3 Industries that Should Consider Outdoor LED Lighting & 3 Reasons Why

A cursory search on the internet will quickly reveal that LED lighting technology is fast becoming more popular - and for good reason, too. Whether you’re looking to change bulbs in your home, or completely retrofit the exterior and interior lighting of a large office building, exterior LED lighting is likely the most appropriate lighting solution.

An LED retrofit is particularly suited to three types of organization: educational facilities, municipalities, and real estate organizations. Let’s examine why each vertical is a good candidate for exterior LED lighting, and then discuss the universal benefits of LED lighting.

LED Lighting for Schools Why schools and universities should consider LED exterior lighting on campus Educational facilities must balance tight budgets while providing a safe and efficient environment for their students and faculty. Retrofitting existing lighting structures with LED exterior lighting can be an important step in the right direction. Not only will outdoor LED lighting provide higher quality light, it is also a cost-effective solution that will pay off over time...but more on that later! For now, consider the following “Before” and “After” photos of projects that Stouch Lighting has recently completed for educational facilities.

In the first picture (before) the parking lot is lit by monochromatic low-pressure sodium discharge bulbs. This is the worst kind of bulb on the market for color rendering index (CRI) - evidenced by the fact that virtually everything appears yellow. Compare that to the second picture (after). Now the parking lot is lit by state-of-the-art LED bulbs. The difference is immediately noticeable: better color rendering, way better visibility in general, and a relative feeling of comfort/safety.

In addition to using outdoor LED lights for parking lots , schools and universities could also benefit from using LED building lights for exterior and interior applications. In the “Before” and “After” series above, look at the distinct differences in how well the pathway is lit - there are no dark spaces in the “After” photo, and more of the grass on either side is lit. Note also how illuminated the exterior of the building is. These changes can go a long way towards making students and faculty alike feel more safe on campus.

LED Lighting for Municipalities Outdoor LED lights, Case studies and Thoughts to Consider Municipalities and other administrative organizations are great candidates for LED retrofits. Like schools and universities, municipalities have a variety of interior and exterior lighting applications, but this article will focus solely on exterior LED lighting as an energy efficient lighting solution .

A major portion of responsibility for municipalities is street lighting, and Stouch Lighting has had great success completing LED retrofits in the past for townships. For example, Aston Township needed to improve the lighting quality in a particular part of town, especially after multiple residents had complained about the legacy lighting. Not only were we able to improve the quality of light by using outdoor LED lighting, the retrofit meant that the township had energy savings of 55%! Check out the case study to learn more about this particular project:

All the benefits of upgrading street lighting to LEDs - like better quality, better efficiency, and less maintenance - apply equally to public parking lots and other buildings for public use. If you represent a municipality, read below to learn more about how an LED retrofit can improve marks across the board for citizens.

Exterior LED Lighting for Real Estate Organizations Companies that own, operate, or manage real estate assets are always looking for ways to keep their facilities and properties as efficient as possible. An LED lighting retrofit not only helps improve sustainability, but positively affects your bottom line through a reduction in operating costs. Some of the most common applications for real estate organizations to consider are:

Parking lot lighting (click the video above for a quick clip showing results we got for a client) Wall pack and building lighting Canopy and walkway lighting Whether the space is used for outdoor malls, strip malls, storage facilities, multi-family housing units, or other applications, exterior LED lighting can have a big impact. At Stouch Lighting , we have completed multiple projects for large real estate organizations with excellent results. Here are some “Before” and “After” photos to consider:

Benefits of Outdoor LED Lighting What are the actual benefits of outdoor LED lighting for various industries? Outdoor LED lighting benefits include: energy efficiency , reduced maintenance , and improved lighting quality . Whether your organization is concerned with fiscal savings, better lighting, or another objective, exterior LED lighting is likely to address them. Let’s discuss each benefit in more depth.

Exterior LED lights are more energy efficient. Compared to legacy lighting, LEDs emit light directionally (only 180 degrees), meaning there is no wasted energy directing emissions towards the sky (or upwards) instead of the desired area being illuminated. The fixture that better directs its light emissions will have a higher measure for useful lumens . Because LEDs are directional they will surpass the efficiency of an equally capable omnidirectional (360 degree emitting) light of equal capability. Maintenance costs for outdoor LED lighting is an under-appreciated improvement. Maintenance expenses in the lighting world manifest themselves in three primary ways: cost of replacement lamps and fixtures, cost of labor to replace spent lamps or damaged fixtures, and warranty protection and duration. LEDs are a solid state technology that produce light without the need to burn a filament or excite a gas; accordingly, they last significantly longer than conventional lighting solutions. Most will burn for 50,000 to 100,000 hours or more without a significant decrease in light output. Imagine having to replace an incandescent light bulb 50 times before ever needing to replace an LED a single time! And then imagine doing that for an entire building! LED exterior lighting provides higher quality lighting performance. Light emitted from LEDs is likely to be much higher quality than traditional lighting solutions for two principal reasons. First, the way that objects are revealed when subject to LED emissions is very close to natural light. This means that objects will generally appear in color like you are used to seeing them during the day. Second, the amount of light that hits the target area is likely to be much more evenly distributed, reducing hot spots and glare. All said and done, the benefits of exterior LED lighting far surpass those of alternative lighting solutions. In particular, educational facilities, municipalities, and real estate organizations are well-suited for LED retrofits. To learn more about how Stouch Lighting can put our considerable experience to work for your organization , contact us today!

Our Lighting As A Service program uses state of the art LED lighting technology, radical process improvement, and new market approaches to provide our customers access to energy efficient products and services.

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