Commercial LED Lighting • Fixtures, System, Design

[Marc]

Commercial LED Lighting Continues to be the Hot Trend
Referring to the growth of the commercial market as a “trend” may be a misnomer. A “trend” often refers to something that is temporarily in style. The growth and adoption of LED lighting in commercial applications, however, is anything but temporary. Industry analysts expect commercial LED lighting to be the standard for all illumination systems for many years to come.

Spoiler

Commercial LED Lighting
Commercial lighting represented a more than $25 billion market in 2015. Estimates for 2016 suggest that the market will grow to more than $30 million. Moreover, LED lighting accounted for more than 30% of all lighting applications in 2015 and is expected to exceed 36% of all applications in 2016. This is unprecedented growth for a technology application that was only in its budding stages barely ten years ago.

There are many reasons behind this growth. First, commercial LED lighting is economical and efficient. You may incur slightly larger upfront costs when you install a new commercial LED lighting system or retrofit LED lights into an existing location, but your operating costs will be dramatically lower due to the efficiency and lower electrical consumption of LEDs. In most cases, you will recover your entire investment in less than eighteen months purely out of electrical cost savings. Moreover, modern LED luminaires will operate for at least 50,000 hours, and can potentially provide up to 100,000 hours of continuous operation without requiring maintenance or replacement.

Energy Efficient LED Lighting
Next, commercial LED lighting is environmentally friendly. The efficiency of LED lights translates into lower demand on electrical grids, with concurrent reductions in emissions from power plants that provide the electricity. No hazardous materials are incorporated into LED bulbs, and when those bulbs do reach the end of their useful life, no special disposal permits are required, as they do not contaminate landfills with hazardous waste products.

Third, LED lighting systems provide better illumination in every commercial application, including warehouse, shipping, and manufacturing spaces, professional offices, retail store operations, and outdoor work areas. LED lighting can be directed to illuminate specific spaces more effectively without diffusers or reflectors. LED’s can also be tuned to specific color temperatures that enhance commercial environments to better coincide with the purpose of those environments.

Further, commercial LED lighting control systems give facilities operators unprecedented control over their illumination options. Unlike traditional high-pressure sodium or metal halide lighting, LED lights come to full illumination almost instantly after they are powered up. LED control panels also allow operators to spot-dim certain locations, match LED lighting with natural lighting, and reduce over-illumination in areas that are not in use.

Finally, commercial LED technology has reduced or eliminated the early criticisms of LED’s. Current generation LED luminaires are better able to withstand hot and cold temperature extremes. Low-profile LED housings withstand wind and rain with no degradation, and modular systems facilitate easy repairs of damaged fixtures with no adverse effects on the rest of the lighting system.

Source: specgradeled