Many people don’t realize how much their choice of lighting affects the environment. Traditional incandescent lighting contributes to 5% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 15% of energy consumption on a global scale. Industrial and commercial facilities that are lit up with dozens or hundreds of traditional lights are unassuming sources of environmental pollution and degradation.
It’s more important than ever to sit up, take notice, and make a change.
With an unwarranted spike in the price of natural gases and an imminent energy crisis on the horizon, it’s past time to switch from traditional lighting to LEDs.
So, LED lighting vs traditional light sources—what’s better and why?
The Technology Behind LED Lighting
LED is an acronym for light-emitting diode, a device that converts electricity into light energy with the help of a chip-mounted diode. Unlike traditional lighting, like incandescent bulbs or CFLs (compact fluorescent lighting), LED always produces light in the visible spectrum. So, it generates “cold” light with very minimal energy loss in the form of heat.
The light that LEDs produce is bright and relatively high in intensity despite being minuscule in size. Energy Saver, the U.S. Department of Energy’s consumer resource on renewable energy, compares LEDs to a “fleck of pepper.” Talk about tiny but mighty.
In the grand scheme of things, traditional lights stand no chance against LED lighting because of the following advantages:
LEDs are energy efficient: Incandescent lighting loses 90%, and CFLs lose 80% of energy as heat. In comparison, LEDs have a bare minimum energy loss in the form of heat.
LEDs are unidirectional: LEDs produce light beams in one specific direction, as opposed to the omnidirectional emission of traditional lighting. So LED technology is ideal for task lighting that many commercial and industrial spaces demand.
LEDs are versatile: You can get a range of color options for LED lights. This characteristic is incredibly valuable if you want accent or mood lighting in your space. Or, you can use LEDs to generate white light from the seven colors of the visible spectrum.
LEDs are long-lasting: Although the lifespan of LEDs depends on several factors, their rate of degradation is exponentially slower than that of traditional lights.
LEDs are cost-effective: Because of their chemistry and longevity, LED lights last approximately 30 times longer than incandescent lights.
Clearly, the benefits of LED lights are many. So, in the LED vs traditional lights debate, the former emerges as a winner by a mile.
Note that high ambient temperatures can significantly reduce the lifespan of LEDs. Taking this further, temperature-controlled environments, such as a centrally air-conditioned commercial space, can actually enhance the performance and longevity of LED lights. There are so many advantages of LED lighting, and this temperature factor makes LEDs the indisputable ideal energy optimization solution for commercial and industrial spaces.
Benefits of LED Lighting: Why You Should Go For It
If you have thought about how to make your industrial or commercial space more sustainable and environmentally friendly, you should take advantage of LED lights. And switching from traditional lighting to LED lights better be worth the considerable investment that might go into the upgrade, right?
Thankfully, it is. The sheer brilliance of LED lighting is that it promises the following:
Improved Efficiency
Unlike traditional lights where 80% to 90% of energy is lost as heat, LEDs have excellent thermal control. That’s because they have a highly efficient heat sink design that’s able to dissipate extra heat generated into the surroundings.
So, LEDs are far more efficient in converting electricity into light energy and consume considerably less power in the process. Because of these factors, a 9-watt LED bulb can provide as much illumination as a 60-watt incandescent bulb while consuming much less electricity.
LED technology is also a very stable lighting source, which is another significant advantage of LED lights.
Enhanced Sustainability
Because LEDs don’t have ballasts or strikers, they are fairly low maintenance. When installed by experts and used with care, a commercial LED setup requires zero to minimal maintenance and repair. You can easily use LED lights for over a decade or an average of about 14 years.
Not only will you easily break on your initial investment in a robust LED system, but you can also save on your utility bills for more than a decade. Furthermore, newer LED models can now be powered by solar arrays and battery packs. So, there is no doubt that LED lights are better from a sustainability perspective.
But that’s not all.
As mentioned earlier, LEDs are small in size. This means they are naturally resistant to environmental disruptions like shocks and vibrations. This is another one of the many benefits of LED bulbs.
Stable Performance
LEDs are quite a high-performing lighting option, too. Apart from having a quick “on time,” these lights continue to provide decent illumination even when operating at less than 70% of their optimal capacity. They do not suffer from burnout the way traditional lights like incandescent bulbs or CFLs do.
You can enjoy uniform, bright, and comfortable lighting for many years when you have an LED setup.
Considering all these factors, the debate about LED lighting vs traditional light sources becomes moot. Clearly, LEDs are the better, smarter, and significantly more cost-effective choice of the two.
What matters more is that you choose LED as your core lighting solution and make the switch in your home or office sooner rather than later.
Step Into a Sustainable Future with NRG Incentives
Are you looking to make the transition to an efficient, sustainable, and long-lasting lighting solution for your industrial or commercial facility? NRG Incentives is here to help. As a leading energy consulting service in California, we provide various services to meet all of your lighting needs.
Our energy optimization solutions cover energy consulting and lighting services—we inspect your facility and devise customized systems that will cater to your requirements. We know full well that one-for-one fixture replacement is not a feasible strategy.
To learn more about our services or other energy optimization projects in California, contact NRG Incentives today.
