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Retail Store LED Lighting Upgrade In Victoria

Free LED Panels, Tubes (T8), and High Bay LED lights for retail store lighting upgrades under the VEU program in Victoria

By Ecofin Solutions ForUPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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Retail store LED lighting

Since the lighting in retail stores can influence a customer’s mood and buying decision, it becomes imperative that you choose the right lighting for your store. Research done by a Dutch retail company Plus shows that lighting can potentially help guide customers through the store and increase the average customer spending by atleast 1.93%.

In another study, researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden found that the brightness of a retail store was important to customers, but colour temperature and colour rendering were also crucial factors in determining a customer’s choice. Researchers concluded that consumers could be guided into certain areas of the stores or even products by selectively utilising right light-color temperatures.

Given that various bulbs and fixtures can have different impacts on a retail store area, it is important to pay attention to what each section of your retail store needs. There is no better technology than highly-controllable and energy-efficient LED lights for retail stores.

Retail store interior lighting

LED retail store lighting helps you create an environment that complements customers’ needs and expectations. You can utilize them to gain customers’ attention and drive their focus to a particular product or item.

Retail Stores LED Replacement under Government Scheme

In addition to boosting sales by improving the appearance of products, LED lights dramatically reduce your energy cost while imparting an eco-friendly brand message.

LED lighting comes in a wide range of color temperatures, designs and shapes such as recessed, low bay, floodlights, pendant lighting, and offers a high color rendering index (CRI) needed for retail establishments.

You can slash lighting costs by over 80% than your current spending on conventional halogen and fluorescent retail store lighting. In a large retail spaces, LED lights also reduce the load on air conditioning systems, lowering energy costs even further. Moreover, with a lifespan of more than 50,000 hours of operation, LED retail store lighting significantly reduces maintenance and replacement costs.

Lights in retail stores are used 24*7, so by switching to energy-efficient LEDs, you can reap the benefits of lower electricity costs from the day of installation.

A level up from incandescent bulbs, halogen lamps use about 30% less energy than incandescent lights. They emit a warm light of about 3000 Kelvin, which is slightly cooler than the incandescent ones. Like incandescent lamps, halogens also have a flawless CRI. Unfortunately, low lifespan and relatively higher power consumption than fluoros and LEDs don’t make them the right choice for retail store lighting.

Fluorescent Tubes

A common alternative to halogen downlights for general lighting, fluorescent tubes use less energy and last longer than the first lighting choice. Though fluorescents come in a variety of color temperatures, fluorescent fixtures need a ballast/transformer to work, which might ultimately need repair, maintenance or replacement.

LED Lights

LED lights can be used in any or all areas of the retail store as LEDs are the most flexible and energy-efficient lighting alternative. While the colour rendering capabilities of LED lights may not be as perfect as halogens, LED lights are compatible with all sections of a retail store. Notwithstanding the slightly higher upfront cost, LED lighting pays for itself through high energy savings and no maintenance cost.

LED Lights vs Fluorescent Tubes

Although any type of lighting comes in handy in a large retail space, store owners can see tangible advantages using LED lights. LED lights are brighter, more energy-efficient, smaller, and illuminate targeted areas— all of the features you need for retail store lighting. Fluorescence tubes are great for general lighting but LED lights are better suited for accent lighting. Many retail stores mix LED downlights and tubes/panels to get the best lighting.

General lighting and ambient lighting such as downlights and spotlights make navigation around the store convenient for customers. LED lights can deliver different color temperatures and you can create a cool, warm and intimate atmosphere in your retail spaces.

Here are some tips to make the most of retail store lighting:

Be cautious about the color temperature and the CRI of the store lights. Dressing rooms should have warm lights installed so that shoppers have the option of switching between lower or higher color temperatures. This allows the customer to see what an outfit looks like indoors in artificial light and outdoors in natural sunlight. For shops that require true color rendering, including clothing stores and art gallery stores, high color rendering lights are essential.

Watch out for Halogens & Incandescent lights. If you are using halogen/incandescent lights, be careful and make sure that the dissipating heat is not getting trapped in the lighting fixtures. Halogen and incandescent lamps generate enormous heat. If you’re using these types of lights, be sure they’re not close enough to make your customers uncomfortable or fade your products.

Use dimmer switches. Dimmers allow you to monitor the brightness of your store at any given time to help enhance the space environment or to signal that it is closing time. Ensure that you use a combination of compatible LED bulb / dimmer switches.

Do use lighting to set the mood: The color temperature you choose should be based on the mood and shopping experience you want to give your customers. It’s a scientifically proven fact that the more time you spend in a shop, the more likely it is that you will buy something. Dim light flatters and forgives you more when customers try out the clothing, but it won’t help you to read if the cups are safe or scratch-proof. The lighting you choose should gel with the products you’re trying to sell.

Use lighting to draw people in and draw attention to specific areas or products: One of the key priorities of any seller when it comes to lighting is to increase sales. Retailers should use light to their advantage when trying to focus on a certain product or create visual appeal. Use light to create a path that will guide customers through your entire store.

Energy-efficiency schemes like Victorian Energy Upgrades make it easier for businesses to cut their energy costs by replacing old, inefficient lights with energy-efficient LED downlights, panels, high bay LED lights, and spotlights.

We replace halogens and fluoros in retail stores with energy-efficient LED lights under the Victorian Energy Upgrades program (formerly known as the VEET Scheme). VEU is an acronym for the Victorian Energy Upgrades program.

Regulated by the ESC (Essential Services Commission), the VEU program helps Victorian businesses, small and big, reduce their power bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions by providing access to subsidized/discounted energy-efficient LED products and free commercial LED lights for businesses.

What to Consider Before Choosing LED Lights for Your Retail Store?

Understanding the technical specifications of potential bulbs and fixtures are crucial for setting up an effective lighting system that makes shoppers feel comfortable and helps them navigate through the large retail space. Details like lumens, color rendering index (CRI), energy efficiency and correlated color temperature (CCT) should be deciding factors when choosing retail store lighting.

Energy Efficiency

Cost-effectiveness is always a major concern for all retail store owners. Energy efficacy is the amount of visible light emitted (lumens) divided by the amount of power (Watts). If a light bulb is emitting 400 lumens and using four watts of power (400/4) it has an efficiency of 40 lumens per watt.

Lumens

Earlier, wattage was used to determine the brightness of lamps. Today lumens are a globally accepted way of calculating brightness. The higher the lumens, the brighter the light is. Equivalent wattage is always mentioned on all LED product pages. Lumens are used to approximate what the equivalent incandescent wattage will be.

If there is no comparable wattage/lumen on the product page, simply delete the last digit from a LED light’s lumen value. The result would be a wattage equal to incandescent. The LED light-emitting 400 lumens, for example, is approximately as bright as a 40 Watt incandescent bulb.

CRI

When it comes to clothing or food retail stores, it is imperative to show products as they look in natural light. Lights with faithful color rendering ability (high CRI number) are crucial for retail stores. CRI indicates how accurately a light is able to display the real colors of objects under it.

The closer a light’s CRI is to 100, the better it is able to render true colors.

CCT

LED lights come in a wide range of colors. You should choose the light of a certain color temperature (CCT) based on the functionality of the space. Warm white light is considered good for relaxing, whereas cool white is considered good for reading.

Color temperature indicates whether your light source will emit rather “warm” or “cold” light. The lower the number, the “warmer” the color. 2700K can be described as warm white and 5000K may be considered cool white.

Colour Temperature is measured in Kelvin (K). LEDs can produce white light in a number of “shades” or “color temperatures”– from warm-white (2700 to 3,300 Kelvin) or cool-white (3,00-5,300 Kelvin) to cool daylight (5,300 to 6,500 Kelvin). The lower the number, the warmer the light appears.

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About the Creator

Ecofin Solutions ForU

A Melbourne based energy consultant company dealing with energy upgrades (rebated or free LED lights replacement) and smart appliances

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