Efficient warehousing is an integral component of the supply chain. New technologies and material handling procedures have reduced supply chain costs. Lighting was long considered an area in which costs were difficult to rein in.
Proper warehouse lighting is important to maintain a safe and efficient workplace. Light is needed in a warehouse to help in identifying workers and goods alike, reduce the risk of accidents and help in navigating aisles.
The average cost of lighting a warehouse is approximately $1.00 per square foot per year. With energy efficient LED lights energy consumption can be reduced by 50% – 90%. For a 200,000 sq ft facility lighting costs can fall from $200,000 per year to as low as $50,000 per year.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) estimated that Light Emitting Diode based lights can potentially help save 1,488 terawatts of electricity valued at $120 billion between 2010 – 2030. Simultaneously the greenhouse gas emissions will come down by 246 million tons.
When choosing the right lighting technology, Lansdale Warehouse considered a number of factors when changing to LED lighting.
LED have a long life, each individual LED device can last 10 years of more. Warehouses relying on older technology will need many more fluorescent tubes or metal halide bulbs/ballasts for a single fixture during the same 10 year period. Cost of maintenance is high for this older technology.
Lumens per watt is a measure of the energy production efficiency of a lighting device by measuring the light produced by the bulb. It does not consider how much of the light produced by the bulb is wasted. LED light bulbs produce directional light as opposed to other light sources and fewer lumens are needed to illuminate a target area.
Warehouses using high power lights in facility can provide the required illumination but will lead to glare making life uncomfortable for workers. By utilizing LED bulbs and tubes, many smaller lights can be placed in a warehouse facility to achieve uniform light distribution and effective control without increased maintenance cost.
Lansdale Warehouse looked at how well light is maintained over the life of the device. LED based lights maintain the lumen output well over their lifetime. Since each light is a cluster of diodes the possibility of all of them failing simultaneously is remote.
Finally, there are no hazardous substances inside LED bulbs, lights use less power up front and generate less heat when used. By replacing our lighting, our facilities are more environmentally friendly.
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