Economic savings in LED Lighting

To decrease as much as possible the costs in LED lighting, we must have in account the following factors:

Analysis of traditional illumination costs versus LED illumination costs

Changing an actual illumination instalation for a more efficient one will need an inicial investment, replacement and upkeep costs will be much lower in the future. For the evaluation of the cost of one installation the follwing factors are required:

• Number and kind of lamps needed.

• Price of the lamp.

• Consumption per lamp, including the loss of energy of the equipment

• Electric energy fare.

• Lifespan of a lamp.

• Annual working hours of the instalation.

• Financing and amortization.

Choose of the most appropiate efficient lighting

The election of light can have two aspects: a functional one wher the important is to focus the light in the most efficient way; and a decorative one, creating a specific atmosphere and emphasizing certain elements. A suitable illumination will achieve a balance between both functions.

 When replacing the current conventional illumination for new efficient lighting, we must consider at least these criteraia:

• POWER: must be adequate to guarantee enough brightness on the illuminated area, and an uniformity that avoids dark areas and the aspect of "stains".
• LIGHT EFFICIENCY:  every lamp must be efficient, that means to emit an adequate number of lumens per every watt of power. Energy lost by heating must be as low as possible.
• CHROMATIC PROPERTIES: every area that will be illuminated needs a CRI (chromatic rendering index), or the ability of the lamp to achieve colors that are similar to the real ones. A fashion shop, for instance, needs a very high CRI (from 80 to 90), while a corridor can make it with a CRI of 40.

• LIFESPAN: it's the number of hours while the lamp is valid; then, the lamp must be replaced for not being worthwhile.
• COLOR TEMPERATURE:it allows us to choose between warm, yellowish light; neutral or white light and cold or blueish light. It's a matter of aesthetic, and of personal preference, although usually when there's less solar light, the color temperature will be warmer, and vice versa.

• OPENING ANGLE: lamps emit light in a beam, which has an opening angle between 15º and 360º. Smaller angles emit a more "dense" light, and are normally used in narrow areas or with many points of light, and also to highlight and object or area. Wider angles are used for a more general illumination, achieving more distance of light.

Equipment and regulation systems

Auxiliary equipment hace a determinant influence in the energetic efficiency of the whole. Electronic ballasts offer many advantages in relation to electromagnetic ones, in confort of the light as well as in economic saving. Nevertheless, the lamps used by SOLINTEL NOROESTE don't need any auxiliary equipment.

REGULATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMS switch the light on and off and they regulate it via switchers, movement and presence detectors, photosensitive cells, calendars or preset timetables. They allow a better exploitation of consumed energy, decreasing the energetic and upkeep costs. Energetic savings with these systems can get to 70%.

The simplest control system is the manual switch. Its correct use, switching off the illumination in the absence of people, means a significative saving. .

There are timed switchers which lit off the lights after a preset time and are more convenient in places where people are for a limited time, i.e. the hall of a building.

Presence or movement detectors switch on the illumination when they detect a movement and keep it on for a while. They are useful for corridors and stairs, where they can be activated in specified areas and not in the whole building at once.

In office or commercial buildings, where there is a designed time schedule, it's possible to switch on and off the illumination through a timer.

Central control, composed by detectors (photoelectrical cells, presence detectors, etc.) plus a programmable central unit, has some advantages as well:

• Possibility of parcial switch on/off via central orders
• Modification of switch-on circuits at a central level, with no need of electric works.
• Monitorization of the state of the circuits and their consumption.

Upkeep and conservation

Time decreases lamps' efficiency because the depreciation of the the light beam along their lifespan and the dirt gathered by the light. A good maintenance of the illumination allows savings up to 50%.

Maintenance includes:

• Cleaning
• Replacement, which must be done at the end of the lifespan indicated by the manufacturer.
• Regular review of the state of the different parts of the instalation
  • Pale colors in walls and ceilings benefit the most from solar light and need less artificial illumination.
  • Don't let lit lights in rooms that aren't being used .
  • Regular cleaning of lamps allows to increase luminosity without increasing the electric power.
  • Change incandescent lamps and low consumption lamps for LED lamps. They save up to an 80% energy and last even 20 times longer.
  • Use LED tubes where you need more light along many hours, as in the kitchen.
  • In common areas (halls, garages, stores, etc.) it's convenient to put presence detectors.

   

   Remember, in LEDSOLINTEL we are experts in lighting and energy saving.