When commercial LED lighting first hit the marketplace over a decade ago, it took the industry by storm. Offering massive improvements over existing lighting technologies at the time, LED lights quickly became a staple in everything from commercial office space buildings to warehouses, industrial facilities and even municipal lighting. However, as time has passed these lights have shown their age, both in terms of lifespan as well as changes and improvements in current generation LED lighting tech. While some still hang onto their legacy LED lighting fixtures and bulbs, in many cases they benefit from upgrading the latest in what LED lighting technology has to offer.
Benefits of Upgrading
There are a number of reasons and tangible benefits of upgrading to current generation LED tech. The first and most obvious reason for upgrading has to do with the lifespan of the unit. Both integrated fixtures and replacement bulbs from the first generation of LED technology are now over a decade old and reaching the end of their useful life. While the decrease in lumen output and light quality isn’t as drastic as traditional lighting systems, it is noticeable at the very end of their life cycle. Many end users decide to upgrade to current generation tech for this reason, especially if units begin to fail on a regular basis.
Another reason for upgrading simply has to do with performance. For certain applications and end users, being up to date with the latest advancements in technology is important to ensure the best possible lighting performance. This is especially true for retail and consumer facing operations where aesthetics and higher quality illumination are critical. Newer LED chips are able to produce light with a higher CRI rating, resulting in more accurate rendering of colors and easier vision for employees, workers and customers. Oftentimes, upgrading to the newest LED lighting coincides with renovation work for these applications.
Another performance benefit that can justify upgrading is the improvement in efficiency. Older generation LED lights are both bulkier and less efficient than current offerings, taking up unnecessary space and consuming excess electricity. Older LED tech also generates more heat, lowering component lifespan and requiring more extensive heat management that adds weight and size to the overall setup. The latest in LED technology being sold today on the other hand offers far superior heat management, drivers and LED chips, resulting in improved energy efficiency and a longer lifespan. This is especially important in large scale lighting setups, where legacy lighting such as high bays with an efficiency of 100 lumens per watt can be replaced with current generation high bay lighting that now have 130-160 lumens per watt as a standard lighting efficiency rating.
New Options
There are a wide variety of new lighting options available in today’s LED marketplace that were previously unavailable a decade ago. Many LED lights available today offer slim and low profile package that’s exceptionally more energy efficient than older LED technologies. Flat panel LED lights are some of the newer styles of lights that have taken advantage of this improvement in technology, allowing for an exceptionally low profile and sleek look that would otherwise be unavailable.
Other options now include exceptionally high powered lights in a compact package, such as flood and parking lot lights. These lights all use integrated LED chips, which last the life of the fixture. With exceptionally good heat management, they can be smaller in size and have a longer lifespan than previous LED technologies. This has made them very popular with property managers, municipalities and landscape architects.
Another good example of this huge improvement in performance is in high bay lighting. Current generation LED high bay lights have eclipsed the performance of legacy high bays, offering far more efficient LED chips and drivers, with a longer lifespan and more compact overall size. Many users of traditional and early generation LED high bays have made the switch over to newer generation LEDs in order to take advantage of these benefits.