Why Is Commercial Lighting Important
- Posted by:
- Admin
- Tags:
- Lighting, bulbs, Energy, LEDS, Solutions
- Posted date:
- 06-12-2022
What is Decorative Commercial Lighting?
As the name suggests, decorative commercial lighting refers to lighting used primarily in commercial spaces. These might include places such as restaurants, retail units and office spaces. It might also extend to other private and public buildings, such as universities and government buildings. Essentially, any lighting in a property that isn't a domestic home can be considered commercial lighting.
Given the distinction between domestic and commercial lighting, it makes sense that their uses also differ. While domestic lighting is designed to create a warm and comfortable environment in your residential house, commercial lighting has a slightly different use. Most businesses and organisations that use commercial lighting do so to improve safety and productivity in their premises.
However, while commercial lighting may be more functional than other types, it does not mean it cannot also be aesthetically pleasing. The ideas surrounding the workplace are changing all the time, so it only makes sense that interior design trends for commercial properties change too. Employers are constantly looking for ways to make their workspaces more inviting and productive to be in with attractive commercial lighting options.
For employees, this means having greater expectations of the amenities a modern office should provide. Alongside advancing technologies, business owners are endlessly improving their offices' interior spaces, including decorative commercial lighting. The right lighting and fixtures make your commercial space more inviting to work in and can improve your employees' maximum safety while they are on your property.
From lighting entire floors of your commercial property to zoning in on smaller areas or outdoor lighting, commercial lighting and light fixtures can help create the right atmosphere for your business. Decorative commercial lighting combines both practical function and aesthetic inspiration, boosting productivity among your employees.
LIGHTING WORKSPACES TO IMPROVE WELL-BEING
Under UK law, business owners are required to provide "suitable and sufficient lighting" in their commercial premises to safeguard the physical health and safety of their employees. Poor lighting can lead to a host of issues, from eye strain and headaches to depression, disruptions in people's natural body clocks, weight gain and increased stress and frustration at work.
But, with effective commercial lighting, proper illumination helps you ensure your employees are physically and mentally safe while at work, as you eliminate dark spots and fill your commercial space with warming light. Good office lighting can boost your employees' mood, inspire creativity and help them work more efficiently. Here are a few examples of how effective commercial lighting can benefit the well-being of your employees in your office space:
You can create clear delineations between different areas of an open-plan office with the creative use of accent lighting. This can simplify complex spaces and create a more efficient working office.
You can use warm lighting and colour temperatures to create a relaxed atmosphere in social areas within your office space, such as a lounge area or kitchen. You can add multiple layers of tone with pendant lights, floor lamps or wall lights for a more dynamic atmosphere.
Make every use of the natural sunlight your commercial building receives, as it's far healthier than artificial light. By incorporating natural lighting into your conventional lighting designs, you can boost employee well-being and productivity even further.
If your office space is fairly enclosed, the amount of natural light your employees receive will vary throughout the day. With wireless, adjustable lighting controls, you can alter the lighting scene throughout the day to maintain consistent light levels.
Benefits of LED lighting in commercial buildings
Compared to traditional lighting solutions, such as fluorescent bulbs and halogen light bulbs in the lighting industry, LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lighting offers several unique advantages when used in a commercial setting. These include benefits such as better energy efficiency, higher-quality light, easier maintenance, the possibility to dim the lighting, no warm-up time and frequent switching.
LED lighting takes the lead when looking for the best light bulbs for the heavy industry sector. Industrial businesses or manufacturing facilities often have harsh commercial environmental conditions, meaning their lighting incurs almost constant repairs, replacement and maintenance costs. The inconvenience of this maintenance is redundant when using commercial LED lighting.
Those working in the warehousing sector can also benefit from the LED lights means of illuminating your commercial property. Since these businesses are often open 24/7, loading and unloading commodities, the extremely energy-efficient lighting of LEDs is an obvious advantage. Additionally, the high quality of LED light means warehouse workers will be kept safe in an often hazardous workplace.
Not only are white LED lights better for your operations and the safety of your employees, but they also offer some main environmental benefits. Domestic and commercial lighting accounts for up to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. LED lights are famously energy-efficient solutions. By switching to them instead of traditional incandescent bulbs, we could prevent up to 1.4 billion tonnes of CO2 from being emitted into our atmosphere throughout the globe.
While having all businesses worldwide switch to LEDs may be a way off in terms of practicality, even switching just one bulb to an LED alternative can save 0.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This is because conventional lights, such as fluorescent tubes, require more energy thanks to the need to heat the filament, which isn't a concern with LED lighting. This can mean saving up to 85% on your energy costs, including other cooling costs, for your business, as LEDs do not emit heat, which is wasted energy.
Some of the other ways a business can benefit by using LED lighting solutions include the following:
No warm-up time
Conventional bulbs, such as halogen, fluorescent or incandescent light bulbs, can take up to 15 minutes to warm up and reach their full lighting intensity. You may have noticed that sports stadiums turn on their floodlights far earlier than when the natural light fades. This is because they have to give their lighting time to warm up and reach full brightness.
On the other hand, LED lighting technology doesn't require warming up and reaches full power from the moment your turn them on. For businesses, this means you can start your working day on schedule without waiting for your lighting to reach a safe level. It also means you can turn your LED lights off and on as often as necessary without having to worry about warm-up times.
Dim Lighting options
LEDs are incredibly efficient, but you can improve this efficiency by running your LED lighting just shy of full power. The versatility of these lighting systems allows you to dim the light in your commercial premises to improve energy efficiency. Not only does this give you more control over the lighting in your commercial workspace, but it can help to reduce your monthly electricity bills.
Running your LED bulbs under full power also helps to increase their potential lifespan. So, while your LEDs are reducing your energy bills, you can make further significant savings by using fewer bulbs with effective lighting management. This huge financial benefit is yet another example of the versatility of LED lighting and how it can prove an advantage for almost any commercial business.
Frequent Switching
Alongside long warm-up times, traditional metal halide bulbs can't be turned on or off quickly, which can pose serious problems for businesses that need adequate lighting at all times. These traditional bulbs can take up to 15-20 minutes to fully turn on, which is significantly time wasted and can even pose a health and safety risk.
LED lighting turns on instantaneously, with no reduction in the light output from bulbs, fixtures or lighting devices. This allows you to turn your LED lights on and off as frequently as necessary. This means you can further save on energy costs and increase the lifespan of your lighting fixtures since you won't be forced to keep your lights on to ensure adequate visible light.
Extended bulb lifespan
Again, LED light bulbs have a longer lifespan than traditional ones, such as halogen lights, fluorescent lights or incandescent lights. On average, a standard LED light will last up to 63,000 hours. This is a staggering lifespan for a lightbulb, with others lasting only a fraction of that time when used in a commercial setting. Of course, how often your business requires lighting will affect this lifespan, but you can take this as an average.
Given the phenomenal lifespan of LED lighting, switching from traditional light bulbs could save your business quite a bit of time and money. With very few replacements needed, you can save money on supplies, while the easy maintenance means you don't have to spend time worrying about your lighting. It will be difficult to find any other part of your business that you can change that will reduce disruptions to your operations as much as LED lighting.
Very Low energy consumption
LED light bulbs are far less thirsty than other lights, making them a more sustainable lighting option compared to traditional ones. On average, your LED lighting will use up to 60% less energy than other light bulbs, meaning better energy efficiency and reduced energy bills. This is a natural choice for any company looking to cut down on its energy consumption without hindering its business operations.
Combine this with the increased lifespan of LED lighting, and you can easily see how much these lighting products can save a business in terms of expenses. Not only this, but their efficient energy consumption will also reduce your business's carbon footprint. So, if you are looking for environmentally friendly lighting solutions for your company, LED lighting is the obvious choice.
Available with a sensor
Adding motion sensors to your LED lamps can improve your energy efficiency even further. Since your lighting will only activate when someone triggers the sensor, this increases the efficiency with which you use your lighting, leading to even greater energy savings on your monthly bills. This is also possible thanks to LED lighting's ability to turn on and off instantly, with no warm-up time.
So, when installing LED lights alongside motion sensors in a particular area or as exterior lighting, your lights will burst into action at full power when anyone enters that area. Naturally, once someone leaves and there is no movement in that area, the light will turn itself off. This is how installing motion sensors help to save you money by reducing your energy costs.
We hope this article has been helpful in understanding the common causes of electrical problems.
If you live in the Retford, Nottinghamshire area and you need help or advice with commercial or domestic electrical testing we can help. Follow the links below to contact our local Retford electrical expert today.