Most food service businesses have cold storage facilities, and if your business fits into that category, we strongly urge you to consider upgrading your lighting system. Lighting efficiency is a significant concern, especially in areas where the lights themselves work against keeping the area cold. Energy efficiency, money, the environment, and a safer, more efficient system all argue for upgrading outdated lighting systems in favor of newer technology that allows an area to be well-lit while keeping the room cold.
Energy efficiency
When using outdated lighting systems in cold rooms, we burn energy unnecessarily in two ways: we spend more energy keeping the room cold because the lights warm it up, and we need more lights because cold lighting systems have improved in brightness from what they used to be. Upgrading saves energy because fewer bulbs are required for the same amount of illumination, and energy is saved because less is wasted fighting the warmth that results from having lights on.
Money
Energy efficiency saves money. By spending less energy, power bills are reduced — sometimes drastically. Depending on your facilities, you might see noticeable changes in the amount of money you spend on power so quickly that any necessary expenditures on upgrades might pay for themselves in the first year of use.
The environment
By reducing energy use, especially around areas where freon or ammonia might be a necessary aspect of keeping cold rooms cold, we help preserve the environment. Environmental risks are associated with each energy source, so reducing the amount of electricity needed to keep a cold room cold and well lit helps preserve the environment. This planet is the only one we’ve got, and we must take care of it.
Safety and efficiency
When foods in cold rooms are kept too close to light sources, they can warm up when the lights are on for long periods. A cycle of slight warming and re-freezing can lead to freezer burn and food expiration. It’s safer when foods that should be kept frozen are kept completely frozen without being warmed when the lights are on.
Knowing this, we might opt to keep the lights off as much as possible, but the problem with a solution like that is that a poorly-lit area can lead to workplace accidents and injuries. No business wants to have that happen, both for the sake of the employees and to save money.
Contact us for more information on upgrading your cold room lighting to an efficient system.
