The main concern for warehouses today is to be more energy efficient. This includes installing LED lights that are automatic on and off and eliminating the time you wait around for traditional bulbs to warm up. Installing LED lights in warehouses also decreases dark areas and corners, and keeps employees alert and productive. Yet, today’s LED lights are only the beginning in a wave of innovation to come. Be on the lookout for these five LED innovations that could forever improve your warehouse’s efficiency!
1. Improvements in Lumen Efficiency
LEDs are popular for their increased lumen performance in comparison to traditional bulbs. Yet LEDs are expected to continuing making strides in this area. We have already seen lights exceeding 200 lumens per watt, but the number of lumens per watt is expected to keep growing in the next few years. This increase in lumens per watt will mean a brighter more efficient light using less watts overall.
2. Simple and Standardized Products
LEDs are still more expensive than incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, but the prices have significantly dropped. LEDs are now a tough competitor, both efficiency and price wise, for traditional bulbs. A lot of this is due to a simplification of LED products. Moving forward, LED manufacturers are looking to create even simpler, less expensive lighting options.
We also expect to see a standardization of LED products in the future. At the moment, LED design is varied and widespread. Some companies use metal heat sinks, others use plastic fans. With the standardization of LEDs in the near future, this will allow manufacturers to create and deliver LED products at a much quicker pace, as opposed to creating different LED elements for different LED suppliers.
3. Color Customization
As LED lights continue to improve in efficiency, manufacturers are able to finely-tune LED color temperatures, color rendering, light fixture reflectors and more. This LED innovation creates a better visual clarity which can then be customized for different applications, from retail to warehouse lighting.
4. Controls and Monitoring Innovations
Dimmers and sensors for LED lights are more limited than for traditional lighting today. Yet, this issue will be bettered in the coming years, and hopefully be able to be integrated into a warehouse’s existing building maintenance and automation programs. Motion sensors will decrease energy usage, while more advanced sensors could detect traffic patterns to spot bottlenecks and even keep track of inventory with 3D volume sensors to estimate how much product is still on the warehouse shelves. These advanced and innovative sensors not only help with energy efficiency but offer up important and vital business intelligence.
5. Communication
Today you can find LED lights that are wifi enabled and can be controlled from your cellphone. This wifi capability opens up the door to other communication and control opportunities in warehouses. With power and wifi enabled at every light, it is easier to install security cameras throughout the warehouse to track traffic and productivity. The wifi enabled lights can also help eliminate dead zones in a warehouse and be used as a data port to send and receive information.
To learn more about where to find LED lights for your warehouse, contact us today! We’ve got you covered! To stay up-to-date on LED innovations, stay-tuned for next week’s blog post!
Posted in LED Products and Innovations