LED lighting is the number one choice for office buildings as the technology offers several benefits to commercial property owners. LED lights are beneficial as office lighting for the following reasons:
- Better energy efficiency
- Extended lifespan and reduced maintenance
- Improved lighting performance and better safety
- Precise, directional lighting
- Reduced heat emissions
- Enhanced controllability
- A potential boost in worker productivity
Here is a closer look at each of these benefits, and why LEDs are making older lighting solutions obsolete in many office settings.
What are the Benefits of LED Office Lighting?
As previous lighting technologies are quickly becoming obsolete, LED lights have effectively taken over as the preferred lighting choice for most commercial applications. In an office environment, LED technology offers the following compelling benefits:
- Improved energy efficiency – LEDs are the most energy efficient lighting solution on the market, and this advantage scales up with the size of the LED lighting system. At the source, an individual LED light has an efficacy (lumen-to-watt ratio) of nearly 100 lumens per watt. Some high-performance LED lights can achieve greater efficacies – some nearing 150 lumens per watt. Compare this to fluorescent lighting (about 70-80 lumens per watt) and metal halides (about 80-90 lumens per watt), both of which are becoming obsolete. LED has a modest advantage at the source level, but it is the system level where LED’s energy efficiency really takes off.
- Improved lifespan and reduced maintenance – LED lights last far longer than previous lighting technologies, and it is common for an LED light to reach the 50,000-hour mark before lighting quality becomes a concern. That is several years of reliable illumination before replacement must be considered.
Fluorescent lighting fails between 15,000 and 20,000 hours, while metal halides fail around 10,000 hours or less.
With its enhanced longevity, LED lights require less maintenance and fewer bulb replacements. That helps keep maintenance-related overhead in check.
- Improved lighting performance, visibility and safety – LED lights have greatly improved in output and consistency since they were first introduced decades ago. Today’s LED lighting products are comparable or superior to older technologies in lighting quality, achieving greater levels of brightness and color visibility, which enables people to remain more alert to their surroundings and stay safer.
- Improved lighting precision with LED’s directional illumination – LED lights boost energy efficiency at the lamp level, but LED lighting solutions achieve most of their efficiency benefits when the entire system is considered. This is because LEDs produce directional illumination, in contrast to fluorescent’s omni-directional nature. Directional illumination is focused in a particular direction – a trait that installers can leverage to aim LEDs with better precision. The result is more light reaching the target, without the need for expensive or bulky reflectors.
- Reduced heat emissions and thermal load – LED lights emit some thermal energy, but it is largely dispersed inside the fixture and poses minimal heat-related hazards. This also reduces the thermal load on your facility’s HVAC equipment by ensuring it does not have to work as hard to keep the office cool.
- Improved controllability with various lighting controls – LED lighting technology is the most controllable in the industry. LEDs are compatible with dimmers, timers, photocells and motion sensors, so they are ideal security lighting options (especially when you factor in LED lighting’s instant-on capabilities).
- Improved worker productivity, in some cases – This point is somewhat subjective, but a few studies have demonstrated potential productivity benefits in office buildings using LED lighting. One study, published in National Bureau of Economic Research, reviewed a company that noted a near one percent jump in productivity among all of its workers. This is a modest per-person boost, but together it greatly reduced the system’s payback period.
Why More Office Buildings are Switching from Fluorescent to LED Lights
The above advantages are convincing enough for many businesses – especially those relying on obsolete fluorescent lights. If your office work environment also uses outdated fluorescent tubes or bulbs for its lighting needs, consider the following drawbacks of fluorescent lighting technology:
- Poor lighting quality and emission range – LED lighting emits across the entire emission spectrum, just like natural sunlight. Fluorescent produces mostly greens and yellows, which may be the reason that employees report health issues like headaches more frequently when working under fluorescent light.
- Flickering and other signs of early failure – Long before some fluorescent lights fail, they will show signs of decline, like dimming or flickering, which can be distracting for employees.
- Shorter lifespan and more frequent light replacement – For every one LED lamp replacement, you will have to replace the same fluorescent light two or three times. Those costs, including specialized disposal costs, can add up quickly.
- Environmental concerns – Fluorescent lights contain a small, but hazardous, amount of mercury. This mercury can potentially escape into the environment if fluorescent lights are not disposed of properly. LEDs pose smaller risks and therefore do not need to be disposed of in a special waste stream, making disposal easy.
Fluorescent lighting technology has been around for nearly a century, and though it served the industrializing world well, LED lights better suit the needs of modern businesses and office buildings.
Photometric Analysis Ensures Optimal LED Office Lighting
Is it time to upgrade your facility’s lighting? As the statistics show, you are not alone. Many business owners are transitioning to LED lighting technology, and they are using photometric analysis to get maximum value from their new lighting technology.
During photometric analysis, your lighting designer will use 3D graphics software to visualize your office building’s layout. This can be used to simulate how various LED lights and lighting arrangements will perform in the space. There are a few cost-saving and efficiency-improving benefits to this approach, including:
- Optimal LED light placement – Photometric analysis allows lighting designers to determine ideal placement for each LED fixture. Combined with LED lighting’s directionality, this can make for extremely precise applications.
- Optimal LED light selection – Photometric software imports each light’s manufacturer data to generate realistic lighting simulations. With a library of LED lamps to choose from, lighting designers can pick the best lamp for every office environment.
- No unwelcome surprises during or following installation – Photometric analysis also allows designers to build a clear, cohesive plan for the installation team. That makes for a more efficient project, one that will stay on budget and on time. Property owners can also get a clear idea of what their new LED lighting system will look like with the photometric analysis software.
LED Lighting Has Proven Benefits for Office Settings
With more commercial building owners opting for LED lighting technology, facility managers are seeing the benefits of implementing LED lights in the office, in both improved productivity and cost savings. If it is time to upgrade your office lighting, consult with a commercial lighting expert and ask how photometric analysis and an LED retrofit could improve your facility’s lighting technology and save you money in the process.
