The Key Benefits Of Conducting a Lighting Survey For Your Business
Imagine saving thousands of pounds on your operational costs.
Imagine having healthier and more productive staff.
And future-proofing your building with fewer maintenance costs.
You might be interested right?
Ok, but where’s the catch I hear you say?
Well, there is no catch.
There IS a cost but it’s probably far less than you think.
This is the first in a series of articles that will show you step by step how you can easily achieve these benefits and more.
The easiest route to achieving all these benefits is to look at the lighting in your building.
This article will explain why you should do this.
This is the first in a series of articles on lighting.
We will cover the whole process from how to perform a lighting survey to completing a project successfully.
Over the next few newsletters you can learn :
- Why you should consider changing your lighting ( this article!)
- How to conduct a lighting survey – what to look for.
- How to calculate your current lighting costs.
- How to organise quotations from suppliers and installers
- What to look for in comparing suppliers and installers
- How to get the best value for your money
- Funding Options for your project
- How to manage your project – Dos and Don’ts
- How to ensure your lighting is tested, commissioned, optimised with a proper handover.
But first, let’s look at WHY you should consider this.
In this article, we cover the compelling reasons why you should look at conducting a lighting survey for your business and the benefits you will enjoy.
Let’s start with the most obvious motive.
Operational & Energy Cost Savings
You can save a minimum of 50% of your lighting costs by switching to LED lighting.
Depending on your current lighting, this figure could be as much as 80%!
This does NOT include savings that can be made using lighting controls.
Good quality LED lighting can come with 5-year guarantees with a lifetime of 50,000 hours.
Try to find a fluorescent tube that comes anywhere near this!
A recent project revealed savings of over £7000 for a supplier to the building trade.
He stated that he would need to increase sales by £35000 to make this amount back in profit.
He gets these savings every year.
All businesses want to increase profits and save on costs so lighting is an easy way to assist with this.
The cost of doing nothing is huge. In the above example doing NOTHING would mean missing out on £70,000 of savings over 10 years.
Conducting your lighting survey also enables you to ……
Understand Your Current Lighting
- Nothing beats being armed with the facts.
- Knowledge is power.
- It enables you to make better decisions.
- It also means you can cut through spurious energy-saving ‘claims’ made by salespeople and advertising.
- You will know exactly what your current lighting consists of and how it works.
- You will be able to know the important details below:
You will know the following information:
- Whether you have ‘switch- start lighting’ or ‘HF’ ( high frequency)
- If you have T8 T12 or T5 lighting and the wattage they are rated at ( how much power they use)
- You can check emergency lighting and ensure compliance.
- Discover whether you have any lighting controls and if not where this would be beneficial.
- Spot malfunctioning or non-functional lighting.
- Estimate repair or maintenance costs.
- Know how much your current lighting costs to run.
- Areas of your building where aesthetics can be improved.
- Get feedback from staff at their workspace regarding comfort levels or problems they have.
In short, you will be 90% ahead of most people before you head out to deal with prospective suppliers and installers.
So at this point, you now have an idea of the cost savings you can make and have a sound knowledge of your current lighting.
But what about benefits for staff and their productivity?
Better Health For Staff & Better Productivity
Imagine this.
You have just returned from lunch, you did not sleep too well last night and have had a busy day.
Suddenly you are hit with overwhelming drowsiness and lethargy.
Sound familiar?
Poor lighting makes this feeling worse!
It is known as the ‘cave effect’ where pools of light and shade alternate on walls, ceilings, and floors.
Research has shown that lighting with the correct colour temperature can enhance concentration, feelings of alertness, and well-being.
There is considerable research that has been conducted in schools to support this
Conversely, poor lighting ( think flickering fluorescents) has been known to cause headaches, eye strain, and even migraines particularly for staff at computer screens.
The following quotation from ‘Very Well Health’ nails this point perfectly below:
‘Three main types of office light are common migraine triggers: The glow of a computer screen, the glare from overhead incandescent lighting, and the flicker from fluorescent lighting. Separately or (worse) combined, these office lighting issues can trigger and worsen migraines. Ironically, you may end up staying at the office longer as you try to catch up for low productivity due to your migraines.’
The energy savings benefits from LED lighting are well known.
Less well-known are the savings from decreased maintenance costs.
Savings From Fewer Maintenance Costs.
We recently completed a lighting project for a food manufacturer. The main driver for their project was the huge cost of maintaining their old high bay lighting. (you can view the case study here)
If your business operates high bay lighting, the maintenance costs can be considerable over 10 years.
The costs are not just for purchasing new lamps or spare parts but often the cost of lifting equipment and labour costs etc.
The costs can add up over time and include the following;
- new lamps fixtures and fittings
- spare parts ( some spares are now becoming obsolete for older fluorescent type fittings)
- disruption to operations and the cost this incurs.
- often several light fittings are ‘allowed to degrade and fail ‘ before it is deemed ‘economical’ to replace them.
- failure to maintain emergency lighting is particularly serious.
- lost time and resources in organising outside contractors to perform the work.
There are other less obvious benefits to be gained from performing a lighting survey.
Additional Benefits
Better Aesthetics
- Workspace areas, breakout areas, meeting rooms, and boardrooms can all look dull, drab, and uninspiring places.
- Good lighting design can utterly transform a depressing space into a bright hub where people create better ideas, become more productive, and feel better.
- LED lighting controls and dimming functions can make a simple meeting room become a multiple-function space.
- It can create a great impression for visitors and makes for an interesting talking point.
Better CSR Credentials & Compliance
Energy-efficient lighting proves you demonstrate a clear commitment to running a greener business and reducing energy use.
You can reference your project on your business blog or news sites on your website.
You will become more compliant ( this can be important depending on what industry you operate in).
Compliance Benefits
- Better comfort levels for staff – looking after their welfare
- Lighting levels to suit the task at hand – whether working at a screen, operating dangerous machinery, or operating a forklift truck?
- You can include emergency lighting checking against building regulations and make it easy to carry out emergency lighting checks
- Include external lighting for security and safety
- You can even use lighting controls to make lone working safer.
What’s Next?
Today we have looked at the great benefits new lighting might bring for your business.
- substantial savings
- healthier more productive staff
- better compliance
- fewer maintenance costs
- better office environment and aesthetics
So what are the next steps?
Next month’s article will take you step by step on how to prepare for your lighting survey.
We will look at how to identify different types of lighting and how easy it is to conduct your survey.
If you would like to see a lighting case study click here
