Quality CFLs contain a maximum of 5mg of mercury sealed within the glass tubing, that's less than 1% of the mercury found in an amalgam dental filling.
Retail
Introduction
Studies have shown that carefully planned use of lighting in retail environments leads to more sales. It helps establish a store's image, attract customers inside, focus their attention and make products stand out. What you need is energy efficient retail lighting that emphasises good colour, contrast and balance between lighted surfaces. But don't overdesign your lighting.
'After hours' lighting
Maintenance
Right amount of light
Lighting strategies
Light sources
Controls
Saving energy
Colour and finishes
Glare prevention
Day lighting
High bay lighting
Next steps
'After hours' lighting
Though leaving front window lights on all night might be good sales practice, it is a huge waste of energy and expensive.
- Install separate switching that ensures only the lighting for window displays is left on.
- Use timers that ensure lights are only on for as long as there is likely to be passing foot traffic value.
- Try LED technology to focus on products in the shop window while minimising energy use.
Maintenance
The nature of retail means you are probably already on top of regular maintenance. But it is easy to overlook the importance of dusting light fittings. Dust these regularly to ensure you get the maximum visual effects for which lighting has been designed. Doing so can also prolong lamp life and mean your lighting equipment runs efficiently.
The right amount of light
Different retailers need to promote different images to their customers.
• Basic retail stores should aim for bright ambient lighting (500-800lux ambient lighting)
• Mid-range retail stores need ambient lighting with limited accent lighting (300-500 lux ambient, 750-1,000 lux accent)
• Top-end retail stores require more accent lighting with low areas of ambient lighting (150-400 lux ambient, 750-1,000 lux accent).
Lighting strategies
Basic retail store
- Try exposed sources to project a 'discount' or 'speedy service' image. Fluorescent sources provide the best value
– it's high efficiency lighting with the longest life (and good colour rendering) - Use light colored finishes on all wall surfaces to increase overall brightness and reflected light
- Consider coloured fluorescent or LED lights for window displays or to identify departments.
Mid-range retail store
- Partially conceal ambient light sources with louvres or baffles to create more emphasis on product
- Locate accent lights close to displays
- Use exposed or decorative accent lights to create attention or establish image.
Top-end retail store
- Use lower illumination levels for ambient lighting to enhance contrast of accent lighting, but don't eliminate ambient system
- Use accent lighting to establish a hierarchy of importance. Since the eye is attracted to the brightest objects, use the highest wattage or tightest focus lamps in the most important areas of the store.
- Use exposed or decorative sources to attract attention to specific displays or areas.
Light sources
Light sources in retail range from small point sources to large high bay lights found in large format warehouse-type retail outlets.
Replace inefficient mains voltage linear halogen and low voltage halogen spotlights with comparable HID equivalents that last longer, use less energy and produce less heat and UV (which can damage stock). A 20W Metal halide lamp creates more light than a 50W halogen equivalent and lasts three times as long. While a 70W double ended metal halide lamp lasts 3 times longer than 300W linear tungsten halogens (which are very common in shop lighters). The best time to do this is during a shop fit-out, as the long-term benefits and running costs will be improved.
Controls
Lights can either be dimmed or switched on and off.
Retro-fitting a wall-mounted occupancy sensor in line with your standard switching is a good idea if there's often no one about (eg. in the storeroom). Although dimmable lighting provides the best flexibility, if you choose a dimmer be sure to fit a secondary light switch so you can easily switch off some lamps when you don't need them. (Just check the type of control gear within the light fitting).
When it comes to specific equipment you might like to consider these facts:
- New ballast technology for fluorescent lamps significantly improves the life of lamps that are switched frequently
- Two-level controls work well for metal halide systems – when the high level is switched on, the lamps ramp up quickly and return to optimum color and light output.
Saving energy
There are a number of ways for you to save energy in store:
- Use energy efficient lamps, control gear and light fittings
- Specify bright room surfaces
- Use controls that turn off lights when not required
- Dim or switch off lights when daylight levels are high
- Clean lamp and fitting surfaces, regularly
- Group relamp – saving on labour costs
Colours and finishes
The colours and finishes you choose can have a big impact on your lighting:
- Make sure you have the highest reflectance possible to complement your fit-out
- Choose wall finishes and furniture light in colour and tone
- Avoid glossy finishes for walls, ceilings and furniture (this can create glare)
- Limit saturated and primary colours to accents or lower walls (these absorb lots of light).
Glare prevention
You don't want glare, so:
- Light ceilings and walls with artificial light and day light
- Use blinds or shades that limit glare while retaining a view of the outside
- Choose wall finishes that are light in colour and tone
- Avoid glossy finishes on walls, ceilings, and furniture
- Use lamps that are not so bright.
Daylighting
If you plan to use daylighting keep in mind:
- There won't be any energy savings unless you dim or switch off lights accordingly
- Step dimming in response to daylight levels is often distracting to employees
- Direct solar radiation will cause overheating
- Dimmable T5 fluorescent high bays (so long as ambient temperature can be controlled
- Dimmable metal halide high bays.
High bay lighting
When you need an uplighting component use prismatic lenses on both (protected) metal halide and T5 fluorescent high bays. This will improve customer's perception of the lighting quality and make the space appear larger than it is.
Next steps
If you want to take the lead on energy efficient lighting for your retail store:
Talk with a registered lighting professional to assess your specific needs- Ask them to specify the most appropriate energy efficient lighting designs and lamp options to meet your business needs
- Make sure you get a clear cost/benefit analysis of the different efficient lighting options available including payback period/ROI and lifecycle costs (including maintenance costs).
VIEW ALL TIPS
Clean lamp surfaces last longer
Don't touch the surface of a quartz halogen lamp with bare fingers. If you do, carefully clean the quartz surface with a gentle solvent such as alcohol to avoid weak spots that often lead to early lamp failure.