Specialty and Architectural Lighting — Retrofits
LED Lighting and Power Quality: The High Cost of Ignoring Power Quality Issues When Switching to LED
Posted by Dave on for ProLampSales
The effects of power quality on LED lighting performance generally receive little attention prior to installation for most commercial building applications. Power quality issues such as dips, harmonics, interruptions, transients and surges can result in expensive, early replacement of damaged or failed LED lighting equipment. While facility managers involved with smaller commercial projects may be able to ignore power quality without much consequence, larger industrial LED lighting projects, such as the replacement of existing HID...
- Posted in Energy Efficiency, HID & Metal Halide, LED, Retrofits
Evaluating an LED Retrofit of HID High Bay Fixtures in a Maintenance Facility
Posted by Dave on for ProLampSales
The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has conducted a field research project evaluating installation issues and performance of a high bay retrofit where the existing metal halide bulbs have been changed to LED. High bay fixtures that use metal halide lamps in warehouses, shops, sports facilities and big box retail offer an opportunity for significant energy savings with LED HID replacement lamps. The high wattages for metal halide range from 175 watts...
- Posted in HID & Metal Halide, LED, Retrofits, Warehouses
Guide to Beam Metrics for Comparing LED to Halogen Directional Bulbs
Posted by Dave on for ProLampSales
LED light is inherently directional. Most traditional light sources - incandescent, halogen, compact fluorescent and HID - emit light in all directions. For these light sources to have specific directional characteristics, the lamp is made with a reflector and sometimes a lens to modify the illumination so it becomes more focused, or directional. For example, PAR halogen lamps are available in a range of beam angles from 60°, a wide flood, to 8° a narrow...
LED Downlight Options for Small Commercial & Residential Applications
Posted by Dave on for ProLampSales
The number of recessed downlights in small commercial and residential environments often exceeds all other types of light fixtures in the building. Tucked neatly inside the ceiling, these fixtures manage to be both an unobtrusive and an effective source of illumination for many types of spaces. The traditional light source for these downlights has been the incandescent BR30 (3.75" diameter) or BR40 (5" diameter) reflector floods. Unlike architectural grade downlights, the typical small commercial and...
- Posted in Energy Efficiency, Fixtures, LED, Retrofits
LED Linear T8 Retrofits: Sorting Through The Options
Posted by Dave on for ProLampSales
One look at the LED T8 retrofit lamp and installation options can quickly make you want to run for cover - or give up and live with fluorescent. The later approach, while not as forward-looking as LED, makes some sense especially if you are comparing the 30,000 to 40,000 hour T8 fluorescent lamps now available with 35,000 to 50,000 hour LEDs. From a low risk perspective, not to mention low up front costs, current generation...
- Posted in Energy Efficiency, LED, Retrofits
Key Concepts to Consider When Upgrading Lighting for Warehouse Rack Storage Areas
Posted by Dave on for ProLampSales
Warehouses using rack storage systems present unique lighting design challenges particularly for retrofits intended to improve the lighting scheme. The layout of most product storage warehouses comprises a shipping and receiving area (may be the same or separate areas), a low, open storage area for bulky items and a high rack storage area, usually occupying most of the warehouse space. Rack storage systems are often built to take advantage of high ceilings. Forklifts (or robotic...
- Posted in Design, Retrofits, Warehouses
Lighting Audit Opportunities for Commercial Properties
Posted by Nick on for ProLampSales
In a previous article, we looked at retfofits for general lighting situations. Many buildings, regardless of the main purpose they are used for, will have T12 fluorescent tubes, magnetic ballasts and a ton of incandescent and halogen bulbs and HID lamps that may present retrofit opportunities. In this article, we'll bring the focus to office spaces and buildings with large illuminated areas like parking garages or warehouses. The building is an office combined with a...
Why Businesses May Need a General Lighting Retrofit
Posted by Nick on for ProLampSales
Performing a lighting retrofit is big decision and an even bigger task. Even with direct utility rebates and energy savings, replacing every light bulb (and many fixtures) in a facility is a huge undertaking. Just consider the labor that will be required to complete the job. That begs the question: does your building need a lighting retrofit at all? Sure, some lights may be flickering, dim to the point of uselessness, or entirely burn out....
- Posted in Retrofits
Consider Maintenance & Lighting Needs for Retrofits
Posted by Nick on for ProLampSales
When it comes to lighting retrofits, we often get focused on utility rebates and energy savings to the exclusion of all other issues. If the energy company is offering $10 per bulb and $20 per fixture, it seems like a no-brainer to go ahead with a complete retrofit, right? Rebates and energy savings don't tell the entire story, however. They are an important selling point to replacing older, inefficient lighting technology with newer LEDs, but...
- Posted in Energy Efficiency, Retrofits
Leasehold Criteria - Benefits of LED Retrofits
Posted by Nick on for ProLampSales
This is the latest in our short series on benefits of lighting retrofits. In the first article, we examined reducing load on regional utility companies and explored why it makes economic sense for utilities to offer rebates for lower energy usage, rather than simply upgrading equipment to meet higher energy demands. The second article looked at reducing maintenance costs for commercial and industrial spaces. When a building has hundreds or thousands of light bulbs on...
- Posted in Energy Efficiency, Retrofits