Shining a Light on LEDs and Upgrades

Lighting fixtures built around light emitting diodes (LEDs) continue to revolutionize the lighting industry. They are opening new possibilities for institutional and commercial facilities as new lighting systems are designed and older systems are retrofit at the end of their performance lives.

At a recent holiday event, children were enjoying clear balloons with integrated multi-colored LEDs. It was a reminder of the many ways LEDs are reshaping the world. As a result, maintenance and engineering managers are asking, “Is it time to move to LED lighting? If so, what is the strategy? Is this the last time we will have to retrofit the lighting system?”

Read the full article:   https://www.facilitiesnet.com/lighting/article/Shining-a-Light-on-LEDs-and-Upgrades–18215

5 Important Reasons You Should (Finally) Embrace LEDs

According to a recent US Department of Energy report, the number of LED installations has quadrupled from 215 million units in 2014 to 874 million units in 2016. Despite this staggering growth in the adaptation of LED lighting, LED market penetration is still at only 12.6%. The DOE’s goal scenario is 90% market penetration by 2035.

 

Read the full article here:  http://bit.ly/2OxzWtC 

EWINDOW Artificial Daylight System

Daylight & the EWINDOW System

Daylight has been the most important lighting source to us throughout human history. Studies have shown that daylight has great impact on humans, not only to provide illumination, but also to improve our mood and physical health. EWINDOW is an artificial daylight system that simulates the natural rhythm of daylight and adjusts for time, seasons latitude and architecture.

Natural View

Meeting the need for contact with the outside living environment is an important psychological aspect linked to daylight (Robbins, 1986). Because natural views tend to produce positive responses, they may be more effective in reducing stress, decreasing anxiety, holding attention, and improving mood. Studies in 1979, 1981, and 1986 by Ulrich (Heerwagen 1986) support the effectiveness of natural views. EWINDOW provide a vivid scene with sky, clouds and sunshine, to reproduce daylight indoors.

Natural Rhythms

Almost everything under the sun follows the rhythms of the sun. The biological clock is involved in many aspects of our complex physiology. We now know that all multicellular organisms, including humans, utilize a similar mechanism to control circadian rhythms. A large proportion of our genes are regulated by the biological clock and , consequently, a carefully calibrated circadian rhythm adapts our physiology to the different phases of the day (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017).

EWINDOW creates a strong daylight-like environment, and it can synchronize with lighting the sun’s ambiance throughout the day. By corresponding with natural daylight rhythms, EWINDOW corresponds with our circadian cycle.

Natural Lighting

Daylight has great impact on our lives and it is an essential part of architecture. But it varies with many factors, such as architecture, latitude, climate, seasons. As an artificial lighting source, EWINDOW does not have these restrictions, making daylight a viable option for interior spaces. Architects and designers now have the ability to integrate artificial daylight into areas not possible before.

The EWINDOW Artificial Daylight System

Introducing a new way to illuminate interior spaces. EWINDOW’s patented design integrates a 3D simulated sky scene, synchronized to the patterns of natural sunlight throughout the day, adjusting for seasons, latitude and ambient light conditions to emulate an exterior window. Settings are easily adjusted using a wall mounted control panel, smartphone app or DALI controls.  Perfect for office, hotel, retail, healthcare, school, underground and home use.

Download the EWINDOW brochure here.

Cloud & Blue Sky View

Special LEDs are used to light up the sky and clouds, then transform them into a translucent 3D image, so the performance of the EWINDOW simulates a real sky and clouds.  For those who prefer the pure blue sky, we also provide the EWINDOW with a very clear blue sky and its infinite depth to reproduce the true effect of the light and space outdoor.

Controls

The EWINDOW system can be controlled wall mounted control panel, an APP or via the Dali system. All are simple to set up and easy to use.

Mounting Frames

Choose from recessed or surface mounting frames.

Or custom build your own surrounds.

Applications

Daylight at Home

We spend many time at home, we all want to make our home to be a better place, full of love and caring. A few studies in dwellings show that natural light is the single most important attribute in a home, with over 60% of respondents ranking it as important (Finlay,2012). A WHO survey involving eight cities across Europe, showed that individuals who report inadequate natural light in their homes have a greater risk of depression and falls (Brown,2011).

Daylight in Offices

Many of us spend many time in office, working a lot and under a lot of pressure. The lighting in office should focus on increasing working productivity and decreasing working pressure for employees. Natural light helps maintain good health and can cure some medical ailments. The pleasant environment created by natural light decreases stress levels for office workers. Productivity increases with the improved health of workers and with better productivity comes financial benefits for employers (L. Edwards and P. Torcellini, 2002).

Daylight in Hotels

The lighting in hotels should respond to the exact needs of guests, expressing itself to customers in a pleasant and relaxing way. Lighting should also make people feel safe and secure in their environment. EWINDOWS address both of these needs.

Daylight in Retail

Daylighting provides retail customers with an inviting and pleasant ambiance, creating a more pleasurable shopping experience. A bright and inviting atmosphere also attracts customers, inviting them into the retail environment.

Daylight in Underground

As the populations grow, our cities become more and more crowded, requiring underground facilities. But in an underground environment, natural light can barely be seen, if at all. EWINDOW provides a dynamic daylighting environment that imitates the natural rhythm of natural lighting, decreases feelings of being shut in, and helps to align our biological clock to a natural cycle.

Daylight in Schools

School is an important place for children throughout their developing lives. Lighting within educational facilities should be aligned with childrens’ physiological and psychological needs. A Daystar article,” Benefits of Natural Daylighting” (1998), states that there is increased student and teacher attendance , increased achievement rates, reduced fatigue factors, improved student health, and enhancement of general development in environments where greater daylighting is present.

Daylight in Healthcare

Daylight is widely used in healthcare facilities. Studies indicate that daylighting can lower a facility’s operating costs because patients recover faster in day-lit recovery centers. The spatial quality from windows has also been cited as having a psycho-therapeutic quality by providing pastoral views and natural light; therefore, an environment becomes more therapeutic with more spatial quality (Vischer 1986; Verderber 1983). EWINDOWS provides this benefit in areas where windows and skylights are not possible.

Click here to learn more.

Lighting as a Service

No Capital Cost LED Lighting?

Yes – it is now possible to eliminate the financial obstacles of converting outdated, high cost lighting systems to advanced, energy efficient LED lighting systems with this revolutionary Lighting-as-a-Service (LAAS) program.

This is Not a Lease.

Investors fund the project 100%, eliminating the need for any debt obligations on your customer’s part

Now is the Time to Upgrade to LED Lighting

If you are planning to upgrade your old, expensive lighting to highly efficient, low maintenance LED, you should consider purchasing it before the IRS Section 179 tax deduction expires at the end of the year.

What is Section 179 and why is it important to you?

The 2017 IRS Section 179 tax depreciation schedule is a tax break given to your small-to-medium sized business that allows deduction of the full purchase price of equipment purchased – or financed – against your gross income. Obsolete equipment and outdated technology can negatively affect your business. This is a significant incentive for you and your company to make investments in purchasing equipment and growing your business. Depreciation is normally used by businesses to write off the value of the purchased equipment over the life of the asset. Using the IRS approved Section 179 deduction, you can write off up to $500,000 of this year’s equipment purchases against your 2016 taxes resulting in the USA government effectively paying up to 38% of the cost of the machine.

The equipment purchased must be purchased and placed in service by December 31, 2017 to qualify!

To learn more please visit our website at: https://lnkd.in/eg-r3tE

University of Minnesota Exceeds Expectations, Achieves 90% Energy Savings with LED Parking Garage Lighting Conversion

One of the nation’s largest schools serving over 60,000 students, the University of Minnesota (U of M) is upgrading the lighting at all 18 parking ramps and garages on its Minneapolis campus. In the Northrop Auditorium Garage, a small 24,000 square foot facility with 75 parking spots, U of M replaced low-wattage high-pressure sodium fixtures with high efficiency, lower wattage LED fixtures with lighting controls. This Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) Campaign Award winning project achieved 90% energy savings by upgrading to LEDs with lighting controls.

Read the full report here.

LED Lighting Enhances Security

It is also important to note that security lighting acts as a psychological deterrent to criminals, because it increases the chance a crime will be witnessed. And if a crime does occur, it can be assessed after the fact through recorded video. Ask any camera manufacturer and you will get the same answer: higher illumination at the scene produces better results.

However, as security integrators know, not all light is created equal when viewed through a camera or when calculating strike time — which is the time it takes for a light to properly illuminate a scene once it powers up. The Color Rendition Index (CRI) also has to be considered — a measure of the ability of a light source to accurately reproduce color. In this context, accuracy is considered in relation to natural light, and is measured in a range from zero to 100, the value for daylight.

For security, Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights are the best option for parking garages across a number of factors, including CRI ratings, long life and actual price. Another important consideration is the even distribution of illumination: ideally, the light across a scene should maintain light-to-dark ratios of 4:1 for security applications.

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Are LED Lighting Conversions Good for Business?

With the economy still in recovery mode, business owners continue to look for ways to cut costs wherever possible. For many businesses, transitioning from antiquated lighting modalities can be an attractive and cost-saving alternative. There are real and easily quantifiable cost-saving opportunities when it comes to alternatives to traditional lighting sources.

Business owners across all industries seeking strategies to reduce costs and save money have found conversions to LED lighting a very attractive route; and with the LED market having become even more affordable in recent months, there continues to be significant spikes in the popularity of switching to LED.

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