Top 10 Business Benefits of LEDs

April 28, 2016PG&E
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Top 10 Business Benefits of LEDs

Lighting-emitting diode (LED)-based lighting uses less energy, lasts longer, costs less and provides benefits that can help retail stores, hospitality operators, healthcare providers and managers of offices and industrial sites in ways they might not have imagined just a few years ago.


LEDs turn on and off instantly and can be equipped with dimmers and motion controls for more energy savings. But these are just the beginning of the benefits to be gained.


The market has spoken
2016 is the year LEDs are expected to overtake all other technologies in the marketplace. Major lighting manufacturers are already shifting the mix of lighting solutions they offer. Case in point: Last year, General Electric announced it would no longer produce any new custom non-LED luminaire configurations starting in 2016.1(A luminaire is a complete lighting fixture, including lamp, ballast and other components.)

Integrated LED luminaires for residential and commercial properties, with current annual North American shipments of about 40 million, are expected to overtake shipments of all other types of lighting this year.

Integrated LED luminaires for residential and commercial properties, with current annual North American shipments of about 40 million, are expected to overtake shipments of all other types of lighting this year, including CFL, fluorescent, halogen, high-intensity discharge bulbs and incandescents.


Business benefits of LEDs
Below are 10 benefits that your business could experience by adopting LED lighting solutions.

  1. Longer lifetimes.

    As solid-state light sources, LEDs are robust and have long lifetimes, lasting up to three times longer than traditional lamps. This enables a business to avoid the time and effort of climbing a ladder to replace those hard-to-reach bulbs.

  2. Efficiency and energy savings. 

    The directional nature of light produced by LEDs enables luminaire designs with higher efficiency and lower energy consumption. LED lighting technologies also enable a business to adopt the solutions that will later be necessary for future advances in energy efficient, sustainable design. LEDs are the first of many steps for the continued evolution of lighting.

  3. Excellent cold weather operation. 

    LEDs start up even in subzero temperatures, making them ideal for applications such as cold storage for refrigeration or ice boxes. While not necessarily applicable in California, the ability of LED lighting to operate effectively and efficiently in cold weather makes them an ideal solution for colder climates.

  4. Color rendering. 

    LEDs surpass other technologies at rendering the true color of environments and goods they illuminate, based on industry-standard Color Rendering Index (CRI) and R9 test methods.

  5. Environmental.

    In addition to their energy efficiency, LEDs do not contain mercury, and products are increasingly being introduced with lead-free solders and materials, in line with European directives.

  6. Instantaneous switch-on. 

    LEDs are ideal for use in applications that are subject to frequent on-off cycling, unlike fluorescent lamps that are prone to burning out through frequent cycling, or HID lamps that require a long time before restarting.

  7. Greater control. 

    LEDs pair exceptionally well with lighting controls like occupancy and motion sensors to provide additional cost savings.

  8. Enhanced productivity. 

    LEDs used in connected, networked lighting systems offer the “hidden” value of higher employee productivity. Businesses in modern offices, like Google, give employees who work late into the evening the ability to control lighting beyond their desk to work with greater comfort and security.3

  9. Better facility management. 

    Lighting data in connected lighting networks today help many retail stores with merchandising through analysis and correlation with areas of high foot traffic. In industrial sites, data is also used to track the movement of assets such as forklifts for more profitable operations and facility management.3


LED rebates and incentives

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is working to create programs that offer rebates for pre-qualified LED lamps and fixtures that meet stringent performance specifications such as those validated by third-party entities ENERGY STAR® and DesignLights Consortium. 4


To help businesses with interior, exterior and specialized lighting — even for refrigerated and frozen foods — PG&E offers rebates and incentives, technical assistance to help in calculating incentives for custom retrofits, special retrofit kits and much more.2 Looking to learn more about the benefits and abilities of LED lighting technologies? Discover the benefits of lighting controls and occupancy controls by downloading the PG&E "Lighting Controls and Occupancy Sensors Guide."


Sources: 

  1. Strategies Unlimited
  2. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)
  3. Strategies Unlimited
  4. Energy Star for small business
  5. DesignLights Consortium