Over 90 percent savings on lighting costs–unbelievable?

When I talk to people about saving over 90 percent on industrial lighting applications, I get a stare of scepticism, and expressions of disbelief. I have learned to anticipate this because it opens up the opportunity to show how it can be done today with intelligent lighting.

Zuellig Pharma has done it. Zuellig is the country’s leading healthcare and pharmaceutical distributor. Its National Distribution Center (NDC) in Cabuyao, Laguna, recently upgraded to an intelligent lighting system under the supervision of Zuellig’s Vice President for Distribution Ashley Antonio, and NDC Operations Director Danny Cabrera. The upgrade doubled the light levels in the facility while enabling a potential improvement of 94 percent in lighting costs.

Splash Corporation has done it. Splash is a formidable player in the personal care industry with brands like Skinwhite, Maxipeel, Vitress, Kolours, Extraderm and Biolink, among others. As early as 2012, Splash upgraded its lighting at its warehouse facility in Canumay, Valenzuela in line with its energy conservation initiatives. This upgrade improved light levels while saving Splash 94 percent on lighting costs.

Koldstor Centre Philippines has done it. Koldstor is a recognized leader in the cold chain logistics industry. Koldstor upgraded to an intelligent lighting system at its cold storage facilities in Imus, Cavite, spearheaded by Koldstor President Anthony Dizon, and Engineering Head Andy Ochoa. With the implementation, Koldstor has achieved over 92 percent savings, has increased illumination, and has boasted of a lighting system that is void of toxic Mercury and hazardous breakable glass parts. Anthony Dizon is the president of the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP).

The keys to achieving such significant results with lighting upgrades are Integrated Intelligence and Wireless Control.

Integrated intelligence. By building into each lighting fixture motion and daylight sensors, consumption and occupancy loggers, and microprocessors (“little computers”) that control lighting behavior, lighting fixtures can efficiently deliver the required light when and where it is needed. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Wireless control. By incorporating wireless communication and software into the lighting system, users can group lights by zones, configure them quickly and easily, optimize dimming intensities and sensor time delays, to deliver demand-driven lighting.

Integrated intelligence and wireless controls are only truly possible with LEDs as the light source. It is imperative that one works with LEDs of uncompromising quality, with recognized industry certifications for quality and useful life (UL, CE, DesignLights Consortium, FCC, IENSA LM-80, etc.).

The road toward a successful, energy-efficient, lighting upgrade is fraught with “LED failures.” Allow me to share some best practices for industrial lighting applications.

1. Use LED luminaires that will not degrade by over 30 percent after 100,000 running hours (24 x 7 for approximately 10 years). Check the product’s IESNA compliant LM-80 report, the gold standard for measuring LED useful life.

2. Use the appropriate optics. LED light is directional. The correct optic lens will provide the required light dispersion. Narrow optics is suited for aisles, while wide optics is suited for open spaces.

3. Use one integrated sensor per luminaire. Wiring a single motion sensor to a row of luminaires will cause significantly higher consumption versus a “one sensor per luminaire” set-up. Additionally, choose luminaires that have integrated sensors versus those that require wiring external sensors. These external wirings can void quality certifications and warranties. It is also a major headache to maintain a lighting system with parts from different manufacturers, more so when the lights are mounted 12 meters above ground in a 24 x 7 facility.

4. Use sensors specifically designed for rugged industrial applications. Stay away from general use motion sensors. Aside from being designed only for low residential ceilings, general use sensors have a short detection range, poor sensitivity, and cannot handle harsh hot or cold temperatures in industrial environments.

5. Use flexible lighting controls. The lighting system should be capable of adjusting to detailed level dimming intensities and sensor time delays for optimal efficiency.

6. Evaluate both an outright purchase and a “no cash-out, shared savings” scheme for the lighting upgrade project.

Intelligent lighting is breakthrough innovation, and brings significant business benefits when professionally implemented. The unprecedented metrics of 2-3 year paybacks, and over 90 percent savings from real world cases tell us that intelligent lighting has earned a spot in the operational efficiency agenda of industry.

(The article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or MAP. The author is president of Synerbyte Limited, a provider of energy efficiency solutions. Feedback at <[email protected]> and <[email protected]>.  For previous articles, please visit <map.org.ph>)