Posts Tagged ‘Commercial’

Commercial Fluorescent Lighting

For any business owner, you will need to light your workplace, but you do not want to have to pay the high costs of electric bills that can accompany the use of traditional incandescent light bulbs. One of the most cost effective methods of saving energy is to use commercial fluorescent lighting. Unlike incandescent, fluorescent lights use less energy, but they put out an equivalent amount of light. The electricity that they do use is not wasted in the production of heat as can be seen with other bulbs such as halogens or incandescent. By keeping your place of business lit without generating excess heat, which can lead to higher cooling costs, the use of commercial fluorescent lights will help to keep your bottom line down.

There might be some misconceptions which could steer you away from choosing fluorescent lights. Among these are issues that were frequently seen in older generation lights. Twenty to thirty years ago, having fluorescent lights meant having to deal with several problems. While commercial fluorescent lighting then was the most energy efficient of lights, it was still very poor in color rendering. In fact, women in the 1980s were instructed to wear more red tones in their makeup than usual if they worked under fluorescent lights all day since the yellowish coloring of the light would make them look washed out otherwise. This coloring was due to the mixture of gases used in the bulbs. This formulation has been changed, so that now, even with commercial fluorescent lights, you can have bright, white light. Another problem with fluorescents of the past was their flickering. This is due to the way that these lights illuminate. In order to turn on, a fluorescent light excites the electrons of the gases inside the tube. These then light up. The amount of power going into the lamp is controlled by a ballast. In the past, the power would drop down to zero during operation causing a flicker and or hum. Modern bulbs have electronic high frequency ballasts which more evenly regulate the power, thus ridding the light of its flickering and humming.

When you are looking for commercial fluorescent lighting, you need lights that are quick and easy to install, as well as offer ready access for bulb and ballast changes and repairs. This is true of all lighting for commercial applications whether it is for indoor or outdoor use. Keep in mind, that if you are in an area prone to freezing temperatures, you might need another type of light for your outdoor illumination since fluorescent lights do not operate well in very cold conditions. The type of fixture you choose will determine the ease of installation and access for future repairs. There are many commercial fluorescent lighting fixtures which do not require removal of the fixture itself in order to replace the bulbs or ballasts. The ballasts for the lights are very important as well. Look for high frequency electronic ballasts if you wish to avoid humming and flickering which can lead to increased fatigue and eyestrain for those working under such conditions.

If you are ever unclear about what type of commercial fluorescent lights you need or how to install them, ask an expert’s advice. There are many sources where you can get the right amount of guidance to help you choose and install your project on your own.

Commercial Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures

Before we look at the many benefits offered by commercial fluorescent light fixtures, we need to briefly revisit a few of the many problems our clients frequently encounter with incandescent lights. The first and most painful of these problems for any size or type of business is high costs. Every organization accepts the necessary evil of overhead-provided that spending money on overhead means generating higher profits down the line. However, using energy inefficient equipment that could easily and affordably be replaced by better technology amounts to throwing profits into an incandescent fire. The commercial fluorescent lights lower electric bills across the board with improved, energy efficient, technology that makes them ideal for lighting any factory, warehouse, or office. Because they also emit less heat than incandescent, they help maintain cooler temperatures in offices and production areas. Extremely bright incandescent can also produce glare that hurts the eyes and in some instances creates safety hazards. The fluorescent light fixture technology is designed for glare free comfort, optimal safety, and longer lamp life that require fewer bulb replacements.

A number of key technological features make it possible for the commercial fluorescent light fixtures to function as luminary solutions to every challenge of power and light. Our commercial lighting fluorescents come designed with special energy saving ballasts that are manufactured with federal energy efficient standards foremost in mind. These ballasts are housed within the fixtures and control current to the fluorescent bulbs themselves. Ballasts also offer the additional benefit of regulating electron flow in such as way as to eliminate the stereotypical flickering of previous fluorescent lights or inferior generic equivalents. The commercial grade fluorescent light fixtures represent the highest level of equipment engineering and manufacturing quality available in our industry. All models are UL/CUL listed as well to ensure value to both U.S. and Canadian business owners. Because we do business as well in many humidity prone regions such as the American Gulf Coast, we carry a number of commercial fluorescent light fixtures that have been specifically developed for long lamp life in damp regions-regions where incandescent may sometimes short when the humidity levels peak. We also make it a point to supply our clients with commercial fluorescent lighting fixtures that manufactured with baked, white enamel finishes and polyester powder coatings that minimize radiant heat. We even have certain high-end models that provide additional fixture protection with rust inhibitors that protect metal parts from oxidation, and low brightness/extruded acrylic refractors that eliminate glare in critical work areas.

The new generation of commercial fluorescent lights has evolved far beyond the stereotypical complaint generators of the cheap office panel overheads of the 70’s and 80’s. Today’s commercial fluorescent lights have eliminated the two major sources of nuisance that past models created: the infamous “yellowish tint to everything” and the “flicker that gives office workers headaches.” New ballast technology, better phosphor coatings on bulb interiors, and superior gas mixtures on the inside of the bulbs now produce cool, consistent, comfortable white light. The leap forward in technology has made it possible to customize commercial lighting fixtures for virtually any indoor or outdoor lighting need, making it now possible for businesses to replace incandescent unilaterally with an entirely new, cost-effective equipment purchase that begins to accrue ongoing return on investment the moment operations flips the switch to begin new, power saving production of better light. This last point is an extremely important point to consider from another perspective. The State Government of California recently passed legislation mandating replacement of all incandescent lighting no later than the year 2010. Any business located in either Northern or Southern California should strongly consider replacing all incandescent now with commercial fluorescent lighting fixtures now. Waiting until the last minute could result in a lemming-like stampede equivalent to procurement department suicide as everyone tries to order at the last minute in December 2009.