From energy.gov: The light-emitting diode (LED) is one of today's most energy-efficient and rapidly-developing lighting technologies. Quality LED light bulbs last longer, are more durable, and offer comparable or better light quality than other types of lighting.

LED lighting is very different from other lighting sources such as incandescent bulbs and CFLs. Key differences include the following:

• Light Source: LEDs are the size of a fleck of pepper, and a mix of red, green, and blue LEDs is typically used to make white light.
• Direction: LEDs emit light in a specific direction, reducing the need for reflectors and diffusers that can trap light. This feature makes LEDs more efficient for many uses such as recessed downlights and task lighting. With other types of lighting, the light must be reflected to the desired direction and more than half of the light may never leave the fixture.
• Heat: LEDs emit very little heat. In comparison, incandescent bulbs release 90% of their energy as heat and CFLs release about 80% of their energy as heat.

The high efficiency and directional nature of LEDs makes them ideal for many industrial uses.

LEDs are increasingly common in street lights, parking garage lighting, walkway and other outdoor area lighting, refrigerated case lighting, modular lighting, and task lighting.

LED lights are up to 80% more efficient than traditional lighting such as fluorescent and incandescent lights. 95% of the energy in LEDs is converted into light and only 5% is wasted as heat.

Check out the top 8 things you didn't know about LEDs to learn more: https://www.energy.gov/articles/top-8-things-you-didn-t-know-about-leds

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New LED fixtures vs. Retrofits

LEDs can be found both in new fixtures and in retrofit kits that can be installed in your existing fixtures. New fixtures may cost more initially, but these costs may be offset by larger rebates. Retrofit projects not only have lower material costs but also require less labor than installing new fixtures. For areas with lower KWH rates, and also areas with no or low rebates, Retrofits can be a cost-effective strategy.

Lighting Controls

Another way to maximize the savings from your lighting equipment is the use of Lighting Controls. This could be a control for each fixture or a group of fixtures on a circuit. With new addressable fixtures, you can even program each fixture independently from a handle wireless controller.

Fixtures can be controlled based on occupancy. If a sensor in an area detects no heat or motion from occupants, the controller can turn off the fixtures. In some areas, the building manager may not want the area completely off, so an occupancy sensor can turn the lights to low-mode. In some cases, new LED fixtures are brighter than needed, and in these cases, the HIGH default setting can be regulated downwards to create additional savings. The most extensive projects involve centralized Energy Management Systems where on-off and high-low settings can be controlled based on time-of-day and even change seasonally.

For areas with a lot of natural daylighting, controls can be programmed to maintain a certain light level, and if that level is being provided by daylight, the LED fixtures will be dimmed automatically to generate additional savings.

To see if LED lighting makes sense in your building, click the button below to request an Energy Audit:

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