subject: Led Commercial Lighting Is The Most Efficient And Controllable Source Of Outdoor Lighting [print this page] As technology improves, more applications for LED commercial lighting emerge. Recent engineering advances now enable LED to rival the metal halide and high pressure sodium lights that have traditionally dominated the world of outdoor commercial lighting. LEDs emit the same surface luminance as previous, traditional technologies, and they use far less energy.
Additionally, LED commercial lights more uniformly light an area due to their greater directional control of light itself. Lamp life on these luminaires is 50,000 hours or more, which is significantly higher than 15,000 or even 35,000 for HPS and MH sources. They also power on instantly with no run-up time or restrike delay.
For companies who are environmentally conscious, solid state technology is a PR Director's best friend. This is because it uses no mercury, no lead, no hazardous materials that require disposal.
LED commercial lighting is evolving by leaps and bounds compared to the incremental gains made by other luminaire technologies. This means that companies and government entities who go LED now can expect even greater strides in performance in the future, and sooner improvement as opposed to later.
This is all assuming, of course, that the product qualities described above represent the actual quality assurance standard of the LED manufacturer. Some manufacturers are, naturally, more impeccable than others.
GSA clients, municipalities, and commercial entities investing in solid state lighting should work with an RLLD lighting design consultant to locate equipment that embodies the ideals of the technology and is warranted to perform according to specification under anticipated circumstances of application.
LED commercial lights are by far the most energy efficient luminaires every invented. Energy efficiency is not as simple as the amount of power a fixture uses. Fixtures are only useful if they produce the desired levels of light. True energy efficiency can only be calculated by looking at the lumens per watt ratio of a lamp and how efficiently the light fixture itself directs the light only in the desired direction.
Lighting unintended areas is considered a waste of energy, and it can also obscure visibility by creating glaring white spots. Producing high lumens with high wattage is also a waste of energy, because too much energy goes into powering the fixture.
The ideal scenario for the energy conscious is to find a light source that will use a relatively low wattage to produce a very bright light that can be focused without spill light only in the direction of the intended target.
LED commercial lighting fixtures made by top US manufacturers fulfill all of these parameters. They operate at lower wattages than HPS and MH sources. When properly chosen and installed correctly, they not only produce equivalent illuminance to that of previous technologies, but they also focus the light better. Previous technologies shine light in all directions. LED sends light in one direction and is much easier to control when it comes to distribution.
Most LED commercial light fixtures operate within the 4500K to 6500K color temperature range. Average CRI for fixtures made by the best manufacturers is between 70 and 75. Compare this to MH CRI of 80-90, fluorescent at approximately the same, and HPS at only 22.
One can quickly see that LED is virtually equivalent for practically all applications, especially when one also considers that a CRI of only 50 often is all that is needed for an outdoor area lighting system.
It goes without saying that LED commercial lighting fixtures have amazingly long lives. However, these lamps may deteriorate in performance prior to expiration if they are not manufactured correctly. The most important thing to ensure when purchasing LED luminaires is that the fixture is designed with appropriate thermal management in place.
Cheaper fixtures lack the ability to draw heat off the diode. More sophisticated fixtures compensate for this by maintaining heat sinking and balanced air flow.
RLLD will provide detailed information on request about the thermal management technology of any fixtures we recommend and sell. This is part of our photometric analysis and design service and can be trusted as a reliable gauge of anticipated performance.
LED commercial lighting uses individual point light sourcing. This means the light shines in one direction only. HID fixtures shine light in all directions. A great deal of illuminance is wasted with HID, and there is often a great deal of light pollution as well.
With LED, light travels only in the desired direction. This makes it possible for a professional commercial lighting designer to configure an LED system that is much more uniform, glare free, and optically precise than other light sources can generate.
There is possibly no greater application for this feature than in roadway and parking lot lighting, where the reduction of disabling glare is critical to driver and pedestrian safety at night.
Quality controls among LED commercial lighting manufacturers vary greatly in this ever emerging marketplace. Because LED is new and evolving faster than other technologies, expect a high level of quality control variance on the open market.
To avoid buying a product that fails to meet basic expectations, it is recommended that clients obtain the following before finalizing any sale. Incidentally, it is standard policy at RLLD Commercial Lighting to provide this very same information to our clientele.
*Photometric test reports (based on IESNA LM-79-08)
*3-5 year warranty on equipment
*Details on fixture temperature control and lumen depreciation
*Color temperature suitability for intended application
*Optimal configuration for minimal glare (specified in a photometric design, 3D model of the system)
*Estimated ROI resultant from energy savings and minimized maintenance costs
