The True Cost of Keeping Your Facility Lit
When creating the plans for one of your facilities, one of the main things you’ll be considering is the electricity that the building will require. This is important so you can determine the costs of electric bills and stay in line with regulations.
According to Facilitiesnet.com, “Upgrading lighting systems in institutional and commercial facilities to next-generation lighting technologies can deliver energy and maintenance cost savings of more than 50 percent while maintaining or improving lighting quality.”
It’s easy to underestimate the amount of money that will be spent keeping your facility lit, but it’s crucial to get to the bottom of the true cost. It’s also important to explore how to reduce these costs by understanding lighting control strategies, common equipment types suitable for new and existing buildings, and applicable energy code obligations.
What to Consider When Choosing Lighting Systems
When considering lighting systems, it’s important to make the best decision about which lighting control devices to incorporate. These devices allow you to make a decision about controlling the output. The input can be manual and a person can adjust it or they can be automatic, based on time, occupancy, light levels, or instructions. Utilizing this strategy and controlling the data can provide a light energy cost savings of up to 38%.
Learn more about these different controls to make a more informed decision.
Manual controls: Users can turn lights on or off or reduce the amount of lighting based on how much they need. Being able to adjust the amount of light increases customer satisfaction as well as energy savings. Manual controls are ideal for personal work spaces, private offices, and group work spaces.
Time-based controls: Time-based controls turn lights on and off at a certain time to save energy and maintenance costs. This works best in spaces that are occupied on a steady schedule, allowing the manager to adjust the controls accordingly.
Occupancy-sensing controls: These controls turn off or reduce the lighting based on the occupancy in the room. Occupancy-sensing controls are best used in spaces that people occupy periodically.
Tips for Lighting Maintenance
The lighting in your facility will also require regular maintenance. There are certain maintenance tips that can help to increase the life of your lighting fixtures, thus resulting in decreased costs.
Replacement lamps: When you’re swapping out old lamps with replacement ones, it’s imperative that you make sure that you’re using the correct ones. They may look the same but can perform differently. Always double check before going on appearance.
Clean fixtures regularly: Dust accumulates quickly on light fixtures, which can diminish their output. Make sure that you have them professionally cleaned at least once a year.
Check pre-set controls: Having set controls is beneficial and can drastically reduce the cost of energy bills, but it’s important to make sure that the controls are set properly. If they don’t match up to the original performance requirements, users may end up unhappy, which can cause them to get rid of the controls.
Keep these tips in mind when considering the lighting for your facility.
If you need high-quality materials for your facility, consider Scranton Products, which are created with HDPE plastic. Click here to find out where to buy Scranton Products.