An In-depth Look at Flood Lighting

What is Commercial Outdoor LED Flood Lighting?

Commercial outdoor LED flood light is the most common term for outdoor lighting designed for a variety of outdoor spaces. This form of exterior lighting is most typically mounted on poles or buildings with the primary purpose of providing directional illumination for vehicles, pedestrians, building wall washing, as well as for illuminating large spaces like sports fields and parks. It is not unusual to see different fixtures with various mountings on a single pole.

Some of the most commonly used non-LED commercial outdoor flood light applications utilized today are Metal Halide, High-Pressure Sodium, and Mercury Vapor Lamps, which are all forms of High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps. Below are a few visual examples of non-LED commercial outdoor flood lighting applications.

Common Issues in Non-LED Commercial Outdoor Flood Lighting

The three most common forms of flood lighting are Metal Halide, High-Pressure Sodium, and Mercury Vapor Lamps, all of which have shared common issues.

Energy Cost

Common HID lamps used in Commercial outdoor flood lighting applications have a typical range of 100 watts to 1000 watts. With the higher wattage producing higher light output. There are several factors that play a role in the number of wattages that are utilized. Such as quantity, spacing, mounted height. A 400w or 1000w HID fixture can cost up between $220 and $550 to operate per lamp/year in electricity costs alone.

Lighting Performance

Depending upon the type of HID lamp being utilized in your facility, you could be seeing vastly different performance characteristics. For example, if your facility is utilizing High-Pressure Sodium, you could be seeing a longer useful life then some of the other forms of HID due to slower lumen degradation. But they can produce an Orange light with very low Color Rendering Index, due to their fuel structure.  Or in this example, the illumination produced by operating Metal Halide lamps will initially provide a white light. But with the accelerated lumen degradation common to Metal Halide lamps the overall lifetime of your lamps will decrease and produce a pink illumination that barely provides light. The end result of any HID lamp is a quick path to low lighting performance.

Maintenance Costs

When it comes to commercial outdoor flood lighting, maintenance costs are high on the list of concerns. Not only do you have to worry about the lamp’s lifetime, but these fixtures also require the use of a bucket truck or lift to change out the lamps and ballasts.  If your organization does not have its own bucket truck or lift, you are forced to hire an outside contractor to maintain the floodlighting in your facility. These expenses add up fast. Over the course of 3 years, you could be looking at $1,200 in labor and materials to maintain a flood light fixture.

The Benefits of a Flood Lighting LED Retrofit

There are substantial benefits to performing a flood lighting LED retrofit. Light Emitting Diodes or LED’s generate light utilizing a semiconductor. They do not rely on the consumption of a fuel source like an HID lamp. Most LED fixtures utilize multi-point sources. Which means the fixtures have multiple diodes with individual optics. When compared to the way HID fixtures distribute light, the results in illumination is more evenly distributed across a surface. With this in mind, let’s look at the three most common benefits of an LED Retrofit.

Energy Savings

Commercial outdoor LED flood lighting commonly utilize wattages between 40 – 600 watts. Which often result in a 40%-60% reduction in energy consumption. This could mean savings of up to $300 per fixture, per year in electricity costs.

For more on an LED’s energy savings, check out the section on Energy Savings on our LED Education Page.

Lighting Performance

When retrofitting your floodlights to LED, you will see a bright evenly distributed light pattern, as a result of an LED fixture multi-point design. You will see less variance in illumination across a given area eliminating the common bright spot produced by HID fixtures. In addition to your evenly displaced illumination, LED’s come in a variety of color temperatures. Thus providing a range of options in increasing the visual perception of brightness.

For more on an LED’s lighting performance, check out the section on Lighting Performance on our LED Education Page.

Maintenance Savings

You will see a much longer lifespan in your LED’s due to the way LED’s generate light. An LED generated light output will degrade very slowly over time. As a result, a floodlight LED retrofit’s functional lifespan can often exceed 100,000 hours. The LED’s lifespan drastically reduces the costs associated with maintaining your floodlighting.

For more on an LED’s lifespan, check out our blog, Understanding LED Lifespan.

More LED Lighting Resources to Explore

LED Retrofit Education

When narrowing down the best solution for your organization, you will find it to be a challenging endeavor. Because of the thousands of lighting options available in the LED Industry, not all of them offer the same results. With this in mind, we have created an in-depth look at LED retrofits that covers things like;

• What is a turn-key commercial LED retrofit?
• Examples of commercial LED retrofit goals.
• LED lighting Performance
• Commercial applications
• LED energy savings
• LED maintenance Savings
• And so much more!

Read more about LED retrofits here!

LED Flood Lights – A Look at Commercial Applications

Using LED flood lights come with multiple advantages. The energy-efficient lamps are a cost-effective way to illuminate indoor and outside commercial spaces. An LED floodlight has a broad beam angle. It can light up large dark spaces, giving the illusion of daylight.

In this article, we will look at how flood lights increase safety in darker areas like warehouses and parking lots. LED floodlights are versatile, and property owners can use the fixtures in a variety of commercial applications.

Read the full article here!

A Critical Guide to Setting Criteria Goals for your LED Project

Narrowing down the best LED solution for your organization can be a challenge. The LED Industry has thousands of lighting options, and not all of them offer the same results. Without knowing product specifics, you might select an LED lamp that provides optimal performance but does nothing for energy efficacy. That is why prioritizing your LED goals should be your first step in any LED Retrofit project. 

In this e-book, you’ll find the three criteria goals for any LED project as well as examples of performance, maintenance, and energy saving product selections.

Download the free eBook Here!

Determining Next Steps in an Flood Lighting LED Retrofit

You have weighed the pros and cons of a flood lighting LED retrofit. The LED is the clear winner. So, now the big question is, what are the next steps in the process? We have a few considerations for you to review.

Have You Considered an LED Partner?

Consider partnering with a commercial lighting service provider. They should supply a regional, national, and multi-unit LED lighting and electrical project management program. Review these items when vetting a national LED lighting, electrical, and signage service provider.

• • • • • Available Resources
        • Available Personnel
        • Reporting Capabilities
        • Data Capturing for lighting and signage components
        • Lighting Recommendations
        • Product Neutral

Interested in Learning More About an LED Retrofit for Flood Lighting?

The first step in any commercial outdoor LED flood light project should be to contact a lighting solutions provider or lighting company. Make sure they are manufacturer and product-neutral. With neutrality comes a higher focus on your needs. As opposed to the desire or limitation of selling a specific product.

A LED Retrofit provider should ask you about your project.

• What are your desired results?
• Are you looking at budget or project completion constraints?
• Do you have an energy reduction target?
• Are there lighting performance specifics needed to be taken into consideration?

At Action Services Group, our business model is designed to offer you the maximum ROI. While taking your lighting performance, maintenance cost, and energy efficiency into consideration. No solution or product is ever a one size fits all. We understand the need to customize solutions to meet the organization.

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