Shedding Some Light on Our LED Upgrade

Shedding Some Light on Our LED Upgrade

Precision Plus has steadily been making progress on the upgrade to the new LED light fixtures. Between his many other duties, Facilities Manager Neil Fleischhacker has been working on the installation. As of last week, he had installed 24 new LED fixtures and removed 46 metal halide and eight fluorescent fixtures.

As these new fixtures have been installed, the improving light quality is already noticeable. What was once a warm, yellow light is changing to a bright, white light, much more suitable for our team to provide solutions and produce precision parts for our customers.

The original layout had consisted of 80 lights being placed every 20 feet, but this created more defined shadows, which in turn, causes eye strain. These areas need to be supplemented with smaller fixtures, which is determined by light meter readings, as well as input from the team members working in those areas. Every area needs to be looked at individually to gauge the proper installation needed. The five production facility areas being transformed are:

Secondary Department:  This area experienced previous readings of 75 to 80 foot candles (fc), and it now has readings of 95 to 110fc after the completed upgrade.

Tsugami Automatics Platform:  This area currently has readings of 60 to 80fc with target of 95fc after upgrade.

Miyano Platform:   This area experienced previous readings of 55 to 60fc now has readings of 90 to 95fc after the completed upgrade.

Tornos Cams Platform:   This area currently has a reading 65 to 75fc with a target of 95fc after upgrade.

Material Handling, Storage, and Shipping & Receiving Areas:  These areas currently have a reading of 40 to 45fc with a target of 95fc after upgrade.

Choosing light bulbs and light fixtures isn’t what it used to be, and our team spent almost two years researching and testing different solutions. While one used to buy a light bulb based on the wattage or brightness needed, things have changed. The package a light bulb comes in has a chart that looks a lot like the nutrition labels you see on food packages. Instead of calories and fat grams, the “Lighting Facts” give the brightness in terms of lumens, the light appearance, the life span of the bulb, and the estimated yearly energy cost. The wattage, or energy used, is still there. By using new LED fixtures and bulbs, we now know how to use a lot less energy to achieve the right amount and right color temperature or degrees of Kelvin. While a warm light with a color temperature of 2700K creates a cozy feeling for your living room, a cooler and brighter color temperature is much more valued for performing tasks.

By using more efficient fixtures and bulbs, we have calculated an estimated annual savings of about $9395, compared to using the current metal halide lighting. When we figure in the fixtures where we are also using occupancy sensors, we will save an additional $2000 annually. These fixtures can also be dimmed up to 90%, as well as switched separately, so that not all lights need to be on at the same time.

By combining new technology, proper lighting layouts, and the right type of switching and dimming, we have learned how to use a lot less energy when it comes to lighting, which in turns, saves money. This has been a project well worth the time we took to research. The goal for the new LED lighting project to be complete is December 1^st.