Why Upgrade Your Lighting System?

The simplest answer to this question is that it will save you money. Lighting accounts for approximately 30-40% of the total energy for most commercial facilities. If your lighting system is more than 5 years old it is probable that a lighting upgrade will save you 50% or more on your lighting costs.

Upgrading newer lighting systems can also result in dramatic energy savings where the fixtures used were cheaper or less efficient typessuch as non-reflectorized fluorescents, or HID lamps such as metal halide or high pressure sodium fixtures. The dollar savings from upgrading your old commercial or industrial lighting system increases as the cost of energy rises.

The effect of increasing energy demand and static energy supply has already been seen on the East and West Coasts. Forecasts are that demand will catch up to supply in Middle America within the next 6 years.

In addition to the obvious money and energy saving benefits from lighting up-grades the Industrial Lighting Handbook, Published by the National Lighting Bureau details other benefits.

Increase Employee Productivity

Maximum worker productivity cannot be obtained under any circumstances unless the light provided is adequate for the workers and tasks involved. This fact is documented in numerous studies conduct by colleges and universities private industry, and the federal government. It is also borne out by many case histories that illustrate dramatic productivity increases when lighting is improved, and equally dramatic productivity drop-offs when lighting is downgraded. High industrial productivity is essential for a healthy national economy. It is extremely important to the financial stability of individual firms.

Improve Quality Control

Detecting errors is a critically important industrial operation. Faulty products can sour customer relations, and in some cases lead to embarrassing product replacements or even law suits. The type of lighting required for quality control inspection depends on what is being examined. The same type of lighting is not appropriate for all quality control inspections. Some require back lighting; others benefit from side lighting or overhead illumination. In some cases color may be critical.

Reduce Eye Fatigue and Headaches

Eye fatigue and headaches often are caused by glare from poorly designed lighting. They do not result from "too much light." In fact, a system that provides 50 foot-candles (lc) of light on the work plane may produce two or three times more glare than a system that produces 100 or 150 fc on the work plane. Direct glare is often caused by a light source in the midst of a dark surround. Direct glare can also be caused by light sources - including sunlight- in the worker's line of sight. Indirect glare occurs when light bounces off a surface in the work area.

Reduce Accidents and Mistakes

Safety improvements in excess of 20% have been reported as a result of better lighting. The reasons for such changes are self evident. When there is better lighting, hazards become more visible and that more avoidable.

Optimize Energy Usage

A fine-tuned lighting system optimizes the energy it consumes. In other words, the energy is put to good use with minimal waste. In turn, a fine-tuned lighting system may reduce other forms of energy waste. For example, when the number of rejects is minimized, less energy is consumed to produce a given number of acceptable products. When productivity Increases, more is produced with the same amount of energy.

Enhanced Corporate Image

Corporate Image is developed whenever someone comes into contact with something that represents a company. The image that customers have of a company is improved when the quality of a company's products or services is improved. The image that a community has of a company depends upon the effectiveness of the organization's community relations program. Corporate Image often is a highly important concern when physical facilities are reviewed and experienced by other corporate executives such as those supplying or purchasing groups, also prospective executives.

Increase Customer Satisfaction

Fewer rejects and better quality control help improve customer satisfaction. Good lighting in warehouse facilities means that orders can be gotten out quicker and more accurately, also improving customer satisfaction. Better productivity also permits a company to keep its prices more competitive, something else that helps improve customer satisfaction.

Increase Sales

Lighting can help stimulate more sales indirectly by improving customer satisfaction. Improved productivity and few rejects also leads to delivery of more product without expansion of facilities or labor force. In addition, a customers quality control personnel who visit a vendor's plant are likey to be impressed by quality control procedures they see in effect and will recognize contribution made by effective lighting. A favorable report to their management could result in sales not attainable due to rice and product benefits alone. In retail applications, sales increases of 10-20% have been documented where light increases have made products offered more visible to consumers.

Environmental Impact

Finally, an energy saving lighting upgrade is environmentally friendly. Almost 45% of the electrical energy generated in America is from coal fired power plants, another 25.76% is from gas and oil and 15% is nuclear.

Utility Generating Capability by Fuel Source

Reducing your Company's energy demands will reduce the amount of emissions required from the carbon based plants and the need for newer nuclear faculties. One kilowatt Hour of electricity saved, avoids the emission of 1.6 pounds of CO2, 5.2g of SO2 and 2.8g of NOx.