4 Ways LED Lighting Will Improve Your Bottomline

A business can boost its bottomline by either increasing sales or decreasing expenses. A simple way to reduce operating costs at your facility is to replace conventional lighting fixtures with LED lighting.  LED lighting can boost your bottomline in several key ways. 

1.  LED Lighting Saves Facilities Money on Energy

Cut the Lighting Bill

LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) produce the most cost-effective lighting of any light source.  But how do we measure energy efficiency?  In the past, most people understood wattage to be a measurement of the brightness of a bulb, but wattage is actually a measurement of the energy consumed by the bulb.  Lumens are the correct measurement of lamp brightness. 

When evaluating the energy efficiency of different light sources, we need to look at how many watts are required to produce the same level of light.  Let's start with a 150W incandescent light bulb, which produces 2,600 lumens.  To match that level of brightness, here is how much energy is required by other types of lighting:

What does this difference in energy consumption amount to in dollars?  At Lubbock Electric, we work with industrial facilities where HID (High Intensity Discharge) lighting is standard, so our comparison will focus on retrofitting HID light fixtures with LED lights.  Consider our energy-savings analysis for a seed mill in West Texas:

	400W HID Lights	195W LED Lights
Annual Operating Hours	4,368 Hours	4,368 Hours
Number of Fixtures	62	62
Ballast Input Watts	460 Watts (including ballast)	195 Watts
Total KWh	28.52 KWh	12 KWh
Cost per KWh	$0.11	$0.11
Total Annual Energy Cost	$13,703	$5,809

Making the switch to LED high bay lamps would result in estimated annual savings of $7,894.  That's a 58% lighting energy cost reduction! 

Lose the Ballast

Take a second look at our analysis.  Notice that 60 Watts were added to the 400 Watt HID fixtures to account for the ballast.  Ballasts provide the startup voltage and regulate current for HID and Fluorescent lights, and in doing so they use energy on top of the power needed for the lights themselves.  On the other hand, LED fixtures use drivers, not ballasts, which are significantly more energy efficient.

Cut the HVAC Bill

Did you know that for some bulbs light is a byproduct?  Incandescent and Halogen light bulbs create light by heating a filament inside the bulb.  Because these bulbs create light through heat, about 90% of the energy used is wasted to generate heat.  HID and Fluorescent bulbs use different processes to create light, but heat is a significant byproduct.  About 75 percent of the energy Metal Halide (HID) lights consume is wasted as heat. 

LED lamps don't waste energy generating heat.  They run much cooler than conventional lights.  If your plant has considerable air conditioning expenses, you should consider switching to LED lighting.

2.  LED Lighting Saves Facilities Money on Maintenance

How Many Employees Does It Take to Replace a Light Bulb?

LED lights also lead in operating longevity.  While the rated lamp life varies by lamp style, capacity, and application, here is a general breakdown of operational life cycles for lighting:

Let's go back to our analysis for the seed mill.  Their HID high bay lamps had an estimated life of 20,000 hours.  Comparatively, the industrial-grade LED lamps we recommended boasted a rated lamp life of 100,000 hours.  This means that the 62 HID lights would each need to be replaced 4 times before the LED lights would need replacing.  If we assume a cost of $115 to replace the bulbs (including labor), it would cost the mill an extra $1,245 each year in bulb replacement alone.

No More Costly Disposal

Of course, this analysis ignores another hidden cost of conventional lighting: disposal.  Both Fluorescent and HID lighting, including Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium HID lights, contain mercury.  Mercury-containing lamps and ballasts need to be disposed of through specialized recycling or hazardous waste landfills.  On the other hand, LED lights contain no dangerous chemicals, allowing businesses to dispose or recycle them as they see fit.

Out With Fragile Lights, In With Sturdy LEDs

Another advantage of LED lamps is their rugged durability.  No glass bulbs that easily shatter!  No delicate filaments that break from vibration!  LED bulbs are made with epoxy lenses, not glass, and are much more resistant to vibration, shocks, and breakage.  Also, most LED lamps come with a five to seven year warranty.  Damaged lights are one less thing you should worry about.

3.  LED Lighting Protects Employees

Brighter is Safer

With LED lighting, your facility can increase the lumens produced by your light fixtures while decreasing your energy costs at the same time. This is important because insufficient lighting is often a contributing factor to workplace accidents, and it can cause eye strain, fatique and seasonal affective disorder.  Insufficient lighting could also result in a costly citation from OSHA.  Improper lighting is one of the most overlooked safety hazards, and LED lighting will help your plant avoid potential injuries and unnecessary fines.

Say "Goodbye" to Flickering and Humming

In addition to brighter light at a lower cost, LED lamps offer another advantage: no flickering.  HID lights are known to flicker and cycle on and off when they reach the end of their useful life.  Flickering creates an additional safety hazard because it reduces visibility and exacerbates eye irritation, dizziness, nausea, and headaches.  Conversely, LED lights offer a steady light throughout their operating life.

Light That Stays Bright

Finally, LED lamps boast lower "lumen depreciation" compared to conventional lighting.  All lights lose their brightness over time, but bulbs with filaments do so at a higher rate.  For example, Metal Halide (HID) lights may lose 30% to 40% of their initial lumens after half their operating life.  Meanwhile, LEDs often maintain close to 90% of their brightness at half their rated lives, and more than 70% until the end of their rated life.  In fact, LED lamps will continue to work well beyond their useful life, but their luminosity will begin to decline at a faster rate.

4.  LED Lighting Can Boost Productivity

LED Lights Are "Instant On"

Both HID and Fluorescent lamps require some time to "heat up" before they reach their full brightness.  For high bay lighting, this could could take 10 minutes or more.  LED lamps require no time to warm up.  This could mean a significant reduction in lost production time at your facility.  Plus, LED lights can be turned on and off frequently without affecting the longevity of the bulb, whereas HID lamps need a "restrike" period of at 10-15 minutes after being turned off before they can be turned on again.

Light Directed Where It's Needed

Another major difference between LED and conventional lighting is directionality.  Conventional lights are omnidirectional, which means that light is emitted 360° from the source.  This results in light being directed towards the ceiling and away from the areas requiring illumination.  Conversely, LED lights produce directional light.  No light is lost.  With LED lighting, work areas will have superior illumination, which improves productivity.

Ready to Move Forward?  You Need Answers For Your Business.

Now, let's get to the real questions on your mind.  What will LED lighting do for my facility, and where do I start? 

Let's begin a conversation.  Lubbock Electric has a team of Master, Journeymen, and Apprentice electricians who work primarily in industrial applications.  We have removed ballasts and retrofitted low bay lighting, high bay lighting, and even parking lot lighting.  We can meet your challenge, and we will guarantee both the lights and the installation.

We'll get you in touch with an estimator who can evaluate your facility, advise you on lighting options, and perform a comprehensive savings and payback analysis based on your exact needs.