There are millions of warehouses across the globe, many of which operate 24 hours per day. To create a safe working environment for employees, optimal lighting conditions must be provided. Americold warehouses nationwide are replacing metal halide lighting with bright, efficient LED lights. Three Americold warehouses in Massachusetts, Utah, and Wisconsin have already completed their LED installations. They are saving over 90% on energy from a combination of efficient lighting, occupancy sensors, and network controls. The occupancy sensors sense when workers are in a hallway and turn the lights on, and when they detect no movement, the lights dim or turn off. Americold also considered dimmable fluorescent lamps, but the fluorescent lamps were only able to dim to 50% power because the ballast had to stay hot in order to return to full power immediately. In contrast, LED lights can turn on and off instantly.
Another problem with the fluorescent lamps is that turning them on and off significantly reduces the lifetime of the lamps, but LEDs aren’t affected as much. The warehouses are also low-temperature facilities, and because the LEDs don’t give off heat like the metal halide lamps, the company will also save on air conditioning. The company also considered solar lighting and insulation options to save on energy, but decided to install LED lighting because they felt it was a better deal, thanks to energy savings, low maintenance, government rebates, and other incentives. LED lighting in the three Americold warehouses is expected to reduce energy consumption by 2.3 million kWh! Installations will continue in Americold warehouses in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, and Texas. Consider LED lighting for your warehouse today!
