Questions and Answers for Successful Lighting System Upgradestest

By Dave Lubach, Associate Editor

January 2015

Which technology is more appropriate for a particular institutional or commercial facility, LEDs or fluorescents? What are the benefits of installing wireless lighting systems? What kind of energy savings can an upgrade deliver?

Such questions are among the most common that manufacturers hear from maintenance and engineering managers involved in planning a lighting project. If managers are not thorough in gathering information for upgrades, they can overlook important questions that might significantly affect the project's success and impact on the bottom line. So we asked manufacturers of lighting products to identify key questions managers should ask before undertaking an upgrade.

Technology Spotlight

With a vast number of options on the market, it is essential that managers learn all they can about the best available options to them. As the trendiest, technology in lighting, LED fixtures dominate much of the conversation. So it is no surprise manufacturers receive many questions about LEDs.

Do LEDs make sense for my facility?

"LED is the buzzword in the industry, and everybody wants it everywhere," says Todd Smith with Osram Sylvania. "But the truth is, there are places where LED excels and it's a good lighting value and financial value. And there are places where there are still excellent, traditional lighting options that are as good, if not better than, LED and financially make more sense.

"It's important to look at if we are putting the right technologies in the right places. On exterior parts of facilities, LED tends to make great sense, where you're talking about existing 400-watt metal halide, very high-load type fixtures."

Are you affiliated with any particular technology or product line?

"When looking at a solution provider, make sure you go to a place that has the ability to offer you everything that's out there and the best in each particular application you have, regardless of whether it's a wired or wireless technology, or an LED or traditional light source, or whether it's made by manufacturer X or manufacturer Y," Smith says. "As an end user, you should expect to get the best the market has to offer for your facility."