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How to Increase Safety with LEDS

On average, a workplace injury needing medical attention costs $42,000. Improving the quality of lighting in your work environment keeps workers safe and reduces the number of on-the-job injuries. LED lighting can increase safety for your employees and customers in your facility. Below, we discuss several ways that you can create a safer facility by upgrading to LED lighting. Lighting Quality Dark spaces in warehouses or parking lots can create hazards for employees and customers. LED Lights are a consistent, efficient and quality light source that will reduce those dark areas. A common example is a dated parking lot light that creates a dark spot. This can be concerning for drivers especially during the winter when it’s usually dark while employees are leaving the office. Reduced Maintenance Risk Common lighting replacements pose several risks to employees. High bays and parking lot lights usually require a lift to be accessed which creates liability and safety concerns. Furthermore, proper measures must be taken when replacing ballast or fixtures that require contact with live wires. A common procedure used by electricians is Lock Out, Tag Out or LOTO which ensures that a breaker switch is not turned back on until the replacement(s) are completed in that area. LED lights commonly last 2x to 5x longer then outdated light sources such as HID lamps. Therefore, the less you must replace or maintain your lighting system, the less you must engage in the dangerous activities listed above. This not only makes your employees safer but allows them to focus on other maintenance task and be more efficient. Improved Employee Morale Office spaces are commonly fitted with fluorescent tubes that are associated with headaches, harsh lighting and inefficiency. Fluorescent tubes have a high flicker rate that is irritating to the human which is why many complain of migraines, headaches and eye strain when working under fluorescent tubes. On the other hand, LED lighting closely matches sunlight and creates a smooth source of light for your space. Upgrading to LED lights is a great way to create a more comfortable space for employees which can boost morale and productivity. For example, a recent study found a 27% reduction in headaches with improved lighting design including the installation of LED lights. Reducing headaches can lead to a more productive workspace and comfortable employees.

LED Lighting: Maintenance Director Benefits

LED Lighting is becoming the norm across the region as high electric rates produce low ROI. Lights literally pay for themselves. The cost of the tube is relatively the same in Albany as it is in Charlotte, but the cost to power that light is double or triple in the Northeast. Those higher costs here make the LED upgrade very attractive. Who doesn’t want to reduce lighting costs by 70 percent? Maintenance Directors everywhere realize that LED lights not only save monthly but that they last considerably longer. A tube pays for itself in 3 years typically but lasts 10-12 years! Less time spent replacing tubes means more attention can be paid elsewhere. Maintenance directors are a building’s doctor and as such, they must know all the systems. The reality is that they keep things going within a budget and sometimes it’s a band-aid here due to the fracture there. It is quite common for an MD to attempt to install LEDs in their building themselves. Here are a few reasons why you want to avoid that. Hassle-Free Warranty Claims With all the systems in your building, none are more numerous than your lights. If you are installing lights yourself, you must deal with distributors or manufacturers yourself, on a warranty claim. Time on the phone, proving it isn’t installed error, and shipping back are all time-consumers you can better spend on other urgent tasks. Using a team that simply picks up and provides new tubes is great and three or four fewer things for you to do. Custom Incentive Programs By looking at the whole of your lighting needs for the next ten years, you get the advantage of your utility’s custom incentive program instead of a simple buck or two per tube. In fact, most utilities are discontinuing small ‘prescriptive’ programs, opting to give the incentive to the distributor, who is supposed to pass along those savings. A custom program says that those who save the most should get the most incentive. The difference is staggering. 3000 lights a few at a time would be $6,000 rebate. In a custom program with noted run hours, the incentive could be $18,000. As an individual MD, you can’t access the custom program. However, there are several firms that can help. Find one that will do so without a fee, and will ‘carry’ the incentive for you, so you are not waiting months for the incentive from your utility. Professional Licensed Electricians I was recently in a small school district that had taken several short cuts over the years. Above the ceiling, there are many secrets. In this instance, troffers had been placed in the dropped ceiling, without wiring the fixture independent of the ceiling grid, a violation of fire code. Ballasts left in place. Wiring through raceways. Saving a buck usually costs more in the long run. Working with limited resources is always difficult. Finding the Right Solution Like the incentive above, buying the product in bulk leads to huge savings. Buying three or five lights from Grainger at a time may fit with budget parameters, but there are a few drawbacks. Over time product replacement will vary slightly. Most people do not notice fixture variance, but the person that must replace these years down the road will have a more difficult time. Individual purchases do not mesh well with network controls, the logical next step in lighting. Energy management will eventually assimilate with HVAC and security. Individual lighting purchases are dead to this eventuality. A firm that has an engineer on staff will not only find the best product, that gets the most incentive but will also ensure your space is ready for smart controls now and down the road. Leverage the Savings Perhaps the most significant reason not to attempt an LED upgrade on your own is what you’re passing up. Leveraging those savings into paying for other energy measures like a boiler or building envelope allows you to tackle these issues all at once, and best of all no money out of pocket. It’s a vehicle called an Energy Performance Contract. When first introduced ten years ago, there were many players in this field and the less than dedicated ones have gotten out of the business. Unfortunately, those bad actors gave the EPC a bad name. A handful of reputable players remain. Finding your way through the maze of decisions and considerations is complicated but fruitful, nonetheless. Millions of dollars’ worth of improvements all paid for from the lighting is not an exaggeration, and all while not affecting your budget. Even a general practice medical doctor will hand off their patient to a specialist when the outcome potential is great. Integra LED is a firm specializing in deep grade retrofit. We produce solutions that are right for your space, your budget and your team.

5 Secrets of LED Lighting

LEDs Thrive in Cold Temperatures That’s right, LEDs perform better in cooler environments. As you can see in the graph to the right, the diodes light output increases significantly as the temperature is reduced below 25° C. Generally, most lighting applications will never be affected by the extreme temperatures shown in the graph to the right. The optimal operating temperature for LEDs sits right around 77° F, anything below that will increase the light output of the LED. One thing we would like to note is that warmer temperatures do negatively affect LEDs, but the temperature must be significantly higher than 77° F to create any noticeable issues. For example, at 48° C or 120° F, LEDs still maintain around 90% of their light output. Therefore, high temperatures do effect LEDs, but the temperature would have to be quite extreme to cause any noticeable effects. LEDs do NOT emit polluting radiation. Outdated lighting options such as high-intensity discharge lamps or HIDs produce significant amounts of UV radiation. UV radiation can cause various health issues with the most prominent being skin damage. One major benefit of LEDs is that they do NOT produce dangerous UV radiation. UV radiation is commonly a concern in large facilities such as manufacturing spaces that require a high amount of light which is usually produced by inefficient and unsafe HID lamps. Here at Integra, we replace HIDs with LED high bays that on average are 70% more efficient and produce no dangerous radiation. Furthermore, LED high bays last significantly longer making them well worth the initial investment. LEDs are commonly damage resistant. Chances are you have most likely picked up a fluorescent tube or incandescent bulb. If you noticed how they are constructed, they commonly are made with fragile glass. Shattering a light bulb is never fun especially when it’s a fluorescent tube that is built with hazardous metals such as Mercury. LED tubes and bulbs are almost always made with thick plastic that not only makes them damage resistant but lighter as well. Most LED tubes and lamps can be dropped, bumped and hit without any issues arising. On the other hand, dropping a fluorescent tube would create a hazardous scene of dangerous metals and shattered glass. LEDs Produce Little to No Heat Did you know incandescent bulbs release 90% of energy as heat? This makes them an extremely inefficient light source because they use little energy towards light output and make your space warmer. This additional heat can add up in the summer months making your facility more expensive to keep cool. Meanwhile, LEDs produce little to no heat compared to incandescent bulbs solving the issue of your lighting system overheating your space and demanding an excessive amount of electricity. LEDs are long-lasting. LED lights last significantly longer than antiquated options such as HIDs and fluorescent tubes. On average, an LED high bay will last 100,000 hours meanwhile a typical HID will last around 15,000 hours. Therefore, if you upgrade to LED you will prevent having to purchase and replace your lights up to 6 times. This not only takes time away from you, but it cost a lot of money over time to constantly purchase lamps. Let’s say you own a manufacturing facility that currently has 50 fixtures in the ceiling. The average HID we see costs around $15, that means by not upgrading you will have to spend around $4,500 on new lamps during the lifetime of a single high bay. Overall, LEDs have many hidden benefits beyond savings that you could benefit from! From decreased maintenance cost to reduced heat, these benefits can add up and help reduce your companies bottom line. Are you ready to harness the power of LED lighting?

How to Choose Quality LED Lights

Check for Energy Star or DLC Certifications As the importance of energy efficiency has grown, several organizations have been created to help guide consumers in the process of becoming more efficient. Certain organizations offer certifications on lighting products to help consumers recognize quality and efficient options. The two most known organizations are DLC and Energy Star. Energy Star is a U.S Environmental Protection Agency voluntary program that helps commercial and residential owners become more energy efficient. To the right, is an example of what their certification would look like on a LED bulbs box. This certification means the LED light has met Energy Star’s standards on performance and quality. DesignLights Consortium or DLC is a non-profit organization that focuses on defining quality and efficient lighting through resources and tools for individuals and businesses. Like Energy Star, DLC offers a certification but they only certify LED fixtures, not lamps or bulbs. To find if out if a fixture is DLC listed you can either check the spec sheet of the product or search for the product on DLC’s website. To the right is what the DLC certification would look like on an LED fixture’s spec sheet. High Efficacy You most likely are interested in LEDs because you want to save money on your utility bill. LEDs are significantly more efficient than outdated options such as fluorescent and metal halides but not all LEDs are created equal. Many LED products will list the efficacy on the box using a simple ratio of lumens/watts. In general terms, lumens/watts is a measure of how much light a bulb produces compared to how much energy it uses. Therefore, the higher the lumens/watts, the more efficient that LED light is. If the box does not have the efficacy listed, you can simply calculate it yourself! Below is a quick example of calculating efficacy of an LED bulb. LED A19 Lumens/Watts = Efficacy Lumens: 850 850/10 = 85 Watts: 10 Therefore, the efficacy of this LED bulb is 85. Long Lifetime (High L70) LED lights last a long time but certain products depending on their quality will last longer than others. The longer your lights last, the less time you must spend switching them out and money you must spend purchasing new bulbs. Since LED lights last so long, their useful life is assessed using a rating called L70. In general terms, this measures how long it takes for an LED to reach 70% of its original light output. Today, it is common to see LED fixtures last well over 20 years depending on the application and product you choose. Most LED products will list the rated life or L70 directly on the box, we recommend choosing products that have a rated life of 10,000 hours or more! High CRI CRI or Color Rendering Index is a measure of how well a light source reveals the color of objects in comparison to natural light. CRI is measured on a 0-100 scale, the higher the CRI, the better the light source will render color. This is important for applications where consumers are interacting with physical products such as clothing or produce. A grocery store that uses low CRI lighting will make their produce appear drab and unappealing to consumers which can decrease sales. Therefore, if you are choosing LEDs for a location that requires interaction or viewing of physical products, a high CRI light source is extremely important. If you are interested in learning more about CRI, you can check out our blog here where we dive deeper into Color Rendering Index and why it is important. Respected LED Brand As the LED lighting industry has grown, there has been an influx of new companies creating LED lighting products ranging from commercial grade to architectural lighting. Integra LED has worked with many of these brands and over time has found the ones that offer the best products. Below is a list of a few of our most trusted brands but is by no means the only companies we use. RAB, Acuity Brands, Max Lite, Philips, Green Creative, & EIKO As you can see, there are many variables that go into choosing a quality LED bulb or fixture. Integra LED simplifies this process by offering turnkey LED lighting upgrades for commercial locations. Our team completes the entire process from ordering product to installation. Furthermore, we work directly with your utility company to secure incentive funds that can reduce the cost of your project up to 50%.

What Are Lumens?

What Are Lumens? In general, lumens (lm) are a measure of how much visible light a specific light source is emitting. Therefore, the higher the lumens, the more light a source will emit. This measure is extremely important for several reasons, especially within the LED lighting industry. Why Are They Important? The first and most important reason for understanding lumens is ensuring accurate and complete lighting of a certain space. For example, if a parking lot emits lower lumens than needed, you may sacrifice lighting in certain areas creating safety concerns. By working with Integra LED, we can help you choose the perfect lighting system for your space. LEDs and Lumens A common way to measure the efficiency of a lighting option is dividing lumens by watts. The larger the number, the more efficient the lighting option will be. LED lights are currently the most efficient lighting option due to their low wattage requirements. For example, a common HID will produce 15,049 lumens using 320W giving it a lm/W of 47. On the contrary, an LED high bay will produce the same number of lumens with only 122W giving it a lm/W of 123. Therefore, a common LED high bay is around 2.6x more efficient than a common HID high bay. Overall, when considering which lighting option to choose, LEDs are the best option because they offer the most light for energy used making them more efficient and cost-effective.