How to Go Green with Commercial LED Lighting

Commercial LED lighting is the most practical way businesses of all types can contribute to our greener, sustainable energy future. But don’t confuse greener and sustainable with "expensive." Check out this payback calculator that lets you understand how much your business will save by going green.

Commercial LED Lighting Applications Are Everywhere

If you’ve never conducted a professional energy audit, it’s not likely you know how much of your bill comes directly from lighting. However, you’ll be interested in knowing that the U.S. Department of Energy finds that LEDs use at least 75% less energy, and last 25 times longer, than incandescent lighting.

Just a few of the many possible commercial LED lighting uses include:

• Stores
• Warehouses
• Factories
• Distribution centers
• Auto dealerships
• Parking lots
• Sports facilities
• Street lights
• Walkways
• Countless other commercial uses

Commercial LED lighting has the potential to fundamentally change the future of lighting in the U.S. while simultaneously creating massive cost savings for businesses.

Understanding LED

Energy cost saving requires a fundamental change in how businesses think about lighting needs. This begins by how lighting is measured. Different measurements work best for different products. We have a long history of measuring lighting by electrical watts. Electrical watts measure energy consumption – not the amount of light produced. Older lighting systems turn as much as 80% of energy into heat with only 20% becoming light.

The correct measurement for lighting is Lumens – this is key when taking lighting into consideration.

A good lighting contractor will first access your existing lighting for energy consumption and the lighting requirements for the situation. They will be able to provide you with a calculated ROI and the lifecycle costs your business will realize by investing in commercial LED lighting.

Baes on the measurement of Lumens, the following terms should be discussed:

• Luminous Efficiency - light produced per watt.
• Lumen Output – amount of light required for the task.
• Correlated Color Temperature –should the light be warm or cool.
• Lumen Depreciation – usage related decrease in light output (L70 or 70%).
• Heat Disbursement - efficiency decreases in warmer environments.
• Synergistic lighting control – an integrated sensor system.

Power Over the Ethernet

This is a network connected lighting system bringing more savings and higher efficiencies to commercial applications. It means better control and more information collected by a distributed sensor system. It’s based on Ethernet standards to be upgradable for future benefits.

Power over the Ethernet integrates commercial LED lighting to report energy savings, occupancy status, building analytics, and more. LED lighting has already reached critical mass. This is the next technology for competitive cost savings in the wake of the Green movement.

George Anderson is a freelance writer, blogger, and entrepreneur. I love reading, outdoor activities, traveling and staying current with new trends