovations and new construction.  In most cases, the building owner takes the deduction at the time of the installation although non-taxable government facility owners not needing the deduction may allocate it to the engineer or architect of the retrofit.  A qualified third-party must certify that the project meets the ASHRAE standards and the government entity must provide a letter allotting the deduction.  The assigned deduction is available retroactively if the filer submits an amended tax return within three years.

Although the 179D deduction expired at the end of 2014, the fact that it belongs to the group of tax extender provisions which have bipartisan support and typically see renewal, provides a good reason to upgrade to LED lighting in 2015.  LED lighting is versatile which is why owners and designers use it for enhancing the design of commercial spaces while saving energy and money.