Article:LED Lighting For Facility Managers – Even considering the energy efficiency and other environmental benefits they can provide, LED lighting has still not been widely adopted in interior lighting applications. However, recent trends have been growing more favorable toward the use of this solid-state form of illumination. Facility managers (fms) who choose to retrofit with LED replacement lamps can reduce their energy bills significantly. But an important step in ensuring savings is to seek the right companies to educate them about the best product for their needs amongst the vast selection of LEDs on the market.
LED Lighting For Facility Managers
LEDs Emergence In Facilities; The amount of energy wasted in most buildings is enormous, and reducing energy costs for lighting used has been a main driver of change within the industry. The current wave began in earnest in the 1990s, and that transformation involved upgrading older, inefficient lighting lamp technology such as T12, HID lamps and fixtures, and magnetic ballasts with newer, more sophisticated T5 and T8 lamps and fixtures. The second wave (in motion since about 2006) has been replacing incandescent lamps with CFL lamps (see article on page 16 for an in depth look at this shift).
Taking place today is a third wave—one in which LED lighting is gaining ground faster even than some experts have expected. When LEDs first came out, they were typically used for indicator lights such as exit signs. As the technology advanced, they became suitable for outdoor signage and fluorescent and neon lighting replacement. Now the technology has evolved and has increased capabilities. LEDs are brighter, more energy efficient, durable, and have an extremely long lifetime. They are increasingly found in use for exterior and interior commercial and industrial applications.
Making The Move To LED Lighting
LEDs have already eclipsed incandescent sources in terms of efficiency, and when fixture performance is considered, they are powering past compact fluorescent and HID lighting in real world applications. They offer long service life, compact size, and greater directional control. As the performance of LEDs continues to show immense results in increased light output and decreased energy consumption, the technology becomes a promising choice for general illumination in facilities.
An LED lighting retrofit can not only reduce electricity consumption and maintenance costs, but can also improve the way a building supports its occupants, because these products provide a high quality white light whether the space is a warehouse or a general office setting.
In addition, LEDs are 25% to 70% more efficient than CFL and HID sources. They also reduce heat output, which in turn reduces required HVAC operations. Maintenance costs also decrease, because relamping, ballast replacements, and cleaning are needed less often.
Further, some LED products are sustainable and 100% recyclable at the end of their projected 50,000 to 100,000 hour life. LEDs also provide an environmentally friendly profile since they do not contain mercury.
Another technical benefit that fms should consider is that an LED lighting system has the ability to restrike instantly after a power outage, which eliminates downtime. That is important for organizations that want an aggressive disaster preparedness program that must kick into high gear immediately after an event occurs. With some other technologies, a power outage can last as long as 15 minutes while the lights enter restrike mode.
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