Category Archives: Articles

Articles

In-House Financing, Rebates & Energy Incentives for LED Lighting

We work diligently through our financing, rebates, and incentives programs to get the best deal for you. We simplify the application process and work on your behalf to qualify for every available form of financial assistance. 

Our solutions include: 

Do you offer Financing? 

Yes! 

In-house financing for your LED lighting upgrade  is available through our GreenShare Service Program (GSP).  

  • Spread out your expenses over time with manageable monthly payments 
  • Use utility cost savings to pay for new lighting or other efficiency projects
  • Make purchase decision based on operational budget rather than capital budget

How is the financial plan designed? 
The financial plan is designed to coincide with the expected payback period. 

  • Monthly savings exceeds monthly cost of new system

Enjoy an immediate cash flow positive scenario!

What if I want to pay off the lease early? 
Zero penalties, zero fees, no future interest charges. Enjoy early pay off freedom! 

Learn more about how you can upgrade your lighting systems immediately with little to no upfront costs and begin enjoying the monthly savings right away. 

Is GreenTech part of the Duke Energy Smart Saver program? 

Yes!

As a preferred partner of the Carolinas, most of our customers qualify for Duke Energy rebates through the Smart Saver Incentive Program. 

How does it work?

Businesses can receive utility incentives for installing high-efficiency lighting, HVAC, pumps, and other qualifying equipment. GreenTech can find out how the Smart $aver incentives will lower the costs associated with these upgrades.

High-efficiency equipment that falls outside of the scope of Duke Energy and Duke Energy Progress’ standard prescriptive offers may still be eligible for incentives. GreenTech will determine all the variables to maximize the rebates available for the scope of your project.

I don’t live in North Carolina. Do I still qualify for LED lighting rebates and incentives? 

Yes!

For our southern Virginia residents, we’ve partnered with Dominion Virginia Power. Many of our customers qualify for the Non-Residential Lighting Systems and Controls Rebate.

By upgrading your existing lighting or installing new energy-efficient lighting and controls, you can be eligible to receive a rebate from Dominion. Technologies include: T8s, T5s, CFLs, LEDs, and occupancy sensors.

If you reside anywhere else in the continental US, we’ll work diligently with your local utility companies to apply all incentives to get you the best rates possible. 

What other forms of financial assistance are available for my business?

USDA REAP Grant

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant provides funding for small rural businesses to purchase or install renewable energy systems or make energy efficiency improvements. 

  • Receive funds of up to 25% of total eligible project cost
  • Businesses with less than 500 employees
  • Must be in a rural environment (not a city or town) with population 50,000+

GreenTech can seamlessly walk you through the application process for this grant, which is given twice per year.

Articles

LED Lighting Case Studies: Before & After + Money Saved

Case Study 1: Luxfer Gas Cylinders LED Upgrade: Saves $35,330 Annually, Meets Corporate Energy Initiative

Luxfer Gas Cylinders had a corporate initiative to reduce energy usage and its carbon footprint throughout its aluminum cylinder factory in Graham, North Carolina. The building was equipped with outdated fluorescent tube lighting, including T8 and high-output T5s, which were inefficient and needed to be replaced.

GreenTech Solutions Group offered a turn-key package that was exactly what the management at Luxfer was seeking. 

LED Lighting upgrade of 119,355 sq foot aluminum cylinder manufacturing facility in Graham, NC

Summary of benefits at a glance…

  • 58% reduction in annual lighting energy usage 
  • 2.1 year payback period
  • Annual energy cost savings of $35,330  
  • 512,039 kWh reduction in annual energy usage 
  • $24,526 savings in energy incentives

In the words of our customer:

Luxfer Process Engineer Manalo Williams notes, “Since the upgrade, the enhanced lighting has an additional benefit for the workforce… a better-lit, brighter facility makes for a more pleasant workplace where employees can take a more dynamic role in processes – a win-win for innovation.”

Read the Full Case Study Here

To learn more about our organizational upgrades that include network lighting controls, visit our services page. 

Interested in a free lighting upgrade facility assessment? Contact a GreenTech rep today and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

 

Case Study 2: Full Commercial Lighting Upgrade for Adhesive Solutions Manufacturer Acucote, Inc. of Graham, NC

When the company was looking to upgrade their current lighting, they sought out the help of GreenTech to retrofit the existing outdated lighting throughout the administrative, manufacturing, and shipping areas with energy efficient LED lighting. 

The upgrade greatly improved the working conditions in those areas while reducing the overall energy costs by utilizing a combination of LED highbays, task and panel lights. 

External lighting conditions were also improved with new LED wallpacks and flood lights. Occupancy sensors and dimmers were installed to further increase energy efficiency and bring about a 67 percent reduction in Acucote’s lighting energy consumption in its 80,000 square-foot facility. 

A much-improved workplace for both efficiency and safety, thanks to GreenTech Solutions. 

Summary of benefits at a glance…

  • 67% cost reduction in annual energy use and cost
  • 7-month payback period
  • 664,946 kWh reduction in annual lighting energy usage
  • Energy rebates and incentives of $100,000+
  • $66,494 saved in annual operational costs  

Occupancy sensors and dimmers help regulate lighting and save on unnecessary energy expenses.

Overall, GreenTech’s energy efficient lighting package will increase productivity, reduce operating expenses, and provide for better safety and security while providing a payback of only 7 months. 

Read the Full Case Study Here

To learn more about our partial upgrades and monthly maintenance service with immediate cost savings, visit our services page. 

Interested in a free lighting upgrade facility assessment? Contact a GreenTech rep today and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Check out our other case studies, press releases and resources here:

Articles

Energy-Efficient LED Lighting Upgrade Process

There are several reasons why you’re probably considering a facility lighting upgrade. Energy and service costs, workplace safety, and improved environment are the reasons that usually top our customer’s list. 

Whether you need an extensive LED lighting upgrade or a partial solution, we can walk you through our 7-step process so you know just what to expect from start to finish. 

1. Consultation

Your first contact with us will be through one of our friendly reps. We’ll ask you a few questions over the phone to make sure we understand your business needs. We also take this opportunity to share how we can save you money, increase the efficiency of your operations, and make your facility environment a more enjoyable atmosphere for the people who work there. 

We set your site assessment appointment during this phone call. 

We can work around your busy schedule!

We’re often asked if we can accommodate busy schedules. This comes up often with COVID protocols now in place. 

Our team will go above and beyond to work with your busy or changing schedule. 

Our goal is to have our representative in your facility within 5-10 days of the initial phone call. 

2. Detailed Site Assessment

We’ll reach out to you the day before the assessment to confirm our appointment. 

On assessment day, your lighting expert will arrive on-site at the scheduled time of your appointment. 

We’ll tour your facility with you and gather information to assess your facility and get to know you and your organization’s needs.

Our rep will follow up quickly and thoroughly with a detailed analysis and action plan. 

3. Analysis and Project Selection

Combining powerful software and our extensive experience, we analyze the relevant parameters to produce reports that show you:

  • Financial costs: current and projected 
  • Analysis of current situation
  • Areas and opportunities for improvement
  • Prioritized list of projects for efficiency and optimized investing 
  • Qualified incentives and rebate programs 

4. Development of Action Plan

Once you’ve selected your ideal project that allows for the most cost-effective and energy-saving solution, we turn to creating your detailed action plan. 

Here’s where our industry knowledge and veteran experience comes into play. 

After many years of design and implementation of dozens of successful projects, we develop an effective plan designed to reach your specific goals.

You’ll be able to see everything up front and choose exactly what you need. 

5. Product Sourcing

We have direct access to an extensive supply of products and equipment. This allows us to:

  • Cut out the “middleman”
  • Keep our operations lean and efficient 
  • Offer aggressive pricing to our clients 
  • Offer significant product discounts over other suppliers 

6. Oversight of Installation

Our full-service capabilities include expert management of internal staff, subcontractors, and workflow to ensure our installation projects are completed effectively and with minimal impact on our clients’ normal operations.

We treat your facility as if it’s our own.

We know how important it is for you to maintain optimal productivity, so we work diligently and swiftly to minimize disruptions and impact on your operations. 

Our goal is to come and go as if we’ve never been there at all. 

7. Project Closeout and Follow-up Services 

We maintain close communication with clients after their energy-efficiency LED lighting upgrade projects are complete. 

We want to be sure that everything is functioning properly, and we monitor and assess your ongoing energy savings. 

We focus on cleanliness and responsibility.

At GreenTech, we are not only committed to providing the best service throughout the project process, but we are committed to being environmentally friendly by disposing of all waste material through recycling and compliant processing services.

The LED lighting upgrade service at GreenTech is based on our time-tested, proven process for efficiency and customer satisfaction. 

If you’d like to learn more about what we can do for your company, contact a GreenTech rep to schedule your site assessment today.

GreenTech Solutions Group is an experienced provider of customized energy-efficiency LED lighting solutions including Network Lighting Controls (NLCs) and Lighting as a Service (LaaS). 

Expert Engineering * Cutting-Edge Technology * Experienced Contracting Services

Articles

What to Expect from Your LED Lighting Upgrade Assessment

We’re thrilled that you’ve selected GreenTech Solutions for your LED lighting upgrade project! In order to learn a little more about us and to help you better prepare for your upcoming assessment, we’ve outlined our 4-step process below.

Our 4-Step Assessment Process  

  1. Set Appointment
  2. Letter of Introduction
  3. Site Assessment
  4. Analysis and Overview of Assessment with Action Plan 

1. Set Appointment

Your first contact with us will be through one of our friendly reps. We like to ask you a few questions over the phone to make sure we understand your business needs. We also take this opportunity to share how we can save you money, increase the efficiency of your operations, and make your facility environment a more enjoyable atmosphere for the people who work there. 

We set your assessment appointment during this phone call. 

We work diligently to accommodate for difficult and changing schedules. Our goal is to have our representative in your facility within 5-10 days of the initial phone call. 

2. Letter of Introduction

After your assessment is scheduled, we follow up with an email letter of introduction. This allows us to share even more about our company and our process. 

  • We highlight our company vision, goals, and our promise to you—our customer!
  • We show you how we work to save you money on energy costs and maintenance, highlighting some of our financial incentive programs and features. 
  • We provide a quick overview of the services we offer.
  • We reassure you of how we take ownership over the entire process and make it a smooth and seamless transition for you. 
  • We highlight our past projects so we can see how we’ve helped others just like you.

3. Site Assessment

On the day of your assessment, your lighting expert will arrive on site at the scheduled time of your appointment. We’ll walk with you through your facility to gather information, ask questions and assess your current equipment and infrastructure. 

Our rep will thank you for your time and follow up with a detailed analysis and action plan. 

4. Analysis and Overview of Assessment with Action Plan 

After meeting, your representative will write up a detailed analysis of your facility operations, LED lighting upgrade equipment needs, supporting maintenance services, line-item cost, and graphic charts showing how much everything will cost and exactly how much money you will save on the initial installation as well as savings in monthly service and operations fees. 

Your Action Plan will include a complete, detailed breakdown of every step of the installation and implementation process with a timeline to completion. 

At any time during the 4-step process, you’ll have the opportunity to ask any questions or address any concerns. 

If you still have some unanswered questions, or if you’d like to go ahead and schedule your site assessment, contact us at GreenTech solutions and we’d be happy to assist you! 

Schedule Your Free Site Assessment 

Articles

10 LED Fun Facts

We have compiled a list of LED fun facts that are informative and helpful to know.

For all those business owners, retailers, and houses of worship that have not yet committed to LED upgrades, these facts are important to consider.

  1. An incandescent lamp converts about 9-10 percent of the energy fed to it into light, whereas LEDs convert nearly 100 percent of the energy they consume as light.

    2.  

  2. LEDs contain no mercury— and at least 95 percent of an LED is recyclable. Compare this to the wasteful design of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which not only contain mercury, but also create a large portion of electronic waste due to their design — the fluorescent tube portion of a CFL ceases to work long before the ballast inside the CFL or its other electronic components are ready to die. This alone creates tons of waste every month.

    3.  

  3. LED lamps on average are not subject to serious damage from external shock. If you drop an incandescent lamp, there will be a lot of broken glass to clean up, and if it’s a CFL, not only will it break, there are mercury decontamination procedures recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency you will have to follow.

    4.  

  4. When LED light is used in fresh food displays, it has been proven to breed significantly less bacteria than its halogen or fluorescent counterparts.

    5.  

  5. A majority of residential/commercial LED A-lamp manufacturers claim a whopping 50,000 hours lamp life on average, with newer models claiming up to 100,000 hours. (Incandescent lamps have a lifespan of about 1,000 hours and CFLs have a lifespan of about 10,000 hours.) If this sounds impressive, it is! Consider your usage on just the 50,000 hour varieties:
    • If you use your LED bulb for 24 hours a day, every day, that bulb is rated to last 6 years!
    • If you use your LED bulb for 12 hours a day, every day, that bulb is rated to last 11 years!!
    • If you use your LED bulb for only 4 hours per day, that bulb is rated to last 17 years!!!

     

  6. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the widespread adoption of LEDs in residential and commercial applications over the next 20 years will save about $265 billion (Yes! That’s BILLION!), will prevent the need for constructing 40 new power plants, and reduce the electricity demand of lighting by 33 percent.

    7.  

  7. If the entire United States would replace only 50 percent of the existing incandescent Christmas lights around the holidays, the potential energy cost savings starts around $17.2 billion dollars.

    8.  

  8. Switch to an LED bulb in the porch light and you’ll notice considerably fewer bugs, if not a complete decrease in your porch bug population! Why? Because incandescent lamps and CFLs produce copious amounts of ultraviolet and infrared radiation, which attracts bugs.

    9.  

  9. Due to the physics involved, LED lamps have what is called Instant On — unlike their incandescent and CFL counterparts. What this means is when you switch on an LED lamp, you get the full brightness of that light instantly. Incandescent lamps and CFLs experience significantly less lamp life from being switched on and off frequently, and CFLs in particular can experience greatly reduced lamp life if they are switched off and back on within 15 minutes of heating up.

    10.  

  10. The lighting industries as a whole are pushing LEDs to replace incandescent sources in a variety of applications, but the first time that LEDs actually did displace incandescent lamps was in vehicle brake lights, signal lights, and traffic lights – back in 1987!

Contact us today to see how we can help you save money

Source: Kastor Energy March 2017

Articles

LED Lighting: The Basics Explained

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.

Energy Savings

LED is a highly energy efficient lighting technology, and has the potential to fundamentally change the future of lighting in the U.S. Residential LEDs — especially ENERGY STAR rated products — use at least 75 percent less energy, and last 25 times longer, than incandescent lighting.

Widespread use of LED lighting has the greatest potential impact on energy savings in the U.S. By 2027, widespread use of LEDs could save about 348 TWh (compared to no LED use) of electricity: This is the equivalent annual electrical output of 44 large electric power plants (1000 megawatts each), and a total savings of more than $30 billion at today’s electricity prices.

Learn more about how energy-efficient light bulbs compare with traditional incandescents.

How LEDs are Different

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 percent of their energy as heat and CFLs release about 80 percent of their energy as heat.

LED Products

LED lighting is currently available in a wide variety of home and industrial products, and the list is growing every year. The rapid development of LED technology leads to more products and improved manufacturing efficiency, which also results in lower prices. Below are some of the most common types of LED products.

Industrial and Commercial Lighting

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, walkways and other outdoor area lighting, refrigerated case lighting, modular lighting, and task lighting.
See our industrial and commercial lighting case studies

Kitchen Under-Cabinet Lighting

Because LEDs are small and directional, they are ideal for lighting countertops for cooking and reading recipes. Since the color can appear more cool or blue than many prefer in a kitchen and there can be some excessive shadowing from some fixtures, it is important to compare products to find the best fixture for your space.

Recessed Downlights

Recessed downlights are commonly used in residential kitchens, hallways, and bathrooms, and in a number of office and commercial settings. The Department of Energy estimates there are at least 500 million recessed downlights installed in U.S. homes, and more than 20 million are sold each year. LED technology can decrease downlight wattage by 75% or more.

LED Replacement Bulbs

With performance improvements and dropping prices, LED lamps can replace 40, 60, and even 75 watt incandescent bulbs. It’s important to read the lighting facts label to make sure the product is the right brightness and color for the intended location. When chosen carefully, LED replacement products are a far superior option.

Holiday Lights

LEDs consume far less electricity than incandescent bulbs, and decorative LED light strings, such as Christmas tree lights, are no different. Not only do LED holiday lights consume less electricity, they also have the following advantages:

  • Safer: LEDs are much cooler than incandescent lights, reducing the risk of combustion or burned fingers.
  • Sturdier: LEDs are made with epoxy lenses, not glass, and are much more resistant to breakage.
  • Longer lasting: The same LED string could still be in use 40 holiday seasons from now.
  • Easier to install: Up to 25 strings of LEDs can be connected end-to-end without overloading a wall socket.

Estimated cost of electricity to light a six-foot tree for 12 hours a day for 40 days

Estimated cost* of buying and operating lights for 10 holiday seasons

*Assumes 50 C-9 bulbs and 200 mini-lights per tree, with electricity at $0.119 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) (AEO 2012 Residential Average). Prices of lights based on quoted prices for low volume purchases from major home improvement retailers. All costs have been discounted at an annual rate of 5.6 percent. Life span assumed to be three seasons (1,500 hours) for non-LED lights.

Information provided by U.S. Department of Energy

Articles

How Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs Compare with Traditional Incandescents

By replacing your home’s five most frequently used light fixtures or bulbs with models that have earned the ENERGY STAR, you can save $75 each year.

Compared to traditional incandescents, energy-efficient light bulbs such as halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light emitting diodes (LEDs) have the following advantages:

  • Typically use about 25%-80% less energy than traditional incandescents, saving you money.

  • Can last 3-25 times longer.

Today’s energy-efficient bulbs are available in the wide range of colors and light levels you’ve come to expect. While the initial price of energy-efficient bulbs is typically higher than traditional incandescents, newer bulbs cost less to operate, saving you money over the life of the bulb. Many of the newer bulbs last significantly longer than traditional bulbs, so you won’t need to replace them as often.

The table below compares a 60 watt (W) traditional incandescent with energy efficient bulbs that provide similar light levels.

*Based on 2 hours/day of usage, an electricity rate of 11 cents per kilowatt-hour, shown in U.S. dollars.

Information and graphic provided by U.S. Department of Energy

Articles

Infographic: 5 Benefits of LED Lighting Research

If it seems like LED lighting is popping up everywhere you look these days, that’s because it is. Installation of A-type bulbs jumped 160 percent between 2014 and 2015, and those numbers continue to grow. Projections show that increased usage could save Americans nearly $630 billion in avoided energy costs between now and 2035. That’s because no other lighting technology has more energy-saving potential than LED lighting—also known as solid-state lighting (SSL).

But SSL is just scratching the surface of what it can do. With just 5 percent of its energy-saving potential met, continued research by government and industry could help unlock even more savings. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently released a report recommending that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) continues its R&D efforts that address key technological challenges for high-efficiency SSL.

Why?

Because a strong focus on LED lighting research will benefit the country in these five compelling ways:

Information and graphic provided by U.S. Department of Energy

Articles

The Benefits of LED Lighting in the Workplace

People spend approximately a third of their day at work, so it’s not hard to imagine the importance of lighting in the workplace. The use of LED lighting is on the rise in homes across America and in the workplace as well. According to U.S. Department of Energy, “widespread use of LED lighting has the greatest potential impact on energy savings in the United States. By 2027, widespread use of LEDs could save about 348 TWh (compared to no LED use) of electricity: This is the equivalent annual electrical output of 44 large electric power plants (1000 megawatts each), and a total savings of more than $30 billion at today’s electricity prices.”

There are various aspects where LED lighting in the workplace is important.

PRODUCTIVITY

Proper lighting is key for productivity and comfort in office environments and often determines the perception, mood, and performance of employees. A study by the American Society of Interior Designers found the following:

  • 68 percent of employees complain about the light in their work space.
  • 75 percent report that they could be more efficient and productive with better light.
  • 30 percent suffer from headaches due to eyestrain.
  • 25 percent report losing 15 minutes per day due to eye focusing problems. This is equivalent to one and a half weeks each year.

Enhancements in workplace lighting are closely tied with the improved performance of employees. In fact, a Cornell University study demonstrated that a 3 – 5 percent gain in worker productivity could be obtained with LED lighting. In the case of more industrial work places, better lighting with LEDs helps the intricate work involved in factories, resulting in more accurate performances and less mistakes, which ultimately keeps costs down and raises productivity.

Research further shows that LED lighting has a positive impact on employees’ physical, physiological, and psychological well-being, which affects their overall performance and even attendance in the workplace.

SAFETY

The high quality of LED lighting helps people be more aware of their surroundings at work, including little hazards that could cause someone to trip or fall. In addition to everyday risks, there can be sudden emergencies. Emergency exit signs are typically LEDs because of its clearness, brightness, and long lifespan. Those same attributes can translate to any workplace retrofitted with LED lighting. Especially in case of an emergency, it’s critical that offices, stairwells, and exits are well-lit to ensure everyone’s safety.

PERSONAL CHOICE

LED lighting allows personal choice in work environments, whether it involves what a person prefers or the task at hand. LED lights enable people to use different levels of lighting. Through the use of individual controls that employees can operate at their work stations, productivity and overall well-being can increase.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

LED lights require relatively low amounts of energy to power them. This can reduce lighting consumption by 55-90 percent. An LED light can typically last for up to 60,000 hours, which is considerably longer than incandescent and fluorescent lighting alternatives. This is not only better for your budget, but better for the environment too, by reducing carbon emissions. In addition, the disposal of phosphor and the particularly toxic mercury in the tubes is an environmental issue. They are not recyclable and eventually end up in landfills. LED lights do not contain any harmful chemicals and as a result are fully recyclable at the end of their life. The switch to energy-efficient LED lighting greatly reduces a company’s carbon footprint, showcasing the business as an example of environmental responsibility.

Switching to LED lighting can allow your business to reap many benefits. Contact us today for a free energy cost savings assessment and see what GreenTech Solutions Group can do for your company.

Articles

How Upgrading to LED Lighting Affects Manufacturing Productivity

Many manufacturing facilities are considering upgrading their existing factory lighting to more energy-efficient LED lighting to save on energy and maintenance costs. While the direct energy savings are absolutely notable, the effects of a lighting upgrade extend beyond only that. While considering an LED lighting upgrade, it is important to consider a total overhaul of your factory lighting. The gains produced may be hard to see at first, but once realized, they are significant and hard to ignore.

Effects of Factory Lighting on Morale

Employee’s morale should always be on managers’ minds because an employee that is happy and motivated will most likely be more productive and reliable. Today’s LED lighting color temperature is typically about 5000 Kelvins. This temperature is very similar to natural light and has been found to reduce melatonin production. This can result in employee alertness and reduce sleepiness and fatigue. Upgrading to brighter LED lighting improves the workplace by making it safer and look cleaner and more natural.

Safety Improvements with LED Lighting

Safety is an important consideration that will be improved with an LED lighting upgrade. If an employee cannot clearly see a hazard, accidents can happen. Workplace collisions can be prevented if proper factory lighting is in place to illuminate oncoming pedestrian or material handling equipment. It is also important to consider the upgrade to include specific workstation lighting. The improved workstation lighting can reduce machine and/or employee-related accidents by making hazards more apparent.

LED lighting is typically made of an array of tens or even hundreds of individual LED light chips with highly directed lensing. This causes very little shadowing. In addition, LED lighting maintains its brightness far longer than the typical HID lighting. Even though older lighting may still be working, it is operating at far less lighting output than when it was initially installed. This dim lighting can create safety hazards and lead to more workplace accidents.

Improvement in Quality Checks

Quality improvement always plays a big role in a production manager’s mindset. Improved LED lighting proves to be a valuable asset in inspection stations and quality control areas. As mentioned earlier, reduced shadowing can highlight quality defects in various parts and increases the ability to spot defects and quality deficiencies. LED lighting also enhances color recognition, which can improve quality control issues.

Many quality problems occur during the manufacturing or assembly process. LED lighting can reduce manufacturing errors since employees can recognize improper or missing components during the assembly operation. Staying alert is a crucial factor in operating machinery and product assembly. LED lighting helps prevent fatigue and therefore can lead to fewer mistakes and better quality output.

Health and Wellness Improvements

Poor lighting can lead to eye strain and causes headaches, tension, and eye discomfort. LED lighting can reduce these effects and possibly lead to better work attendance. If an employee is not feeling at their optimal, it can lead to poor productivity and production errors.

Increased Manufacturing Productivity

LED lighting in the workplace can improve assembly accuracy and potentially speed up operations. If sub-components can be found and oriented with more speed and accuracy, it will significantly increase productivity. As mentioned earlier, upgrading to LED lighting in your facility can improve overall alertness, make it easier to see clearly, reduce shadowing, and enhance color recognition during the assembly process, leading to increased inefficiencies and manufacturing productivity.

Conclusion

LED lighting is proven to be more energy efficient and longer lasting than traditional fluorescent, high pressure sodium, or metal halide lighting. As a result, most manufacturing facilities are evaluating LED lighting upgrades to reduce energy and maintenance costs. These savings can be quantified by projecting wattage reductions and the cost of bulbs and labor to replace old fixtures as they burn out. These savings alone can often justify any expense incurred with an LED lighting upgrade.

However, there are savings that are more difficult to quantify, but are extremely significant and can far outweigh the energy and maintenance savings associated with an LED upgrade. Consider how much profit could be realized if just a 1 percent increase in productivity could be gained with a brighter, LED lighting upgrade throughout a manufacturing facility. What about a 5 percent reduction in safety occurrences? How does that translate to insurance costs and workmen’s compensation claims? If overall product quality was improved by 3 percent, what does that mean to the cost incurred by defective products and customer quality claims? LED lighting can both improve quality during the production process and in the QC and inspection stations.

When considering upgrading to energy-efficient LED lighting, it’s imperative to factor in the not so obvious benefits and suddenly a marginally justifiable project becomes an easily justifiable one. It’s important to take the opportunity to not only replace existing fixtures and maintain previous light levels, but to significantly upgrade light levels to take full advantage of all the benefits LED lighting can have in the entire manufacturing environment.

Switching to LED lighting can allow your business to reap many benefits. Contact us today for a free energy cost savings assessment and see what GreenTech Solutions Group can do for your company.

Reposted with permission from Electro-Magtic LED Lighting blog