With the right lighting control systems and an established plan, you can get the most out of your LED retrofit.
Now more than ever, businesses are upgrading their older lighting systems by replacing them with LED lights. The process of overhauling a large commercial space is often called a retrofit, since you are keeping the same fixtures, but retrofitting them for the new LEDs. LED lights are being widely implemented in large commercial spaces for a number of reasons. The first reason is that they perform far better than their outdated counterparts. LEDs not only offer better lighting quality, they are also versatile and can produce a number of colors and hues without any manual interference. They are also able to communicate with your commercial control system either through ethernet cable or an Internet of Things. Since LED bulbs are able to receive information, businesses can fully automate their lighting setup.
A fully automated LED lighting system is beneficial for most businesses. Beyond superior performance, LEDs also use far less electricity than fluorescent or incandescent bulbs. Because of this, more businesses are using LEDs to improve their interior and exterior lighting.
In this article, we are going to be discussing how you can maximize the benefits of a LED retrofit at your business to help your company reach its full lighting potential. Let’s get started!
1. Set a Goal For Your Retrofit
LEDs combined with advanced lighting control systems will certainly benefit your business—but, you need to decide which benefits you are prioritizing.
Most businesses make the decision to retrofit their lighting with LEDs for one of three reasons. The first reason is to minimize the total cost of a lighting upgrade. Instead of installing completely new lighting fixtures and a new lighting control system, it is often preferable to only opt for a new lighting control system that will work with your retrofitted lighting. If you want to retrofit your lighting because you are interested in the money saving aspects, then you’ve already got one of your goals.
In addition to saving money on the actual installation, businesses can save money over time thanks to the implementation of LEDs. LEDs use less energy than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, which means you will save money over time on your monthly lighting costs. LEDs also produce more lumens than other types of lights which makes them the more efficient and cost-saving lighting method on the market currently.
In order to make sure you are saving money and increasing the efficiency of your lighting, you want to pay extra special attention to the lumens. Unlike older lighting methods that depended on wattage to determine brightness, LEDs use lumens to determine brightness. By setting a goal for the retrofit and calculating the amount of lumens you need per fixture to save money on your electricity costs, you’ll be well on your way to a successful retrofit.
2. Opt to Install Other Devices as a Part of Your Lighting Control System
Optimize your lighting control system with the addition of timers, light sensors, and motion sensors.
Beyond the LEDs themselves, there are other ways that businesses can save money while making lighting intuitive for inhabitants and building operators. Using different types of sensors and timers, businesses can fully automate their lighting so that there is no chance of human error. Think about it—if someone accidentally leaves the lights on in the building—the potential for wasted money is massive.
Luckily, timers and sensors are a great way for businesses to avoid excessive or unnecessary lighting. The most basic of these devices is a timer. By installing a lighting timer as part of your lighting control system, you can pre-set when the lights will turn on and off each day. While this is effective, sensors are able to automate your business a bit more intuitively. If you are working in a space that receives a lot of natural daylight, then you may want to invest in lighting sensors that can brighten or dim your lights depending on the amount of daylight. This prevents your business from wasting money by overlighting interiors. Another solution for superior lighting control is installing motion sensors. Motion sensors signal your LEDs through internet connection that a room is occupied, which causes the lights to turn on. This is especially useful for commercial spaces like office buildings that may only need to use conference rooms during certain times of the day. When businesses choose to install motion sensors as part of their LED retrofit, they can stop worrying about excessive lighting and start saving money.
3. Remember to Maintain Your Lighting Fixtures
Since LEDs require less maintenance, it is important to stay attentive so they don’t go accidentally unmaintained.
Though we haven’t mentioned it yet, another reason why people will retrofit their business with LEDs is because they don’t require nearly as much maintenance as other lighting methods. However, this does not mean that LEDs require no maintenance. Even though they don’t have to be replaced as often, it does not mean that LEDs are impervious to dust. Over time, dust will accumulate on the outside of the LED light which will dull the brightness. In order to avoid this, regular maintenance for your new LED fixtures needs to be scheduled every 30 to 90 days so that the lights can maintain maximum brightness. For office spaces, this may be less important. But for warehouses and other places where people need ample light to work safely, it is super important to make sure that all fixtures are clean and well maintained.
4. Update All Fixtures to LEDs
Even if you aren’t making all of the updates at once, you need to plan to update every light in your property.
Because the lighting quality differs so greatly from incandescent to fluorescent to LED light, you need to make sure that all of the lights on your property are the same. While it may not happen all at once due to installation or cost constraints, your lighting plan should include a complete LED overhaul. If you are keeping some older lights around, the differing light qualities and brightness will clash. This is even true for smaller desk lamps and task lighting fixtures. If you are unable to completely retrofit your business with LEDs, you should take the time to match the lighting temperature of your other lights to the temperature of the LEDs. If you continue to use different types of lights with different brightness levels and temperatures, your space can become distracting, stressful, and in some cases—unsafe.
If you are in the beginning stages of planning an LED retrofit for your business, be sure to follow our tips. Choosing LEDs over other lighting methods is an excellent way to save money, conserve energy, and provide superior lighting for anyone who enters your business. As long as you take our tips into consideration, you will be well on your way to a successful LED retrofit.
