LED Lighting Saves Money

Article submited by Sean Lathrop from MyLEDLightingGuide.com

Light is an integral part of the business strategy of successful retail stores. Light is
needed to provide the right mood for shopping, highlight items the store wants to sell,
illuminate display cases and to create a unique identity in the shoppers mind.

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” Aaron Rose – photographer

Lighting electricity bills are an important component of a retail store’s cost structure. US
Department of energy estimates that lighting bills make for 42 % of the electricity bills of
US retailers.

According to the DOE Energy Information Administration, United States has close to 10
billion square feet of retail space. 90 Billion KWH of electricity is used every year by
these mercantile establishments. Of this, over 37 billion KWH is spent on lighting alone.
LED lights are revolutionizing the cost structure of retailing and are creating new
paradigms in competitiveness.

Cost savings with LED Lighting

Starbucks has long been the source of next generation retailing strategies. Starbucks
realized the importance of lower operating expenses. In a strategic initiative Starbucks
has ensured that it will benefit from much lower utility and maintenance bills by shifting
to LED lights. Starbucks has changed 1000 US stores to this energy efficient
technology. It plans to switch 8000 stores globally to LED luminaries. The lower
environmental impact of Starbucks stores besides significant cost savings and
efficiencies made LED's a compelling proposition for this retailing giant. After all there
are few cost cutting measures that can deliver more than 80% return on capital
employed.

If the Starbucks example is anything to go by, retail stores can expect a 7 to 10%
reduction in energy bills. A Philadelphia based 8000 square feet retail store that
invested in LED lighting technology reported savings of $660.44 per month in electricity
bills. These results are delightful but hardly surprising given that a 9 watt light can
replace an 18 watt CFL or a 65 watt incandescent bulb. In per square foot terms annual
savings will work out to around 7 KWh per square foot per annum or $ 0.7 per square
foot (at $.10 per KWH). For a 10,000 square foot retail store energy savings could thus
be close to $7000 per annum. For the 37 billion square feet of retail space that United
States has this will work out to a whopping 26 billion dollars.

LED bulbs can help a store cut down on its lighting and air-conditioning costs and help
reduce the carbon footprints of the store. They make a great investment because for
every dollar invested in these cost saving lights, $10 or more can be saved over the life
span of the bulb! These savings come from significant reductions in energy bills, air
conditioning costs, replacement costs and maintenance. Calculations show that each
par 65 bulb can potentially save $30 every year.


Light Quality and Customer Satisfaction

Light quality is vital for a retail store. Good quality light ensures that products are seen
in their actual colors. Richard Kelly an architect and lighting designer, holds that “…
Visual truth lies in the structure of light.”

Light from poor quality luminaries is deficient in some portions of the light spectrum and
does not reproduce colors faithfully. Most shoppers have 'warm' lights in their homes. It
is therefore best if the lighting in a retail store simulated the conditions under which they
will see and use the product in their homes. Incandescent warm lights are inefficient, but
with LED lighting that is indistinguishable from incandescent light retail stores have a
friend that will not only reduce customer dissatisfaction but will also help save on
electricity bills.

Point of Purchase Displays

LED point of purchase displays are cool to touch, use a tenth of the energy of
incandescent and last almost indefinitely (approximately 30,000 hours). These are all
valuable characteristics of a light bulb for a point of purchase display. They do not emit
any UV light and help safeguard against any potential product damage resulting from
exposure to UV light.

Accent Lighting

Accent lighting has long been a stronghold of halogen lamps – Not for long tough.
Accent lights are important as they let stores highlight merchandise even in a high
illumination setting as is common in departmental stores. Scientists at the lighting
research center of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have demonstrated that LED
lighting coupled with 30% energy reduction in Accent lighting had a positive impact on
customer perception of displays on several parameters.

Another advantage is that they are not as big as some compact fluorescent lamps and
are easy to use either as retrofits or as new light fittings. These lights are also suited to
custom lighting design projects that can give any store a one in a million look.

Want to Start Small?

Some business owners are cautious and like to take one step at a time. For retail store
managers who would like to see the light quality and savings with their own eyes there
are ways to achieve the both aims. Why not replace a few bulbs to begin with? You
could even start at your home. Bulbs in the stair corridors are prime candidates for
installing LED light bulbs. These are kept switched on 24 hours a day and cost savings
for these lights are 3 times as much as those for other lights. Open areas like the lobby
require much higher light levels – after all there are no walls to reflect light. These are
also prime candidates for starting an LED Energy Efficiency Program. Retail stores that
are large open spaces similar to lobbies will show similarly gains in efficiency over other
lighting technologies.

LED bulbs help to significantly improve the store’s bottom lines. Operational
effectiveness is mandatory and precedes strategies. They are rapidly becoming an
integral part of the operational and marketing strategies of retail stores. These energy
efficient and environment friendly lights can give any store the edge in terms of both
costs and better store image that can set it miles ahead of its competitors. In this era of
strong competition, environment consciousness and green business strategies it is only
a matter of time before every single retail store will have to shift to energy efficient LED
lighting solutions. When it comes to adopting this energy efficient technology the
question is not 'Why' but 'When'.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN SAVE MONEY USING LED LIGHTING CONTACT: 

Sean Lathrop

Business Development
Lumenor Energy Services, LLC
110 East Broward Boulevard, Suite 1700 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Office: 201-301-2757 Cell: 845-216-0460 Fax: 801-708-0809
Email: slathrop@lumenorenergy.com
Toll Free: 855-LUMENOR
www.LumenorEnergy.com