Three Ways to Renovate Your Commercial Property to Make It More Accessible

Owning or managing commercial real estate is a full-time job. There are a lot of different competing factors fighting for your time, effort, and money, especially if your industry has stiff competition. The best way to focus on your core business and services is to use third-party experts whenever possible. Having a professional inspector check your building for zoning violations and burgeoning failures is a perfect example. The inspector should check for ADA compliance, not just local regulations, and focus on these three key areas if the inspector doesn’t bring them up:

1. Are your entry and exit points up to par?

If potential customers can’t easily get into your place of business, you’re going to lose business. Even worse, someone may make a claim or suit against your business for discrimination and failure to comply with ADA building compliance. So ask about the sidewalk leading up to your front doors, any need for a ramp, and if the doors are accessible to all potential traffic. Depending on the building type and your area, you may also be responsible for the parking lot, the exits, and maintenance of universally accessible emergencies exits, even in shared areas between properties.

2. Do you have sufficiently wide walkways and restrooms?

Your hallways, spaces between permanent structures (like walls, bars, and tables), and doorways need to be sufficiently wide for patrons in wheelchairs. Your restrooms also need to be universally accessible and, if possible, have above the bare minimum of space. Making your building better than minimally compliant will be noticed by visitors with disabilities, and that’s good for business.

3. Is your electrical wiring right for the lights you have?

ADA compliance includes having sufficient lighting and signage for visitors with visual impairments. If you or your property manager were previously aware of this, you may have already updated the fixtures. But double-check that old wiring can handle more powerful lighting and greater numbers of electronic devices so that your building stays safe.

Good lighting makes it easier to navigate through your building. It makes it more inviting and reduces the risk of injuries. Contact us to discuss the lighting you need to make your store more accessible.

Retail Lighting: Why You Should Choose LEDs for Jewelry Display

Jewels are remarkable because of their crystalline beauty and the way they interact with light. When arranged on a ring or in some other form of jewelry, they become a work of art. Few products rely as much on visual presentation as jewelry. This is why their retail lighting is so important. For example, the four C’s of diamonds, which are color, clarity, cut, and carat, cannot be fully appreciated when displayed under poor lighting. Poor lighting distorts their color and diminishes their sparkle.

The best display lighting is soft sunlight. However, common lighting such as incandescent and halogen don’t even come close. Incandescent bulbs put out a color more similar to candlelight than sunlight, while the light from halogen bulbs turn yellowish during their lifetime.

On the other hand, LED lighting nearly duplicates the sun’s white light without its harmful ultraviolet radiation. Of the interior lighting available today, only LEDs fully bring out the diamond’s sparkle and dazzle. LEDs most accurately display the true colors of any object, including jewelry.

Here are three more reasons to choose LED lighting for your jewelry display:

  • LEDs last for 50,000 hours. During this time, their output remains constant. They don’t turn yellow or flicker when reaching the end of their service life.
  • LEDs produce little heat. This has three associated benefits. Their small heat output makes them safer than other lighting such as incandescents. Less heat output means they consume less energy for a given lighting brightness. This saves on your lighting bills. Less heat also means you use less air conditioning in the summer, which reduces your energy bill.
  • LED brightness is easily adjusted. This gives you yet more control on the presentation of your jewelry.

To display the full brilliance of your jewelry, use LED lighting and spend less money on lighting and air conditioning.

Give Your Customers A Better Experience With An Upgrade To Your Grocery Store Lighting

Many grocery store owners are always looking to find ways to get their customers to see that their grocery store is more than just a place to buy their basic grocery necessities. One of the keys to attracting shoppers and keeping your food fresh is to implement appropriate grocery store lighting.

There are a variety of ways to use LED lighting to your advantage. Lighting can enhance the customer experience, and it can also highlight all of your products in the store. We want to give you some ways on how grocery store lighting can upgrade your grocery store in a variety of ways.

Utilities

When you invest in a lighting system like LED lighting, the cost that it takes to operate and maintain the lighting will be reduced significantly. Can you imagine what you can do with the extra savings that you used to spend on your utility bill? You will be able to utilize those extra funds to improve your grocery store.

Brighter Display

You want your grocery store and its products to be more appealing to your consumers. When your grocery store has LED lighting, every department will have bright lights that will showcase your store’s products. If you want to showcase fresh fruits, meats, etc. in the best way possible, you should definitely use LED lighting. If your products look appealing in the store, consumers will be more likely to purchase them. They will also be more likely to return to the store for another shopping trip.

As a grocery store owner, you need to give your customers a great customer experience.