Industrial manufacturing companies every now and then feel they’re at the mercy of shifting government policies around environmental regulations, energy consumption and other hot-button political problems. Any change in environmental policy could involve a cascade of process adjustments, equipment upgrades and other changes that, despite their good intentions, can strain already tight budgets. And, with the possibility for those shifts to swing over wildly every few years with changes in Congress and the White House, this can be seriously sturdy for companies to adjust and still meet production demands.
 
One such change is coming down the pike soon: initially introduced in 2007, a second phase of lighting efficiency rules are set to go into effect next year, prohibiting the sale of lightbulbs that emit less than 45 lumens per watt. This may essentially terminate all basic incandescent and halogen bulbs from the market — a step that won't only effect consumers, but industrial customers as well.
 
The Industrial Lighting—Energy Connection
 
While it might seem like a small change in the grand scheme, industrial lighting in fact has the possibility to play a huge role in reshaping America’s energy economy. With many facility lights left on 10 to 24 hours a day, industrial lighting consumes 58 terawatt hours yearly—enough power to light 1/3 of all homes in the U.S. And, with 144 million industrial lighting fixtures in place, even more than 90 percent of which are conventional fixtures, switching out from older, less efficient fixtures might seem like a tall order. In spite of this, there’s an incredible potential for U.S. industrial facilities to upgrade lighting in order to cut energy use and the related pollution output.
 
The fact is, data reveals that using high-efficiency industrial LEDs could cut U.S. industrial energy consumption by 52 terawatt hours, limiting carbon emissions by 28 million metric tons a year. Along with, by removing the need to dispose of pollutant-containing conventional bulbs, the change to LED would also considerably cut down mercury contamination in the soil.
 
But, irrespective of the persuasive environmental benefits, a plant-wide LED lighting upgrade does require a certain level of investment. And, being forced into a big change due to shifting political policy can be a tough pill to swallow, particularly when the winds could change again at any moment.
 
Good for the Environment and Your Bottom Line
 
However, investing in industrial LED lighting may be a good move for your own company’s sake, too, beyond just meeting governmental mandates. Clearly, lower energy consumption right away correlates with lower energy costs, which means a healthier bottom line. At the Zero Mountain cold storage facility, case in point, a change out to LED fixtures bring down its total energy use by more than 1.3 million kWh, saving the company nearly $100,000 each year. At Rockline Industries, the company cut its energy costs from $100,000 to just $25,000 by switching to LED fixtures.
 
A Safer, Brighter Facility Saves Money
 
Industrial LED lighting could even significantly improve plant safety, which lowers incident rates and the potential for workers compensation insurance claims. Occupational injuries cost more or less $250 billion every year, and poor lighting is the leading cause of slip, trip, and fall accidents, as well as contact with objects and equipment, which are the most common types of incidents, second to transportation accidents.
 
Studies also show that the crisp clear light of modern LEDs makes for a more comfortable and invigorating work environment where employees feel more forewarn. With fatigue and sleepiness being leading contributors to accidents and injuries, the white light of LEDs has shown to minimize fatigue by a factor of 5 by mimicking a daylight appearance that helps to suppress melatonin levels. This boosted alertness has shown to improve workers’ performance on standardized exams and also cut the time it took to take the test. What that means is greater accuracy and efficiency, which in a workplace environment translates to higher performance and productivity.
 
Industrial LED Lighting Puts You Ahead of the Standards
 
While regulatory mandates that force industrial manufacturers to improve the way they do business may initially seem like problems to productivity and profitability, the fact is that switching to more sustainable, high-efficiency LED industrial lighting has far more benefits than just meeting a mandate. The lower energy and maintenance costs, improved plant safety and efficiency can drive real bottom-line benefits that contribute directly to operational advantages, while also insulating any company against the shifting winds of political policy.
 
This article is originally posted on tronserve.com