Why did we put lighting in here in the first place? That's an important question to address whenever you plan to modify a lighting system. The answer is, 'So people can see better and therefore get their work done better'. That work may involve factory operations, office tasks, shopping, or providing security.

Nonetheless, the way some people approach lighting modifications, you'd think lighting is installed so they can pay the electric utility each month. And the less that's paid, of course, the better. Or is it?

The amount of money it costs to operate a lighting system has very little to do with the value of the system. Do not believe that the less you pay the better. Paying less is worthwhile only when the system delivers everything you want. For example, it costs far less to operate a small car than a large truck, but that doesn't matter very much when you need to move household furniture.

You benefit when you have the right equipment for the job. When the job involves visual tasks performed by people, lighting is part of the equipment you need. The quality of light you provide can make all the difference. Better light means getting the job done faster, with fewer errors. The value of benefits like these can often exceed the utility's lighting bill for a year.

All light is not the same

Many people assume that 'light is light'; i.e., if two systems provide about the same amount of light, they're about the same. But nothing could be further from the truth, because the quality of light is what really counts. You've probably noticed this yourself while reading a magazine at home. Frequently, the relationship between the source of the light, your eyes, and the page is such that you experience glare, making the words you're reading just about illegible.

You can improve the quality of your lighting by changing visual relationships, e.g., by moving the light, changing your position, or moving the magazine. In most offices, factories, and other work areas, however, people cannot alter visual relationships. The light source is in a fixed position and its light output cannot be adjusted. The task surface also is fixed, and workers cannot easily change their position to make things better.

Under these circumstances, people do the best they can, often unaware of the significant difference better-quality lighting can have; lighting that is designed specifically for the tasks involved and those performing them; lighting that is adjustable, so it can be used to provide the optimal seeing conditions essential for optimal working conditions. In short, all light is not the same, and thinking otherwise can be costly, in terms of lost productivity, high error or reject rates, or compromises to safety or security.

Most lighting is not optimal

Much of the electric illumination currently in place is not as effective as it could be. For example, in many offices and other work areas where people use computers, the existing lighting was designed to support tasks that are as opposite from computer work as could possibly be imagined. The result can he screen glare, slowed operations, errors, eye strain, and headaches, all of which can sap productivity and worker morale. Likewise, the lighting installed in many factories is antiquated in comparison to what's currently available. And much the same can be said about the lighting used in schools, gymnasiums, and medical facilities, as well as that installed along highways and roadways.

While much of this existing lighting consumes far more energy than necessary, the real loss occurs because it does not do its job well. Better lighting could contribute to fewer highway accidents, longer student attention spans, fewer product rejects, and much, much more.

Fewer errors and rejects

How much is an error worth? Even when the error is somewhat simple, it can have major repercussions. In the case of customer invoices, errors will create inconvenience and, in some cases, they will lead to loss of customers. In the industrial sector, errors mean rejects, resulting in both time and material waste. And, when the error goes undetected, it can mean a product that fails to do what it should, or which somehow causes injury and damage. When errors show up in government reports, it may take days or even weeks to straighten things out. Better lighting helps people perform their work with fewer errors, just as it helps those in quality control whose job it is to detect errors before they go out the door.

Increased customer satisfaction

Customers want good quality service and products and they want them at competitive rates. Lighting helps. It helps those who do the work do it right the first time; it helps those who check the work find errors before they reach the customer. Good lighting can also help keep costs in line, and not just by lowering the cost of energy. Fewer errors lower cost; so do increased productivity, lower labor replacement costs (due to fewer accidents), and so on.

Enhanced image

Lighting contributes to your improved image by helping to enhance overall product quality. The lighting used in your facility can also have an image impact, however, especially in lobby areas where you have a chance to make an important first impression. Consider, too, what lighting can do to highlight graphics on a wall (including awards won), and what it can do at night, when outdoor lighting serves to enhance the appearance of your property and attract attention to it.

Increased retail sales

To increase retail sales, select lighting that is well suited for the merchandise being displayed, the image the store wants to create, and other factors unique to a given setting. Lighting can make a bottom-line difference by creating an effective mini-environment for a given display, highlighting a carousel of impulse-purchase merchandise, bringing out the color and texture of fabrics, or lending sparkle to crystal and jewelry. Outdoor lighting helps, too. For example, when a store wants to encourage nighttime shopping, illumination in parking lots and along walkways creates conspicuous security, helping people overcome a fear of crime that could otherwise keep them away.

Higher occupancy rates/less turnover

While better outdoor lighting will not necessarily increase occupancy rates or reduce turnover, it can be a significant factor in preventing problems in these key areas. Stated simply, effective security lighting can help assure that people do not leave a multifamily residential or commercial building because it lacks effective security lighting. To the extent that security lighting achieves other goals - beautification, environment integration, and so on - it can help maintain the highly positive attitudes needed to maintain high occupancy rates.

Less absenteeism

Employee absenteeism is a major management concern. Improper lighting may be a significant cause. Improper lighting often is characterized by glare, typically caused by poorly shielded lighting fixtures (luminaires) or a bright light source surrounded by a dark background. Muscles cause our eyes to adapt to such conditions and, over time, these muscles may become strained, leading to visual fatigue, headaches, and eye strain. Effective lighting can help eliminate such problems and the absenteeism they cause.

Liability loss prevention

Effective lighting can help prevent lawsuits by reducing opportunities for the incidents that can be grounds for clainis; e.g., employee accidents or parking lot pursesnatchings. Installation and proper operation and maintenance of effective lighting also provide tangible evidence of a building owner's foresight and concern, something that could at least help moderate an otherwise substantial damage award.

Lower insurance costs

The rate paid for insurance is affected by risk; lighting that lowers risk can help reduce the cost of coverage. Effective outdoor lighting makes accidents, vandalism, break-ins, and assaults less likely, just as effective indoor lighting can reduce the frequency and severity of work-related accidents. By emphasizing to insurers the quality of a lighting system and its effectiveness, lower premiums may be offered.

Effective mood-setting

Lighting's ability to affect mood is an important consideration in restaurants, conference rooms, and other spaces and facilities. By selecting the level of light suitable for the mood, and by choosing lamps that will produce desired color effects, you are much more likely to attain the desired ambience. Flexibility is often an important concern in this regard, as in conference rooms where controls can be used to adjust lighting to complement the nature of discussion.

Low-cost space differentiation

In open landscaped offices, department stores, and similar facilities, electric illumination can be used to differentiate one space from another without erecting partitions or walls, by using different luminaires, different lighting levels, and/or different colors of light. Compared to alternatives, the savings can be substantial.

Accommodation of frequent spatial changes

Most office areas are rearranged once every two years; larger retail stores and many other display-oriented facilities are rearranged even more frequently. If their lighting systems cannot be easily and inexpensively adjusted to accommodate spatial changes, inferior and thus costly - illumination may result, making flexibility of illumination a key concern. Numerous techniques now are available to achieve this flexibility, including luminaires that are easily repositioned or reaimed, and controls that change luminaire light output. Although a modest premium may be necessary to achieve flexibility, long-term benefits generally make it an extremely wise investment, for both leased and owner-occupied space.

Enhanced building value

Shopping centers that do more business usually have higher occupancy rates, derive higher rents, are more valuable, and are more easily sold. Apartment buildings that enjoy higher occupancy rates and experience less turnover also are more valuable and more saleable. Office buildings which are well known as prestigious addresses often have higher occupancy rates and more value. Effective outdoor lighting systems can be important factors that contribute to greater value. The value added through better lighting can easily be ten, twenty, one hundred, or more times the cost of the new or improved lighting.

Improved employee morale

Improved morale is a frequent result of better lighting, in that many employees view improved illumination as a demonstration of management's concern. Better morale also can result because of lighting's ability to promote more satisfying work performance, safer conditions, and more attractive space appearance.

Less downtime

Industrial downtime often occurs because operational mistakes cause a piece of machinery to break down. To the extent that these mistakes are caused by a visual error, better lighting can help solve the problem. Downtime is also occasioned by equipment that breaks down soon after being repaired. Better lighting helps make this less likely, since it permits those working on equipment to identify and replace parts that are near failure, so equipment can stay operating longer. In one case history, performance in a hosiery mill's knitting machine repair shop was improved 10 percent due to better electric illumination.

Lower utility costs

Both energy and electric demand costs can be trimmed when more efficient lighting is installed. But consider, too, how lighting's impact on other functions may be able to lower utility costs. For example, when productivity is improved or errors are reduced, fewer overtime hours are necessary to get a job done. When people work overtime, a building's energy systems must work overtime, too. As such, less overtime means less energy consumption. Recognize, too, that the heat generated by a building's lighting systems often can be used to reduce the amount of space heating otherwise required to maintain comfort. The captured 'heat of light' can also be employed for other energy-saving purposes, such as preheating domestic hot water.

More profit

Not many organizations regard their electric illumination as a profit center, but better lighting can contribute significantly to more profit, due to benefits such as less labor per unit, less energy per unit, more units per hour or worker, more sales, and fewer rejects. The key to achieving these benefits is proper attitude. If one approaches lighting as an expense that should be reduced, chances are the focus will be cutting expenses without regard to other factors. By contrast, when you approach lighting as a means to derive benefits whose value greatly exceeds whatever the cost of lighting may be, significant profit can be realized.