What are Light Emitting Diodes?
LEDs are simply small lights in an electrical circuit. However, unlike common incandescent bulbs, they don’t have a filament that will wear out and they don’t get particularly hot. They are lit up only by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material.
Why are LED’s the next generation of lighting?
LED lights are the next generation of lighting that save energy, reduce maintenance and replacement costs and help protect the environment. The lifespan of a LED surpasses the short life of an incandescent bulb by thousands of hours.
How energy-efficient are LED lights?
LED lighting can save up to 90% of the electricity used by incandescent and halogen lights and up to 50% of electricity used by fluorescent lights. Around 80-90% of the energy emitted from incandescent bulbs is converted to heat instead of light. LED lights are also designed to last about 50 times longer than incandescent lighting.
Other Benefits of LEDs
Unlike LED lights, most fluorescent lights and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) harbor hazardous materials, such as mercury. This requires their careful and proper disposal, ensuring that they do not contaminate landfill sites. As most cannot be dimmed, Fluorescent lights may suffer from flickering. LED lights, utilize solid-state technology enabling stable dimming with no flickering. Fluorescent lights may take noticeable time to reach optimum brightness, a problem that is compounded in cold conditions. LED lights are instant-on in any environment.
What is a LED Lighting Retro-Fit?
A LED lighting retrofit is upgrading the lamps and fixtures in your home, office or warehouse to a more energy efficient product. The lamps and fixtures most commonly used in today’s lighting retro-fits are LED’s.
We have been seeing a great push in the direction of LED lighting retro-fits from owners, municipalities, school boards and the utility companies. All parties have found the necessity and importance for energy efficiency and that is why rebates and incentives have been made available. Local 400 has been actively involved with the changing of 10’s of thousands of lighting fixtures in the Monmouth and Ocean County area. Institutions that were once built by the members of Local 400 are now writing a new chapter in their history by becoming “green” facilities. Places such as AT&T, Meridian Hospitals, private office spaces and many school districts have all taken the initiative and met their demands with the labor of IBEW Local 400.
We have partnered with local contractors who specialize in this area of work to make sure that the workforce that we are providing is the most skilled, trained, reliable and ourselves efficient to meet the demands of this scope of work. If you are interested in receiving more information on how a LED lighting retro-fit may be right for your business please contact IBEW Local 400, 732-681-7111.
Why A LED Lighting Retro-Fit?
These are some of the reasons that business, municipalities and school boards look into LED Lighting Retro-Fits.
You pay too much in utility costs every month.
By cutting the watts you use can cut the amount it costs you to light your facility. Your utility bill will always reflect your usage and your savings plan will be in place when utility costs inevitably rise.
Your maintenance budget and requirements are becoming a burden.
Your facility utilizes dozens of different bulb-types and styles throughout.
Your parking lot, auditorium, or atrium areas are difficult to reach without a lift, making maintenance difficult, time consuming and inefficient to be maintained on a regular basis.
Your maintenance staff continually attends to burned out lamps and failing ballasts.
Your lighting looks ugly or outdated.
Mis-matched bulbs in the same room, or fixture.
Flickering.
Fluorescent lamps do not have an “instant on”, making a room feel dark or inefficiently lit until they warm up to the proper light output.
Exterior lights use high pressure sodium lamps, resulting in an orangish light, making your facility look uninviting and having the appearance of being dimly lit.
Your local utility company is offering a rebate for LED lighting upgrades.
The utility company wants you to save energy. This helps reduce the demand on energy generating facilities.
You don’t want to touch your lighting system again.
LED systems are not 100% maintenance-free, but products are coming to market with warranties of five or even 10 years.
Your business process changes frequently and you need a dexterous system.
Property manager with a lot of turn-over, or a manufacturing facility that has to re-organize its space with some frequency have all found the benefits of a lighting retro-fit. Good lighting promotes job safety and helps reduce inefficiencies and helps lease spaces and keep tenants longer.
You’re building a new facility.
This is a perfect time to evaluate your business’ needs and consider investing in energy efficient products from the start. Lighting is a cost effective way to trim your environmental impact, and be able to take advantage of building a new facility. This allows you to design a lighting package that is optimal in both output and efficiency.
