Superior Lighting Quality
Lighting is a critical element of a commercial building as it significantly impacts the comfort, well-being, and productivity of those occupying the space. Lighting plays an integral role in creating a welcoming and appealing ambience, which reduces stress and enhances the way people think and feel about the environment as well as function within it. Good lighting within a space additionally helps stabilize human circadian rhythms to improve overall mood and sleep cycles. Since LED flat panel lights provide superior light quality and appearance over older fluorescent lighting, they help ensure that the space functions in alignment with its intended purpose by optimally supporting the people within it.
Low profile LED flat panels have selectable color and power switches that allow you to choose from multiple lumen and color options. This flexibility in LED settings enables you to set the light’s color temperature and brightness to create an ideal lighting environment for the space. Fluorescent fixtures can lend to unpleasant color inconsistencies within a room, as their fluorescent tubes are often unintentionally replaced with a color temperature that differs from the other tubes in the fixture or space. This type of color mismatch, depicted below, is avoided with LED flat panels since the color for the entire fixture can be easily and consistently changed with the switch on the unit.
Additionally, as shown below, fluorescent lights yellow and diminish in appearance and function as they age. Flat panel LEDs are strategically designed to prevent yellowing and maintain their appearance over time.
Notice how the yellowing and color inconsistencies in the “before” picture above are addressed with the LED flat panels in the “after” picture. The flat panel LEDs create a more professional, inviting appearance and dramatically improve visibility in the office space.
LED panels supply even, end-to-end light distribution across each fixture, and are carefully designed to prevent shadowing and hot spots. The smooth, even lighting they emit creates a clean, modern, “skylight” type of experience which is closer to natural light than the irregular, striped light emitted from fluorescent troffers. See the difference in the before and after pictures below.
Additional benefits of LED flat panels over fluorescent lighting:
- Fluorescents can flicker for multiple reasons, causing disruption to the environment. LED flat panels are crafted to ensure low optical flicker and low glare throughout the life of the fixture.
- Fluorescent lights require warm-up time to reach their full brightness. LEDs require very little to no warm up time.
- The most recent models of LED flat panels provide advanced features such as scheduling, dynamic daylighting, motion sensing, and wireless control of lighting zones in the building. (Dynamic daylighting technology automatically adjusts the amount of light emitted by the fixture based on the amount of natural light in the space, to conserve energy and achieve optimal lighting.)
Cost Savings
The upfront expense of replacing outdated fixtures is offset or exceeded by the reduced cost of LED panels over the long term. LED panels require significantly less maintenance and associated costs due to their durability, long lifespan, and the elimination of regular bulb and ballast replacements that are needed for fluorescent fixtures.
LED flat panels save up to 50% on energy consumption compared to traditional fluorescent troffers, therefore significantly reducing regular energy bills.
Additionally, the cost of modern LED flat panels can be minimized with eligible rebate opportunities. So be sure to inquire about rebates when determining pricing.
Environmental Safety
Fluorescent bulbs contain the hazardous metal mercury and also emit significantly more carbon dioxide than LED bulbs. As a result of these risks, multiple states have planned to implement bans on the sales of new fluorescent bulbs, taking effect within the next few years. It’s likely that the phase out fluorescent bulbs will occur throughout the United States.
Upgrading to flat panels in the near term ensures a more eco-friendly, safe environment and additionally secures your readiness for the phase out of fluorescent bulbs.
If you are considering replacing old light fixtures to reduce long term lighting costs and enhance the function, appearance, and safety of your commercial space in the Tucson, AZ area, we’d love to talk with you! Authentic Electric would be delighted to help you make the switch from fluorescent troffers to LED flat panels, as safely and seemlessly as possible.