Why LED is the Most Energy-Efficient Choice for Cold Storage Lighting

Are you in the grocery or warehouse business and need the right lighting for your cold storage? As a business owner or manager you realize the importance of being cost-effective, that’s why you need to choose the most energy-efficient option. The following are a few items for your consideration as to why LED is the most energy-efficient lighting for your cold storage.

LED lighting for cold storage

As you well know, finding lighting options that do well in cold environments has always been a challenge. Lighting options such as HID and fluorescent have not historically been known to be up to the job when it comes to cold environments. However, LED technology thrives in colder temperatures and do not face the same challenges as other technologies. As for energy efficiency, LED uses less energy than the it’s predecessors which can result immediate reductions in operating costs. The main reason that LED uses so much less electricity than other technologies is that they produce light differently.

How Older Technologies Waste Light

Other technologies produce light through various methods. While incandescent and HID pass electricity through a filament, fluorescent produces light by ionizing mercury vapor. Both methods require extreme heat for its atoms’ electrons to become excited enough to produce light, wasting nearly 90% of the electricity they consume, making them incredibly inefficient. They have a higher probability for failure, limited to a 360 degree beam spread resulting in wasted light, and lack of control capability.

How LED is more energy-efficient

On the other hand, LED produces light using electroluminescence. This process doesn’t use a filament and creates little heat, instead relying on a property of semiconductors to generate light. The methods used to generate light is not the only component of efficiency, equally as important is light distribution, LED has the ability to be directional to maximize the lighting while minimizing energy usage. Of course, the fact that LED doesn’t waste energy by creating or relying on excess heat is also part of what makes them so safe, as well as why they don’t need the large, fragile glass bulbs full of toxic gasses that make handling other lighting sources more difficult.

Here at Relumination, we want to help you find more energy-efficient ways to light your business. If you have any questions about cold storage lighting please contact us today!

3 Reasons to Light Up Your Cold Storage with LED’s

Everyone is moving towards LEDs. They’re energy-efficient, brighter, and increasingly cheaper. But if you need niche lighting, don’t just look into the general benefits. Here are three reasons why cold storage specifically needs a lighting update.

1. Traditional lights waste space.

A lot of light bulbs give off heat. Even traditional bulbs that are built with cold storage in mind give off too much heat for products near the ceiling to maintain the right temperature. That means your storage is organized with a hefty buffer around the hot bulbs, and that’s bad for business. Every inch of warehousing space matters, especially if your warehouses are competing in the evolution of fast supply lines. You just don’t have room for traditional lights anymore.

2. LEDs work better in the cold.

Traditional bulbs and cold temperatures aren’t a good mix. Fluorescent bulbs need more voltage to get started in low-temperature environments like your cold storage. They also don’t give off as much light. While the bulbs themselves might fall within OSHA guidelines, the reality is that the cold storage may be too dim. Even if your cold storage is organized to allow for heat output, the main problem with cold light bulbs, traditional bulbs aren’t good enough.

LEDs, on the other hand, prefer low temperatures to high ones. They even work more efficiently below freezing than they do at summery temperatures, and that’s on top of LEDs’ general efficiency.

3. It’s easier to make LEDs smarter.

Traditional bulbs burn out all the time, especially in adverse conditions. But you and your site manager don’t always know when that happens. If the bulb for a sensor goes out, you won’t know without a manual inspection. If the overhead lights go out, someone has to stop what they’re doing and replace them. But LEDs can be attached to an internal Internet of Things system. Not only will you get an alert when the LEDs go out, you can get an early warning when the bulbs start to dim.

Contact us to start retrofitting your system and getting the best benefits of LEDs.

Is Your Cold Storage Still Safely Lit?

From cut flowers to pork chops, there are dozens of industrial reasons why your business needs cold storage. These marvels of modern technology transformed the agricultural, brewing, and food service industries over a century ago and become more advanced with each decade. Your cold storage room may have a magnetic locking door, regulated ventilation, and digital temperature controls but it should definitely have bright, clearly illuminating electric lights.

The Hurry to Warm Up

The effectiveness and safety of your cold storage unit(s) should be checked at least once a year, and cleaned every week that it is frequently used. Unfortunately, cold storage safety is easy to skimp on without thinking about it. Even if you do regular cleaning and safety checks, it’s cold in there! Especially for freezer units, your body is wary about letting you linger in the cold. Too long and it starts sending urgent messages to leave and warm back up. This can cause people to hurry away from cold storage tasks without even realizing they have done so! This year, resolve to put on a coat and take a couple of rounds cleaning and securing your cold storage.

Staying Safe on Icy Surfaces

When checking on your cold storage, there are a few regular safety considerations. Due to the nature of cold storage, floors can become both dirty and icy. To deal with this, mop from wall to wall regularly and lay down thick, secure rubber mats on the floor between the shelves and anywhere you expect to step. Icy build-up on the walls commonly known as ‘freezer burn’ can be scraped away or melted with warm water, just remember to move shelves and goods away from the wall before bringing down the ice.

Staying Safe with Strong Lights

Changing light bulbs in your cold storage can be a freezing pain, but it is vital to continued safe use of your unit. Insufficient lighting increases the body’s fear response to lingering in cold temperatures. This combined with low visibility can drastically increase chances of both falling and dropping shelf items. Naturally you’ll want to change out your lights as little as possible so your ideal bulb is bright, long lasting, and produces very little heat.

Light Without The Heat – Our Cold Storage Lighting Solutions

Cold storage facilities offer a unique energy challenge. The budget costs associated to operate these warehouses using outdated equipment has risen dramatically. The very essence and source of light produces heat and traditional methods for illumination are not energy-efficient or easy to maintain in those conditions. It has been a challenge and cost-prohibitive to the average business owner. Until now.

Technology has made great strides to provide energy-efficient and money-saving improvements to lighting solutions for cold storage. In addition to LED fixtures that now run much cooler than traditional fixtures, they also use over 75% less energy. The load on your overall system is substantially and consistently reduced.

Options are available that allow you to operate the system on a timer to minimize the heat production and lessen the impact on your refrigeration system. This provides savings on both sides of the system. Top notch controls allow you to maintain your facility to run at peak performance.

These improved options also reduce maintenance time and cost. They are designed to last longer with fewer disruptions or down times to change bulbs in often hard to reach places. The bright bulbs offer better working conditions for your employees and improve performance and mood.

We here at Relumination strive to provide our customers with the most innovative and efficient resources for their business. Our years of experience and advanced knowledge have prepared us to offer proven results.

Improve Your Cold Storage Lighting, And See A Production In Your Employees’ Productivity

If you are in a business that has a cold storage facility, you already know the costs that come with running that facility can be very significant. The lighting costs are part of the overhead costs, and your lights are significant heat source. There are several types of light that do not work well in the cold temperatures. For instance, a fluorescent light will eventually wear down over a significant period of time. When your source of light breaks down, you will find yourself spending a great deal of money on repairs and maintenance.

You can have high quality lighting that will illuminate everything in the facility when you choose an alternative cold storage lighting method. With higher quality lighting, you can meet the standards and guidelines, meet the energy codes that have been set, and avoid paying tons of money for maintenance. When you install LED lighting, you will see that these lights have a high quality and high superiors ability to render the best lighting for your facility.

Upgrading your old lighting can help you enjoy the following benefits:

  • Reduce the costs it takes to operate your facility.
  • Positively impact how efficient and productive your employees are. When your facility has the right kind of lighting, it allows your employees to perform better at their daily tasks.
  • Lower the costs it takes to maintain your facility. You will not have to constantly replace or repair your lighting. You will also see a reduction in downtime because you will not have to sit around and wait for repairs.

In a cold storage facility, it is important that your lighting fixtures do not create too much heat in the environment. Some lighting fixtures release too much heat into the facility, and this results in increased cooling costs. LED lighting fixtures are a productive and wonderful solution for your cold storage facility because they will not produce a great deal of heat, they will use a low amount of energy, and they will give you several good years of usage

The Effect of Heat Generated by Inefficient Lighting in Cold-Storage Facilities Can Be Costly

cold storageIf your business operates with cold-storage facilities, you know the importance of maintaining an absolute temperature; however, did you know lighting can be a source of generated heat? This extra energy can cost you more money than you may realize.

There are many types of lighting: incandescent; fluorescent; neon; and more. These lighting sources all use energy and release some amount of heat. Relumination can design a lighting system for you that does not generate this largely excessive heat.

Incandescent lighting is an old technology. It works by passing an electrical current through a resistive wire. As the electricity moves through this wire energy is released in the form of light and heat. These kinds of lighting systems generate the most heat and require the most energy.

Fluorescent lights utilize a special tube that contains a partial vacuum. There is no air in these tubes, but there is mercury in them. A ballast provides a high voltage through these tubes that excites the mercury. A fluorescent powder coats the inside of the tube and converts the UV radiation into visible light. The tubes themselves do not release much excessive heat energy, but the ballasts can be a problem with these systems. Depending on their efficiency, a ballast can release as much as 10% of input power as heat.

If your ballast is releasing 10 watts of heat, in an hour this could mean a potential increase of 39 degrees Fahrenheit for a 45 cubic foot volume. This much heat being released continuously requires your refrigeration system to cycle on and off meaning more costs in cooling.

Neon systems are like fluorescent systems but require much higher voltages and can be even less efficient.

LED lighting systems are different. They still produce heat, but they don’t produce the infrared energy like incadescent bulbs; furthermore, an LED system uses less energy than fluorescent lighting by using lower voltages and currents thereby reducing excessive heat output. LEDs also last longer than fluorescent lights. This saves you on costs for replacement of ballasts or the tubes.

Lighting is important for any business. It allows customers to see products clearly, gives employees a safe working environment, and let’s business move smoothly.

If your business can benefit from the lighting services of Relumination, please contact us for more information on how we can serve your needs.

Lighting Efficiency in Cold Storage Facilities Saves Resources 3 to 4 Times Over

ColdStorageMost food service businesses have cold storage facilities and if your business fits into that category, we strongly urge you to consider upgrading your lighting system. Lighting efficiency is a major concern especially in areas where the lights, themselves, work against keeping the area cold. Energy efficiency, money, the environment, and a safer, more efficient system all argue in favor of upgrading outdated lighting systems in favor of newer technology that allows an area to be well-lit while keeping the room cold.

Energy efficiency

When using outdated lighting systems in cold rooms, we burn energy unnecessarily in two ways: we spend more energy keeping the room cold because the lights warm it up, and we need more lights because cold lighting systems have improved in brightness from what they used to be. Upgrading saves energy because fewer bulbs are required for the same amount of illumination and energy is saved because less is wasted fighting the warmth that results from having lights on.

Money

Energy efficiency saves money. By spending less energy, power bills are reduced — sometimes drastically. Depending on your facilities, you might see noticeable changes in the amount of money you spend on power so quickly that any necessary expenditures on upgrades might just pay for themselves in the first year of use.

The environment

By reducing energy use, especially around areas where freon or ammonia might be a necessary aspect of keeping cold rooms cold, we help preserve the environment. There are environmental risks associated with each energy source, so reducing the amount of electricity needed to keep a cold room cold and well lit helps preserve the environment. This planet is the only one we’ve got and we need to take care of it.

Safety and efficiency

When foods kept in cold rooms are kept too close to light sources, they can warm up when the lights are on for long periods of time. A cycle of slight warming and re-freezing can lead to freezer burn and food expiration. It’s safer when foods that should be kept frozen are kept completely frozen without being warmed when the lights are on.

Knowing this, we might opt to keep the lights off as much as possible, but the problem with a solution like that is the fact that a poorly-lit area can lead to workplace accidents and injuries. No business wants to have that happen, both for the sake of the employees and saving money.

For more information on upgrading your cold room lighting to an efficient system, contact us.

US Cold Storage Warehouse Energy and Maintenance Costs Slashed with Intelligent LED Lighting

Hot, inefficient warehouse lighting is something many companies deal with every day but don’t put a lot of thought into. If a warehouse operates 24 hours per day, the lighting can be one of their biggest overhead expenses.

One solution to lower your energy costs, and HVAC costs, is to install LED lighting, and if possible, a lighting-control system. Earlier this year, Digital Lumens installed LED lighting with a control system in the United States Cold Storage Inc.’s Hazleton, PA warehouse. According to the case study, the old high-pressure sodium lamps consumed 465 watts each and were costing USCS $0.46 per square foot per year.

The new Digital Lumens Intelligent lighting consumes only 160 watts and only costs 3.5 cents per square foot per year, a decrease of 93% in energy costs! Also, with the new lighting, the warehouse was able to get rid of the chiller-load associated with the metal halide lighting and eliminated their lamp replacement and maintenance budget. USCS’s payback period for this project was just 14.6 months.

To contribute to the savings, Digital Lumens also implemented their LightRules system which uses a combination of fixture-based sensors and a lighting control system to dim or turn off lighting in areas of the warehouse that see sporadic activity. With this system, the lights are only on 22.17% of the time. Having the lights on when no-one was around was wasting a lot of energy and contributing to maintenance expenses.

Using the intelligence of the Digital Lumens Light Rules system, combined with the efficiency of LED Lighting, United States Cold Storage was able to slash their lighting overhead expenses by over 90%.

Relumination is a proud partner with Digital Lumens and we offer the Intelligent Light Engine and LightRules products to our customers. Contact us to learn more or for a free facility analysis.