Commercial and Industrial Lighting Solutions: Manage Your Power

---

Like every other business, you’ve probably had to start considering your industrial lighting solutions in an effort to help manage your power consumption efficiently. We’re all being dictated to by rising electricity prices fueled by rising natural gas prices (and we’ll write about those in another post!).

Although one excellent solution is to contact a proactive energy advisor to help you make those judgment calls, it’s useful to consider the questions that come to mind first.

That’s because there are differences between commercial and industrial lighting solutions, what’s available, what type of lighting solutions offer the best return on investment for your business, and how power management and power factor correction can come into play.

So let’s look at some detail in this article to help you rethink your lighting solutions and make smart choices for the long run.

What’s the Difference Between Commercial and Industrial Lighting?

There are differences, even if the buildings are of a similar size. That’s because commercial organizations and industry have very different lighting needs.

What is Industrial Lighting?

Industrial lighting refers to solutions found in refineries, chemical plants, and other mid- to large-sized complexes, such as warehouses and factories.

The solution you need for industrial lighting generally depends on the function it’s trying to serve. That might be emergency lighting, workplace lighting, or general facility lighting. It’s possible to choose a different solution for each scenario.

Examples include:

• Body shop lighting – high bays, low bays, strip industrial light fixtures.
• Hazard proof/explosion proof – light fixtures for areas with chemical vapors and other hazardous environments.
• Portable construction industrial lights – lights that can go anywhere you need.

However, every facility has a unique lighting problem it needs to solve. So look in turn at how you currently use lighting fixtures in, for example, the office, factory, body shop, or warehouse.

Ask yourself if these choices are still best for the job, and for health and safety. And then consider alternatives that will play into your need to save and manage power if you can do so safely and cost-effectively.

There are several common industrial lighting solutions in industry:

• Incandescent – the traditional light bulb, inexpensive and versatile but relatively short-lived
• Fluorescent – lasting much longer and using a fifth of the wattage
• Various kinds of High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lights – powerful and often chosen for outdoor areas at the complex
• Halogen – available in many formats and also useful for focusing a beam on a certain area
• LED – increasingly popular for their durability and that they fade rather than crash out. You get warning!

Cost, efficiency, and return on investment (ROI) will also come into each decision.

What is Commercial Lighting?

Commercial lighting is found in buildings such as shops, restaurants, hotels, schools, and even multi-unit residences like apartments.

These lights are functional, decorative, or for creating a specific mood. Often these lights create an ambiance for a particular experience for a commercial customer.

Choices can include

• simply decorative,
• LED, or
• fluorescent lights.

And again, your choice will affect your costs and ROI.

For example, installing brighter, more efficient lights in a residential building will not only save you money, but it can attract prospective and perhaps prosperous tenants who bring in more revenue.

Let’s move on now to look at other factors that determine your business’s best lighting possibilities for ROI.

Which Type of Lighting Solution Offers the Best ROI?

Finding the right lighting solution that offers the best return on investment depends on a few factors.

As we said, this is a complex matter, and having an energy advisor at your side will help you navigate the confusing energy market and your outcomes. That’s because of their expertise in reading energy trends. So, not only can they help you address commercial and industrial lighting solutions but also assist in:

• Finding incentivized energy programs that put money back in your pocket
• Pointing out tax breaks provided by the federal government for installing energy-efficient lighting in your facility
• Locating incentives from utility companies who reward facilities with low energy percentages
• Searching databases such as the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency and locating incentives you can benefit from
• Assisting you with your future contracts to lock in a good energy deal for you

Our recommendation?

LED lights, mentioned above, are becoming ever more popular, and are increasingly seen as a good investment. You’ll have noticed firms offering LED Retrofits. So we’ll take LEDs as an example of how you can benefit.

The first thing you notice is that LEDs fit many of the above criteria for usefulness and power-saving. They’re brighter than traditional lighting but use about 50 percent less power.

However, they will also benefit your facility in many more ways. For instance, they reduce both maintenance and operational costs over time, giving you a faster ROI. You can regain the money you spent in perhaps just two years. And they last much longer than that!

Why is Power Management Important in Commercial and Industrial Lighting?

We mentioned in the heading about managing your power.

Power consumption is a huge part of both commerce and industry. And when you’re looking to reduce costs you cannot afford to overlook the seemingly smaller things.

For instance, you probably take your lighting for granted! But with the sheer amount of lighting you have – compared to a normal household – it’s worth looking at commercial and industrial lighting solutions under a microscope.

And while you’re checking out the type of lighting, make sure you also consider:

• Your power factor and how it could be improved to reduce your lighting bill
• Your carbon footprint and whether your business should consider the environment in connection with your lighting use
• The cost of maintenance for your current lighting
• Whether your employees have the best lighting conditions to work in – because in today’s economic climate, employees can be choosy and you need your skilled staff!

Let There Be Light: We Can Help With Lighting Decisions

Understanding your options for lighting solutions depends on the type of facility you have, as we said. But we hope we’ve helped you think about your lighting, and how those solutions can work on several fronts as part of your power management.

And the best thing is, LED retrofits is one of our specialties at Rapid Power Management. We always find a way to lower your energy costs. So here’s the thing: Send us a bill for a free analysis of how you can save money. It’s that simple!

Image attribution