Light is so important it was the first thing God created after He’d made the heaven and the earth. With such a glowing endorsement from such an impeccable source, perhaps it’s surprising we don’t take the way we illuminate our shopfloors more seriously.
Factories are typically lit by high intensity discharge (HID) lamps that may be sodium (SON) or metal halide lights, or fluorescent fittings.
These are not, however, the best lighting options, according to Adam Wright, sales and marketing manager of Low Carbon Lighting (www.lowcarbonlight.com): “HID lamps are inefficient and expensive to run. They are not good for being controlled and, in the case of the SON lamps, produce an orange light that provides very poor colour rendition. Also, in many cases where the current fittings are old, they are not producing the amount of light that they were designed to. In these cases, health and safety may be an issue.”
He believes there is a compelling business case for switching to a different light source and, nowadays, that often means the increasingly popular LED (light-emitting diode).
Lighting can be responsible for as much as half a factory’s total electricity bill, making it a prime target for efficiency and cost savings. Wright reckons replacing existing lighting with LEDs will reduce energy costs by 50 to 80% depending on the installation.
Typical paybacks of one or two years
Kevin Cox, managing director of Energys Group, agrees the energy savings that can be achieved with LED lighting are huge: “For example, we have recently replaced the old metal halide lighting in the factory, car park and warehouse of Parker SSD Drives Division Europe. They are now saving at least £36,423 per annum on energy costs as a result. We see typical payback periods of one or two years based just on the energy savings.”
However, warns Andy Gallacher, lighting product marketing manager of Eaton (www.cooper-ls.com): “The appetite for energy savings should not be allowed to overshadow the need for a holistic appraisal of lighting requirements and a thorough understanding of the expenditure involved.”
He recommends asking five critical questions to help ensure that a lighting system upgrade or replacement delivers an efficient and effective outcome (see the box on page XX).
Although energy savings remain a key selling point for LEDs, their business benefits don’t end there. They also reduce the amount of maintenance required because they don’t require starters and offer longer lifetimes – up to 100,000 hours, according to Wright. He adds: “In addition to the longevity, the light depreciation is far superior with expectations that the light reduction at 100,000 hours could be as little as 10%.”
Stuart Head, technical manager of Dialight Europe (uk.dialight.com), agrees: “For those without strict maintenance schedules, the light levels are far more stable over comparable lengths of time due to LED technology having a better performance on losing light output over time.”
But, adds Head, there is a common misconception that LEDs won’t offer the top light quality factories need to protect health and safety, and ensure high quality production: “In fact,” he says, “LED technology has advanced rapidly in recent years and can now offer uniform, glare-free light as well as an excellent colour temperature.”
There are, however, also constraints on the specification of LED lighting, warns Wright: “The main barriers are cost (roughly two to three times that of a traditional luminaire), and the perception that LED technology is new and, therefore, insufficiently tried and tested. It is also considered that the technology is progressing so fast that if a client waits, they will be able to use a superior product in two or three years.
“Many factories already have lights. It is therefore very easy for a factory to delay the decision. It is also easy for them to divert the money to other capital expenditure projects such as new production equipment, PV or biomass projects.”
Horror stories get massively publicised
And, the LED industry hasn’t done itself any favours, says Tom Harrison, MD of MHA Lighting (www.mhalighting.co.uk). “It is a very fast growing market and there are lots of people in it that shouldn’t be there because they are selling inferior product with claims that are overstated. In a market like this, every horror story gets massively publicised and it does nobody any good.”
For Simon Rogers, marketing manager of Tamlite Lighting (www.tamlite.co.uk), confusion over the technology can also muddy the waters: “Every year sees a dazzling array of new products come to market, all promising amazing energy savings. Payback periods are reducing, light outputs are increasing and efficiency levels are improving – but not all products are suitable for every application. It’s understandably confusing for those without a detailed knowledge of lighting technology.
“Since LED technology is developing so rapidly, with new products hitting the market every day, current standards cannot be established or maintained. The onus, therefore, falls on the major players in the lighting industry to foster business confidence in LEDs by setting standards and being transparent about the products they offer.”
And, argues Harrison, there are plenty of excellent lighting suppliers offering outstanding deals. Upfront capital cost is also diminishing as an issue as LED prices drop: “They have come down by 30-40% in the last couple of years as they have become more popular [leading to an economy of scale]. Installation cost might be a bit higher, but unit costs are lower because you need fewer LED lights so they roughly balance out.”
Check local funding options
He believes a return on investment (ROI) of less than three years is achievable in most cases. Calculating ROI of an LED lighting installation is relatively straightforward, according to David Kennedy of LightRabbit (www.lightrabbit.co.uk): “Commercial LED lighting solutions guarantee an annual energy savings of between 65-80%, and the return on investment is usually between 14-24 months.
He suggests checking for local funding options as sometimes funding can be available in your area from local or national government schemes. But even without subsidies, LEDs can be cost effective, Kennedy offers this costing example:
For a customer paying 9.5p/kWh for electricity with a current installation of four 2ft TB tubes
- 4 x 18 Watts = 72W
- 72 x 9.5 = £6.84 per hour
- 40 x 9.5 = £3.80 per hour
- Saving £3.04 per hour
On a standard working day, the lights may be left on for 12 hours:
- £3.04 x 12 = £40.08 saving per day
- £40.08 x 6 = £244.80 saving per week
Equivalent to annual savings of £12,729.60
So, it pays to investigate the options and consider changing your lighting arrangements now. As Wright concludes: “The energy saving can never be backdated.”
An illuminating tale
Brandauer – an £8 million turnover Birmingham-based manufacturer of precision metal components – decided to fit LEDs in place of its existing fluorescent pipe tubes with manually switched starter mechanisms.
CEO Rowan Crozier explains: “We decided to begin the change two-and-a-half years ago. The obvious benefits were potential energy savings. In addition, we felt there was going to be lower maintenance because there is no starter mechanism with LED. The longer lifespan of the tubes was a further consideration. And we had noticed on some of the demos we’d had the difference the greater stability of lighting conditions LEDs delivered over fluorescent tube.”
The LED lighting is also brighter, an important manufacturing consideration: “We work to microns in some of the componentry we manufacture. Good lighting conditions are vital to ensure accurate measurement, analysis and quality checking.”
For Crozier, a further benefit is people’s positivity. “In the offices some of the general meeting areas are a nicer place to be by having different light in there. It’s more like outside light and that can generate a better environment.”
However, he had to overcome some potential barriers to change: “They are more expensive light-for-light, so you have to have a long term view in terms of payback. We struggled to keep the payback under two years; most companies will want a payback in less than 18 months.”
Also, the replacement LEDs couldn’t use standard tube holders so Brandauer had to replace the whole unit which made it more expensive and pushed out the payback times.
But, Crozier remained confident of the business case for the change: “If you look at the considerable benefits you are getting, the return on investment isn’t measured simply on the capital and installation costs.”
He decided on a staged installation to minimise downtime and to maximise buy-in: “There was a perception among some of our people that LED lighting wouldn’t do the job, that it was too bright and would give people a headache. We had to overcome these initial doubts.”
Crozier approached five providers, not only to get the best cost, but also the best upfront support and guarantee: “We ended up doing trials in key areas of the factory which were free of charge with our selected provider. They put in a small section of lighting and we compared working in that section with working in other sections. People naturally then thought ‘I like that’. They literally saw the benefits.”
Although 10-15% of Brandauer’s factory has yet to be converted to LEDs, Crozier estimates it has probably enjoyed a 35% reduction in power usage. There has also been a positive impact on the company’s objectives. Crozier again: “We follow the ISO 14001 environmental standard. By embracing LED lighting that helped us deliver against the objectives of that certification which means we have retained it and continue to demonstrate our environmental commitment.
“Two years ago we had no business supplied into renewables. Now, they represent about 10% of our customers. But how can we target a market sector without trying to do our bit?”