How to Use Lights to Encourage Social Distancing

One of the challenges that facilities face during the COVID-19 pandemic is how to monitor the health and safety of their employees. One of the biggest prevention measures for combating COVID-19 is the act of social distancing and wearing proper protective equipment. An advanced network lighting control system can help you control and monitor social distancing for your employees. This can be done by using a variety of methods from setting up lighting schedules for specific zones to monitoring auxiliary spaces.

Encouraging social distancing

People generally want to do the right thing when it comes to social distancing but they also need a little guidance on how best to accomplish that. By using what you have on hand you can set guidelines and boundaries for employees to clearly follow. For example, you can set the lights in a pattern that sets employees apart. This way they know that as long as they’re in a lighted area, they are practicing proper social distancing.

This may also mean switching things around on the warehouse floor to accommodate but your employee’s health and wellness during these times are worth it.

Controls for Safety

Task Tuning – With the proper lighting system the ability to customize and manage precise lighting parameters on individual fixtures, or override entire groups quickly and easily through the mobile and web applications. The ability to set up schedules and zones can be used to identify areas that may be restricted during certain times throughout the day.

Event-Based Alerts – Configure value-based thresholds for any single variable (such as temperature, relative humidity, etc.), and receive alerts via email, push notification, or SMS. The potential to monitor temperatures throughout facility can be a valuable asset to maintain a safe environment.

Monitor Auxiliary Spaces – Gain insight into intervening spaces or unmonitored auxiliary areas to proactively identify high traffic areas. Keeping a close eye on where employees gather is vital in determining the appropriate processes to encourage social distancing.

Protect Product Quality – Monitor critical production or storage areas to ensure that optimal and/or required environmental conditions are met and maintained, and product quality isn’t compromised. During these times promoting safety and quality is more important than ever, having sensor based controls can enhance current processes and help to determine necessary improvements.

Conclusion

COVID-19 is forcing a lot of people to think outside the box when it comes to preventing the spread of the virus. The best thing to do is to encourage social distancing with what you have on hand. Using your localized lighting management system can be a great way to accomplish this. If you need more information or need a light system that accomplishes this task, then check us out here to get the process started.

Why LED is the Most Energy-Efficient Choice for Cold Storage Lighting

Are you in the grocery or warehouse business and need the right lighting for your cold storage? As a business owner or manager you realize the importance of being cost-effective, that’s why you need to choose the most energy-efficient option. The following are a few items for your consideration as to why LED is the most energy-efficient lighting for your cold storage.

LED lighting for cold storage

As you well know, finding lighting options that do well in cold environments has always been a challenge. Lighting options such as HID and fluorescent have not historically been known to be up to the job when it comes to cold environments. However, LED technology thrives in colder temperatures and do not face the same challenges as other technologies. As for energy efficiency, LED uses less energy than the it’s predecessors which can result immediate reductions in operating costs. The main reason that LED uses so much less electricity than other technologies is that they produce light differently.

How Older Technologies Waste Light

Other technologies produce light through various methods. While incandescent and HID pass electricity through a filament, fluorescent produces light by ionizing mercury vapor. Both methods require extreme heat for its atoms’ electrons to become excited enough to produce light, wasting nearly 90% of the electricity they consume, making them incredibly inefficient. They have a higher probability for failure, limited to a 360 degree beam spread resulting in wasted light, and lack of control capability.

How LED is more energy-efficient

On the other hand, LED produces light using electroluminescence. This process doesn’t use a filament and creates little heat, instead relying on a property of semiconductors to generate light. The methods used to generate light is not the only component of efficiency, equally as important is light distribution, LED has the ability to be directional to maximize the lighting while minimizing energy usage. Of course, the fact that LED doesn’t waste energy by creating or relying on excess heat is also part of what makes them so safe, as well as why they don’t need the large, fragile glass bulbs full of toxic gasses that make handling other lighting sources more difficult.

Here at Relumination, we want to help you find more energy-efficient ways to light your business. If you have any questions about cold storage lighting please contact us today!

Meeting Industry Standards for Lighting Warehouses

Warehouse productivity is directly linked to good lighting. Poorly-lit areas can result in mistakes, accidents, lower productivity, and higher operating costs. A well-lit warehouse enables companies to counter all of these negatives, resulting in higher productivity, lower operating costs, and therefore, higher profits. Integral to achieving the positive results is a basic understanding warehouse lighting standards.

Regulation Standards

OSHA Standards govern installation requirements for warehouse lighting and other industrial and commercial activities. OSHA measures light in “foot-candles.” One foot candle is the amount of light needed to illuminate one square foot of area from a uniform light source. While this takes detailed analysis and calculation, our customers know that we do those calculations on their behalf as part of our job specification. The regulations say that areas should be effectively lit with even distribution, and no gaps, across the work area. The light should be bright enough for specific jobs to be carried out without eye strain or dazzle.

How Relumination Works to Support These Standards

Firstly, we understand the need for our customers to maximize productivity and comply with State and Federal requirements. We are successful and well-established. We have in-depth experience of installing and updating warehouse and distribution lighting systems. Our responsibilities for our customers include:

  • Keeping up to date with State and federal standards.
  • Knowing OSHA regulations and how to build changes into the projects we are working on.
  • Keeping track of compliance tasks as they apply to projects and maintenance programs.
  • Using the latest OSHA software to do the calculations each regulatory standard demands.
  • Keeping all work streamlined so jobs are completed efficiently and without disrupting the warehouse productivity.

To achieve this we apply a powerful 6-Step Process. We begin with a detailed Needs Analysis followed by an engineered systems design which uses your current lighting locations and intensity to calculate the most efficient system for your facility.

We use the latest in photometric technology to ensure you get the right lighting intensity. Photometrics is a system which analyzes current lighting the way a human eye sees it. This means we can accurately design and install exactly the right kind of lighting. We propose everything in detail, allocate a dedicated project manager to ensure everything is done and completed as agreed. We then check everything, train your staff as needed, and begin our warranty and service support process.

 Choosing Lighting Fixtures

Obviously lighting fixture choice is driven by both regulation standards and bottom-line results. There are three main types of warehouse lighting: LED, fluorescent, and high-intensity discharge. LED lighting is the most cost-efficient because of:

  • The lower level of electricity consumption.
  • The longer lifespan (up to 250,000 hours.)
  • The ability to include customized and adaptable controls ranging from basic motion sensing to task tuning and progressive dimming. Providing even more energy savings.
  • Initial costs can be offset by the many local utility companies offering incentives for energy-efficient upgrades. Our staff has expertise and experience to navigate all of the utility rebate guidelines to maximize available dollars.

Our goal is to help you achieve your goals. Contact us to discuss your plans, answer your questions, and offer the advice you will need to make the best decisions.

A Commercial Retrofit Is a Long Term Investment; Plan Carefully

Since most high-quality LED fixtures are rated for 250,000 hours or 20+ years of continuous 24 hour use, building owners considering a commercial lighting retrofit should realize that they are investing for the long-term.  A properly done LED retrofit requiring minimal or no maintenance will stay in place more than a decade.  Rather than relying only on the initial cost of fixtures and installation to evaluate return on investment, owners and managers should calculate the cost of ownership over the entire life of the project.

Of course, payback periods differ depending on what you are retrofitting.  For instance, changing from incandescent lighting to LED fixtures can result in a payback period less than a year.  On the other hand, retrofitting fluorescent tube fixtures with LED tubes takes a two-year payback while switching from fluorescent fixtures to LED tubes may provide a three-year payback.  Rebates and other incentives can lessen these payback periods.

Likewise, the quality of the site visit, the proposed layout, installation and customer service plan are more significant for LED retrofits than for metal halide or fluorescent retrofits requiring maintenance every 2-3 years.  While an LED retrofit doesn’t last forever, it comes close and deserves the extra care.

Considering LED’s longevity, it’s important to identify the right LED product for the project, such as LED color which varies from a very bright blue suitable for parking lots to a medium blue for an office setting and perhaps a warmer range for break areas.

Although return on investment accelerates when companies capitalize on funding opportunities, the funding process is often complex with many requirements including submitting the correct form at the right time and specific inspection criteria.  Choosing a company experienced in working with utilities and other funding agencies, really streamlines the funding process.  In addition, utilities often require that a participating contractor be in the loop to obtain funding for a building retrofit.

To optimize the return on a commercial lighting retrofit, building owners and managers should work with a partner who stays up-to-date with the latest advances in LED products and who is proficient in sourcing rebates. We’d like to share our expertise with you.  Please contact us for more information.

 

Reduce your Carbon Footprint with LED Lighting

With this winter’s extreme weather, it’s becoming more and more clear that we have to act fast to address the issue of climate change. As a business owner, you’re in a very special position when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint. Not only can this help save the environment, it will also save you money.

Here are some ways investing in LED lighting can help you reduce your carbon footprint and your business expenses:

LED lighting is 50-90% more efficient than conventional bulbs: LED lights use half as much to as little as only a tenth of the amount of energy that conventional lighting uses. This translates directly to a 50-90% saving on your energy expenditures. Not only is this a huge amount of money that very quickly allows your investment to pay for itself, less power needs to be generated for the same amount of lighting, resulting in lowered carbon emissions.

LED lighting lasts up to 15x longer than conventional lighting: How annoying is it when a light bulbs burns out? Not only are you paying for the time to fix it, but also for the tools/equipment need to fix it or the down time for the area that it may affect. LED lights last up to 250,000 hours – that’s 15x longer than the average HID bulb or fluorescent lamp. That’s 250,000 hours, 342 months, 20+ years that you can go without having to worry about lighting maintenance. By removing old technology and replacing with LED, this directly translates to lower carbon emissions not to mention better light, improve productivity and incredible energy savings.

LED lights turn on and off instantly: Unlike older technologies like HID or fluorescent, LED lights are instant on/off. With LED we no longer have any long warm-up or cool-down times. Nor do we need our HVAC to work as hard as it once was with these older technologies because LED does not emit any heat. We also now have the ability to implement more advanced lighting controls to not only maximize energy savings, but also to ensure the facility is running at optimal levels.

No matter what size your business is, improving your energy savings is a great investment, both in your company’s competitiveness and in the environment. Contact us today for a free estimate.

The Importance of Photometrics

When it comes to the lighting you will use in your facility, the photometrics will be a pivotal asset. With these, you will know how the lighting in your facility is seen by the human eye. In other words, it means you will be able to use it to discern which lighting system to go with and the most efficient way to use it.

What is Photometry?

Photometry is the science of measuring light and how the human eye sees it. In basic terms, it is the measurement of how much we can see in a given space. Photometrics show you how intense the lighting is and how much it will allow you to see.

Photometrics are used primarily in relation to lighting technology, in things like photography, audiovisual, and architecture. They can be used to make the lighting of a facility or building much more efficient, saving money on electrical costs.

What will Photometrics Show?

They are engineered to show if a proposed plan will actually meet the lighting specifications of a project or design. They can also be used for an already existing facility to find better and more efficient ways of lighting the facility. You can see why photometrics can be so important to a business owner.

Saving on everyday costs like electric can really make a difference in the overhead costs for a business. Photometrics can help you make those changes you need to cut costs. Without using photometrics, you could be missing out on huge savings in your big picture.

To Wrap Up

As you can see, photometrics are a vital tool when it comes to designing a facility or trying to find some costs to cut. You can even use photometrics when you’re shopping for a new location. Photometrics are a vital tool for every business owner and shouldn’t be overlooked. Contact us today to learn more!

Time to Be “Smart” About Lighting Solutions

In the past several decades, the lighting industry has come a long way, going from incandescent and fluorescent lights to HIDs and LEDs. The 21st century has brought us a new approach to lighting – smart operation.

The power of smart lighting solutions is hard to underestimate. They allow you to save time, money, and effort while taking care of the environment.

IoT and Lighting

IoT (Internet of Things) is a network of devices that collect data from integrated sensors. Then special software processes the data to offer automated solutions to the users.

What does all that have to do with lighting?

1. Smart Light Switches

These switches work as regular switches do, but you can also control them remotely. Meaning, you can turn lights off and on whenever you are not in the building by using an app on your smartphone. You can also set up a schedule according to which the lights will go on throughout the day.

Coupled with motion sensors, these light switches can turn on and off when someone enters or leaves a facility.

2. Smart Bulbs

A smart dimmable bulb can dim without you having to install a dimmer switch. You can control the dimming remotely through an app.

Some of these bulbs can also change color and even play music. We’ll tell you why this seemingly useless feature may be important for a commercial facility later in the article.

Why Should You Consider Smart Lighting Solutions?

Changing a light bulb seems easier and cheaper than investing in an IoT-enabled lighting source. However, with time, you can see an impressive ROI.

  • Heightened Security – the ability to manipulate lights remotely can help you ward unwanted guests off your property. This is when the music-playing feature can come in handy.
  • Lower energy bills – remote operation and scheduling options allow you to reduce energy bills tremendously. An LED energy-star certified smart bulb consumes up to 90% less energy than a regular light bulb.
  • Saved money – LED smart lights can work up to 50,000 hours while an average light bulb can’t last longer than 2,000 hours.
  • Impressive convenience – the ability to control when and how your lights work remotely is highly convenient. For example, you can reduce the chances of workplace accidents by regulating the bulb’s brightness at the right time.

Lighting systems are a perfect tool for reaping key benefits of the IoT progress. They are already integrated all over any facility, be it a warehouse or a department store. When fitted with the right equipment, they can collect the necessary information and offer numerous benefits.

Stay on Top of the Latest Technologies with Smart Lighting Solutions

Millions of property owners have made the first steps to making their buildings smart by installing smart lighting solutions. In a few years, the trend is likely to turn into a standard.

Contact us today for more information about smart lighting solutions.

Improve Safety and Productivity with Better Warehouse & Distribution Center Lighting

Facility managers are always working towards improving employee safety and increasing productivity. One key component that can support both is energy-efficient LED lighting. 

There are many reasons why facility managers are interested in upgrading to LED lighting, most importantly the ability to create a safer work environment for their employees, but also the opportunity to save a significant amount of money. Both of which can be achieved through efficient LED lighting solutions. 

Generally, LED lights will use 50-90 percent less energy than the traditional lights you have been using in your warehouse and last significantly longer. Not to mention that LED lights are ECO-friendly and work extremely well in harsh environments. . Today’s lighting systems have been designed to minimize the amount of energy that is consumed daily while still effectively lighting your warehouse and distribution center. 

When you install LED lighting solutions in your facility, you will effectively brighten every area from docks to aisles! . With LED lights, you will not have to worry about unsteady lighting or flickering light bulbs which can cause employee discomfort or potential accidents. The right LED lighting system will allow you to have the right amount of lighting wherever and whenever you need it. 

LED lighting will give you the proper lighting that you need to increase productivity and efficiency levels of your employees on a daily basis. 

Review our latest case studies on warehouse and distribution LED lighting projects and see how Relumination can support your upgraded lighting project today!

3 Reasons to Light Up Your Cold Storage with LED’s

Everyone is moving towards LEDs. They’re energy-efficient, brighter, and increasingly cheaper. But if you need niche lighting, don’t just look into the general benefits. Here are three reasons why cold storage specifically needs a lighting update.

1. Traditional lights waste space.

A lot of light bulbs give off heat. Even traditional bulbs that are built with cold storage in mind give off too much heat for products near the ceiling to maintain the right temperature. That means your storage is organized with a hefty buffer around the hot bulbs, and that’s bad for business. Every inch of warehousing space matters, especially if your warehouses are competing in the evolution of fast supply lines. You just don’t have room for traditional lights anymore.

2. LEDs work better in the cold.

Traditional bulbs and cold temperatures aren’t a good mix. Fluorescent bulbs need more voltage to get started in low-temperature environments like your cold storage. They also don’t give off as much light. While the bulbs themselves might fall within OSHA guidelines, the reality is that the cold storage may be too dim. Even if your cold storage is organized to allow for heat output, the main problem with cold light bulbs, traditional bulbs aren’t good enough.

LEDs, on the other hand, prefer low temperatures to high ones. They even work more efficiently below freezing than they do at summery temperatures, and that’s on top of LEDs’ general efficiency.

3. It’s easier to make LEDs smarter.

Traditional bulbs burn out all the time, especially in adverse conditions. But you and your site manager don’t always know when that happens. If the bulb for a sensor goes out, you won’t know without a manual inspection. If the overhead lights go out, someone has to stop what they’re doing and replace them. But LEDs can be attached to an internal Internet of Things system. Not only will you get an alert when the LEDs go out, you can get an early warning when the bulbs start to dim.

Contact us to start retrofitting your system and getting the best benefits of LEDs.

Interior Lighting Which Saves Money and Increases the Productivity of Your Employees

If you’re a small business owner, you want to take advantage of any possible way to improve productivity and increase your bottom line. Every little bit makes a difference. And sometimes, small changes can have a dramatic effect. You may not expect that something small, such as switching to LED lighting would make that much difference to your business. But it does.

Saving Money with LED Lighting

To begin with, you can save quite a bit of energy in the long run by investing in LED lights from the get-go. The average lifespan of an LED light is 50,000 hours. So even if you use the LED light continuously, you won’t have to change it for at least six years.

Imagine how many regular light bulbs you would go through in that time. And you’ll get an idea of how much money you’re going to save. Sure, you might have to spend a little more in the moment but if you’re the type of business owner who looks five or ten years into the future, then you’ll see that LED is the best choice.

Increasing Productivity with LED Lighting

The other advantage of LED lighting is that it’s softer and more like regular daylight. When you work with regular incandescent or fluorescent lights, everything seems just a little bit harsh. And most regular workplaces don’t have large windows letting in the sunlight, no matter how pleasant this might be for employees. So you have to light everything electrically if your employees are going to get any work done.

Using LEDs instead of incandescent or fluorescents will just be (literally!) a lot easier on the eyes for your employees. As it is, they’re probably staring at computer and phone screens all day long, which hurts the eyes. The least you can do is arrange it so that the lighting in your offices is conducive to well-being and, eventually, productivity. Because an employee who is feeling comfortable and happy is likely to work for longer and put in his or her 100%. And this is eventually to your benefit as a business owner.

Contact us for more great tips for using LED lights in your office environment.