We have written before about the problems that poor lighting in the workplace can cause to you and your employees. Good lighting is key to your company’s success affecting many areas from productivity to safety and happiness. If you are considering ways of solving a lighting problem in your workplace you could generally go two ways:
- Call in an electric contractor to change some faulty light bulbs and carry out cosmetic repairs
- Consider a more comprehensive solution through expert lighting design.
We would recommend that you investigate both options before you decide. In our experience changing a few light bulbs will not solve the problem and will amount to a cost, be it lower in the short term, that will in the long-term amount to additional cost. If you are looking at lighting design, LED lights is a popular solution, here are a few reasons why:
- Energy efficient: LED lights are 80% more efficient than other traditional lighting including fluorescent and incandescent lights. 95% of the energy in LEDs is converted into light and only 5% is wasted as heat. This is compared to fluorescent lights which convert 95% of energy to heat and only 5% into light!
- Less toxic: LED lights contain no toxic elements. Most offices currently use fluorescent strip lights which contain toxic chemicals such as mercury. This can be harmful to the environment when disposed of in landfill waste.
- Less Lights needed: LEDs provide better light distribution and focus light in one direction as opposed to other types of lighting which waste energy by emitting light in all directions including areas where light isn’t required. This means that less LED lights are required to achieve the same level of brightness.
- Longer Life Span: Longer life span means lower carbon emissions. LED Lights last up to six times longer than other types of lights, reducing the requirement for frequent replacements. This means that overall usage is lower resulting in fewer resources allocated to the manufacturing processes, packaging materials and transportation.
These advantages illustrate that installing LED lights is better for the environment as well as reduce lighting costs by 60-70%. While some argue the higher initial cost of LED bulbs isn’t worth the cost savings in reduced energy use, time and again studies have illustrated the return on investment is recovered quickly (most business see a return on their investment within two year).
In fact, the case for LED lights is so compelling that the CARBON TRUST offers up to 15% off the cost as a GRANT to encourage businesses to purchase and use them.
LED Lights 4 You are accredited with the Carbon Trust and can therefore offer you the opportunity to apply for up to £5,000 from the Green Business Grants programme.
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