BSEE


ighting strategies can have a major impact on a business’ bottom line, eco-credentials, health and safety and much more. What many people don’t appreciate is that LED lighting plays a crucial role within these strategies, with the benefits being far and wide.


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Ken Eddleston, lighng product manager at


Chalmit, a leading manufacturer of lighng for industrial, harsh and hazardous environments, examines the business benefits of implemenng LED lighng


Being green


The first impact LED lighting has is on the energy efficiency of the business. In a time where businesses are striving to be more environmentally friendly, this is a big asset, and the benefit can be immediate. LEDs use far less energy compared to the fluorescent alternatives. In fact, we recently launched a luminaire – The Protecta X, which is 50 per cent more energy efficient than the average fluorescent light, meaning businesses are able to get the same performance for half the power consumption, and reduce costs in the process. Indeed, for luminaires, the input wattage and lumens are documented, and a calculation of lumens per watt acts as the efficiency metric. The most efficient lights will perform with a power factor (PF) above 95 per cent and a total harmonic distortion (THD) below 15 per cent. The drivers used to power LEDs have very high PF and low THD, fitting easily into these margins. Being the more environmentally-friendly option, LED lights are not just good from an energy consumption point of view, they also have other benefits. Decision makers and consumers are increasingly making final buying decisions based on a brand’s sustainability credentials. Buyers look at the quality of the product, the level of service, and then an organisation’s moral compass, using this as the deciding factor in the purchasing process. It therefore makes good business sense to be ‘green’.


uProtecta X has a system life of over 120,000 hours at 25°C, whereas a fiuorescent luminaire will need relamping every 18,000 20,000 hour


Safe working


Following on from this, the health and safety of staff also benefit from the implementation of LEDs. The most effective systems enhance safety through reducing the load on the electrical


uChalmit recently launched a luminaire – The Protecta X, which is said to 50 per cent more energy ecient than the average fiuorescent light


system, lessening the risk to workers. LED lights are known for remaining cool, with effective heat sinking used to wick and dissipate the generated heat into the air. This is crucial, because when the maximum surface temperature of a light exceeds the rated temperature it could ignite the combustible gases and/or dust present in the environment. Lighting in hazardous areas also needs to be able to operate spark free, otherwise workers are put in danger of accidents or even fatalities. In terms of safety from a quality and performance point of view, high-precision tasks in heavy industrial environments must not be done in dimly-lit conditions. Workplace safety can be improved with highly directional and uniform LED lighting, that has good colour rendering. Colour rendering indicates the degree to which a light source shows the true colours of the object it illuminates. In fact, LED lighting has specialised optics which can deliver the output of a much larger linear light, generating a bright, white output over a desired area.


For me, the safety of workers should always be the number one priority, no matter the financial ramifications. In fast-paced industries the focus is often on the product (or service), but protecting people and assets should not be forgotten, after all up to 40 per cent of businesses never recover from major interruptions or disaster.


Effective lighting


Similar to energy efficiency, LED lighting has a major impact on the amount of time and money a business will spend on ineffective systems. When it comes to the lifetime of lights, having a long- term LED system in place dramatically reduces the need for products to be regularly replaced and for workers to maintain the ineffective systems. Indeed, fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs often fail to reach their predicted lifespan, mainly because of their moving parts, which include unstable filaments vulnerable to damage. As a practical example, the Protecta X has a system life of over 120,000 hours at 25°C, whereas a fluorescent luminaire will need relamping every 18,000-20,000 hours. Installing the LED option as opposed to the latter creates five fewer maintenance visits, meaning that workers can be redeployed more effectively to other areas of a business, and less money is spent on replacing the lights themselves.


Business performance


LEDs can reduce light pollution through the use of primary and secondary optics, delivering light


20 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER AUGUST 2019


with minimal spill. They also minimise the number of luminaires required to illuminate a workplace effectively, due to their efficient output and focused distribution. Combined with impressive colour rendering, employees are provided with more accurate lighting which eases precision tasks such as quality checks and reading gauge measurements.


At the most basic end of the scale, LED lighting reduces the risk of slips, trips or falls due to this notable colour rendering. At the upper end, it can be more effective in alerting passing shippers and guiding in helicopters. When comparing the performance of luminaires across both traditional and LED lighting, the focus should be on the usable light on the work plane determined by the lux reading. People shouldn’t simply compare different lumen scores as, given its more directional nature, LED lighting requires less lumens than traditional light sources, to achieve the same performance.


Greater control


Neatly tying in with business performance is my final benefit – control. It is something that is often underestimated when it comes to adopting LED lighting, and it feeds back into all of the previous sections. LED lighting gives you the ability to incorporate a variety of controls, including motion sensors. This not only prolongs the life of the luminaire but also significantly reduces the amount of energy being used, utilising the light only when people are present.


In a similar vein, when used with photocells, LEDs are able to detect the conditions outside, so when it is daytime, the system will dim or turn the lights off as appropriate. It will also be able to do the reciprocal action when it is dark, turning the lights on or increasing the brightness to maintain sufficient level for workers. This way of working is effective from an employee point of view, and also highly efficient from both an environmental and monetary impact.


Conclusion


With competition more fierce than ever, businesses need to make sure they are doing all they can to stand out above the rest, no matter the size and scale of the act. Implementing LED lighting is one way of allowing the business to be better from a financial and moral standpoint, particularly when decision makers are increasingly basing their decisions on them.


www.hubbell.com/chalmit/en Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


LIGHTING, LIGHTING CONTROLS AND LiFi


The business benefits of implementing LED lighting


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