How and why businesses should switch to LED lighting

Energy and financial crises are forcing businesses to learn about more efficient ways of using the resources. Perhaps, these crises happened in Ukraine in a very appropriate time – when the entire civilized world switches to resource-efficient development of green technologies. Now we have a choice – either to continue to spend what we have without bothering ourselves to study the methods of rational use of resources, or to do everything that depends on us to save money and resources. The former leads to devastation, and the second, in practice, to prosperity.

LED Lighting is one of the prerequisites for both private and social transformation. This is the basis of modernization of residential and commercial lighting systems. But do you know how LED lamps differ from conventional energy-saving ones? How much energy and money they save, how they impact business sustainability?

This article will help you understand why the offices, residential and large industries should switch to LED-lighting and how to choose the right LED bulbs.

Please note: Baker Tilly experts will design and develop a technical solution for LED-illumination for your production for free. Leave us your application marked as "Sustainable Development Services – the calculation of effective lighting." 

LED lamps are small eco-friendly computers. These lamps, in contrast to conventional energy-saving ones, do not contain mercury, therefore they are safe. They last a long time, consume little energy and are harmless to the eyes. Here are some interesting facts about LED lamps.

High-quality LED bulb will last 100,000 hours. This is equivalent to 11 years of continuous operation or 22 years of operation with a 50% load.

Unlike fluorescent lamps and incandescent light bulbs, LED bulbs do not heat up and emit no additional heat. They do not heat the air in the room and use electricity more efficiently.

In conventional incandescent lamps, up to 80% of the electrical energy required for operation is converted into heat, and only 20% is used for direct illumination of the room. LED light energy effectiveness indicator, depending on the quality of LEDs, varies from 80% to 90%, i.e. only 10-20% of the energy is consumed for other purposes. Therefore, when using conventional incandescent lamps, out of every 100 UAH bill, you pay 20 UAH directly for the room lighting and about 80 UAH for its heating.

LED lamps are non-toxic and do not contain chemicals. When fluorescent lamp (also energy saving) breaks, it releases mercury vapor contained in it. At the same time, LED-lamps, even if they are damaged, are absolutely safe for humans and the environment. Moreover, LED lamps are made of 100% recyclable materials. 

LED lights are made of durable materials that can withstand the most severe operating conditions, including adverse weather conditions such as rain, snow, strong wind, extremely high or low temperatures, etc. Therefore, the LED sources are equally good for both indoor and outdoor lighting.

LED lights are more expensive than fluorescent lamps or incandescent lamps. However, long-term benefits from using them fully justify their relatively high initial cost.

You will have to pay about 120 UAH for a lamp that will last 100,000 hours. Conventional incandescent bulb costs about 7 UAH and lasts in average for 800 to 1500 hours. Even if we assume that an incandescent lamp lasts 1500 hours, you will need 67 of these lamps to provide a small room for the next 11 years with light, and it will cost you about 489 UAH (if, of course, the price will not rise above 7 UAH). Now add to this amount the electricity bills for 11 years. In terms of production it is a huge sum.

LED light elements can be combined in thousands of different variations based on the needs of each individual customer, regardless of whether he wants to use them for domestic or commercial purposes. Professionally designed LED lighting can not only properly illuminate the room and save money; it can also create an appropriate atmosphere and mood at the workplace.

LED lamps are capable of operating on low-voltage power sources such as solar panels.

There is a number of features that need to be considered when choosing LED lamps that will help them to work as they should for a very long time.

High-quality luminaires use LEDs from proven producers: Cree, Osram, Nichia. Recently Samsung, LG, and Seoul were added to this list. The LEDs of these companies have a solid reputation on the market due to the fact that, firstly, their manufacturers conduct quality testing and sampling of crystals, and secondly, they provide a complete description of the technical characteristics and modes of operation of their LEDs.

For most LEDs it is recommended to use aluminum circuit boards that allow through heat dissipation with minimum overheating. Plastic lamp frame will poorly dissipate heat (thermal conductivity in plastic is 700-800 times smaller than in aluminum). This can lead to overheating of the LED chip, its accelerated degradation and failure of the lamp.

The service life of the LED lamp is determined by the power supply quality. 

Electrolytic capacitor (electrolyte) is the weakest point of power sources.Electrolytes are sensitive to temperature; therefore, the choice of high-quality condenser and the correct calculation of temperature conditions determine the reliability of the lamp operation. Japanese electrolytes, namely Nichicon, Chemicon, and Panasonic, are considered to be the most high-quality ones.

Dust, moisture, organic contaminants can significantly reduce the quality of light. Therefore, it is important that the light of the lamp has a sufficient level of dust and moisture protection, which is achieved by using high-quality sealant in the areas of the plafond’s mount. The best silicone sealant is resistant to almost all types of alkalis, acids, and solvents.

Open LEDs are a strong visual stimulus as light energy per unit area of the LED is hundreds of times higher than that of conventional lamps. The use of light-scattering plafonds allows to smooth this effect to some extent, but you have to sacrifice a certain percentage of the luminous flux. The best material for the plafond is polycarbonate, which is one of the most durable and efficient optical polymers.