Alan Morton, Managing Director of Amitex LED Lighting Company, takes a look at the rise in commercial LED lighting projects and why they should be on your radar.
Did you know that the commercial LED lighting market is forecast to grow by up to 30% each year until 2020? The arguments for switching to LED lighting are well known to electricians, but businesses are starting to discover the benefits and are taking action to reduce energy usage and save money. The falling cost and ever-increasing efficiency of LED products is making them more and more attractive, and government schemes such as ESOS are encouraging larger companies to implement energy-saving projects. Marks & Spencer recently said they expect all their lighting to be LED by 2020.
What do commercial customers need?
For those of you who carry out mainly domestic work, it’s worth stating some of the requirements of commercial customers and how the latest products deliver what they need.
Energy efficiency
Energy efficiency is high on their list since annual energy savings are key to justifying spend on new lighting. Our Amitex LED commercial lighting products produce up to 102 lumens per watt. They will typically deliver 60% energy savings when used to replace traditional fixtures, so payback periods are normally around two years and can be less.
Robust products
Robust products are very important. Factory and warehouse environments can be harsh, sometimes dusty and dirty, sometimes subject to extremes of temperature, for example in the case of cold stores or unheated warehouses. We have products which will work in temperatures between -40° and +65°, covering most situations you’ll come across. And choosing products with an IP65 rating ensures adequate protection against dust and moisture – all our commercial products meet this standard.
High quality light
For production lines and picking areas in particular, high quality light enables employees to perform their jobs accurately and in comfort. Colour rendering is important and a CRI (colour rendering index) of over 80 ensures acceptable performance. For offices, look out for products which comply with the recommended unified glare rating of <19, such as our Panel Lights with their UGR of 18.
“As well as a five-year warranty and IP65 rating, all our Amitex LED commercial products are LM-80 tested.”
Product lifespan
Finally, product lifespan is critical. One of the major benefits of LED in commercial environments is that it lasts much longer than conventional lighting, five years or more in most cases, compared with one year for traditional lamps. This has a significant impact on maintenance costs, especially for lighting in hard-to-reach areas, where the costs of hiring a cherry-picker or scaffolding are considerable. To maximise lifespan in our high bays, for example, we use cold-forged pure aluminium heatsinks which disperse heat very rapidly at 226W/K.M. Features like this allow us to offer a five-year warranty on all of our commercial products.
High Bays and Low Bays
Many types of product are used in commercial environments, but I’ll highlight High Bays and Low Bays, which are among the most popular.
Low Bays are heavy-duty, high output light fittings specifically designed for use in industrial environments such as factories, warehouses and indoor car parks. As their name suggests they are typically fitted at 4-6 metres above floor level. They are ideal for illuminating factory production lines to provide good visibility for employees.
High Bay fixtures are their high level counterpart. They are normally used for ceiling heights of 6-8 metres and deliver well-distributed and uniform light over a wide area.
We offer LED versions of both products, specifically designed to replace traditional metal halide or SON fixtures. Our Amitex LED Low Bays are available in 100W (8800lm – replaces 250W metal halide or SON), 150W (15,000lm – replaces 400W) or 200W(19,600lm) formats.
Our 100W High Bay Light has an output of 9200lm and is designed to replace the 250W metal halide or SON lamp in an existing fixture. It is also available in 150W (14,600lm) and 200W (19,000lm).
Quality is paramount for this type of fitting – the last thing a site manager wants is a product failure. As well as a five-year warranty and IP65 rating, all our Amitex LED commercial products are LM-80 tested. LM-80 is a standard for testing LED lumen depreciation over time, in order to establish the useful life of the LED chip. At the end of the stated lifespan the chip will have depreciated by no more than 20%. While this is not the only factor affecting the life of a fitting, products with LM-80 have undergone a rigorous test which provides reassurance that claims on lifespan are accurate. We also use the best quality raw materials like Nichia chips and Meanwell drivers to ensure long life and reliability.
