LED Lighting Upgrade: Why You Should Make the Switch

The light-emitting diode (LED) technology has completely revolutionized the global lighting market over the past decade. In Australia, an increasingly large number of homeowners, non-profits and businesses are now choosing LED lighting solutions over other alternatives. In some states, the government provides a partial or complete subsidy for energy upgrades to eligible households under the VEET scheme. Victorian Energy Efficiency Target (VEET) scheme in Victoria is a good example of the same. VEET is now known as Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU). These schemes are being propagated by the Australian government across the country to reduce carbon footprint by 65% by 2030 and promote the uptake of energy-efficient technology. It provides financial incentives to households and businesses by switching to more energy-efficient products (like energy usage monitors, LED lights, exhaust fan seals and freezers) and practices. What makes one really consider LED lighting upgrade?

Efficient, safe and easy on the environment

Embracing LED lighting solutions and capabilities by making smart changes to existing systems can lead to substantial savings on energy costs and building a sustainable culture. When compared to traditional halogen, fluorescent and incandescent options, LED lights consume 50-70% less energy, thereby resulting in substantial savings in terms of energy costs and carbon emission. LEDs lights are water-resistant which makes them a perfect fit for areas like food processing units where water is used. They perform well in extreme temperature conditions (-30 to 50 degrees Celsius), thus making them safe and suitable for cold storage as well as metal foundries. LEDs contain no mercury and use less energy to produce the same light output as other lamp alternatives, which reduce their impact on the environment. The carbon footprint of any household or business is directly proportional to the electricity consumed. Powerhouses producing electricity emit excessive amounts of CO2, resulting in global warming. Data suggests almost half of the carbon footprint is due to electricity and about a quarter of that is due to lighting alone. LED solutions provided by TIMEOSAVE use up to 85% less energy than standard lights. Using lower wattage LEDs reduces CO2 emissions.

Why LED lights are more efficient?

LED lights are better than incandescent and fluorescent in several ways:

• LED lights work on “cold” light generation technology, in which maximum energy is delivered in the visible spectrum
• LEDs don’t use ballasts to pass power. Instead, light is carried through a high-efficiency LED driver which then causes a semiconductor to emit photons. Usually, less than 20% of an LED’s output is heat.
• Long life: Average lifespan of 50,000 hours as opposed to 6,000 hours in traditional globes and 30,000 hours as opposed to 9,000 hours in traditional tubes
• Maintenance savings: Lights are easily installed or changed, and need to be swapped far less often
• Increases value of the property: The rebate offers a fantastic opportunity to upvalue any property by switching to LEDs
• Huge warranty: The lights come equipped with a full 3 or 5-year warranty
• Increased light output: Better efficacy and beam angles mean no light is wasted
• Huge subsidies: Heavy savings are being issued in a push to reduce energy consumption

LEDs don’t waste energy in the form of non-light-producing heat. On the other hand, most of the energy in an incandescent lamp is in the infrared (or non-visible) spectrum, which is why fluorescent and HID lamps produce low light and high heat. This signifies that some energy is wasted as heat instead of being converted to light. Know More: Commercial LED Lighting Upgrade LEDs don’t heat up because most of the electric energy is converted into light – about 85% or more. The movement of electrons in a semiconductor material for illumination is the reason for low energy consumption. By design, LED lighting is more efficient, versatile, and long-lasting.

Extended life with low maintenance cost

The industry standard for LED light bulbs is that they should last for at least 25,000 hours with at least 70 percent as much brightness as they have when they were new. LED lights do not fail or simply burn out. They may just turn dim over a period of time. Since there are no glass enclosures or filaments, LED lights are breakage resistant and immune to impacts. At TIMETOSAVE, we offer quality LED lights during the led lighting upgrade process which have about 30 times longer lifespan than an incandescent bulb and 5-6 times longer lifespan than fluorescent lights. As these lights have a longer operational lifespan, overall expenditure on maintenance costs is negligible owing to the fact that they don’t need to be swapped often, hence eliminating the need of buying replacement products or hiring an electrician.

Come with sensors and smart controls

Essentially, LEDs can be ‘controlled’ or programmed more easily. LED lighting solution comes with wireless, daylight, occupancy, programmable dimming, and manual dimming sensors, depending on personal preferences. “Smart Bulbs” is a new subset of LED bulbs that can be controlled by the smartphone, and often have the ability to work with a wide range of smart devices. Smart and sensor-based LED lighting system can guarantee even greater savings on energy costs.

No UV/IR emissions

Unlike incandescent lights that use only 10% of the power to create ‘visible light,’ LEDs use about 85% of the power. LEDs do not produce Infrared (IR) or Ultra-Violet (UV) rays. Radiated heat (IR) and UV rays present the risk of a burn hazard.

Don’t flicker and hum

As compared to the non-LED lights, LED lights do not hum or flicker, and achieve nearly 100% brightness instantaneously.

Lumens instead of Watts

Lumens mean brightness of a light. Lumens measure how much light you are getting from a bulb. Higher the lumens, brighter the light; fewer the lumens, dimmer the light. Lumens let you buy the amount of light you want. So, when upgrading from an old light to LEDs, think lumens, not watts. At TIMETOSAVE, we cater to all business lumen requirements ranging from storage to manufacturing, retail to office, and undercover car park to aged care facility.

Colour temperatures

Light appearance, measured by correlated colour temperature (CCT) on the Kelvin scale, from warm to cool is referred to as colour temperature. It is measured in Kelvin, using the symbol K. Colour temperatures over 5000 K are called “cool colours” which is bluish-white light, while lower range (2700–3000 K) is called “warm colours” which is yellowish-white light. 2700K: These bulbs are labeled as “soft white,” and cast a gentle warm glow. 3000K: “Bright White” has a more neutral glow, being neither warm nor cool. 5000K: Lights that are 5000K and higher will typically have a “daylight” label. At TIMETOSAVE, we offer all types of colour temperature variants for different environments along with options of reflector dishes such as traditional, translucent (for retail areas), and specialised reflector dish designed to improve Lux levels on the floor.

Government rebates

The Australian government is offering huge rebates on LED lighting upgrade for households and businesses under the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) or VEET scheme. Know More: Residential LED Lighting Upgrade VEET is a Victorian Government initiative promoted as the Energy Saver Incentive. It commenced on 1 January 2009 and is administered by the Essential Services Commission (ESC). The scheme was established under the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007 and is administered in accordance with the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Regulations 2008. The VEET scheme is designed to make energy efficiency improvements more affordable, contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases, and encourage investment, employment and innovation in industries that supply energy efficiency goods and services. TIMETOSAVE works as a marketing channel for businesses operating under the VEET scheme.

A wide range of brands and products

At TIMETOSAVE, we offer VEET-approved products and brands which give our customers an option to choose from a wide range of products and brands. Brands we offer are:

1. Onsemi
2. Ledvance Osram
3. Eco Light Up
4. Phillips
5. Emerald Planet
6. Haneco
7. Primsal
8. Energetic
9. Wattsgreen
10. Pierlite Pierlux
11. SAL
12. Optitech

Data suggests almost half of the carbon footprint is due to electricity and about a quarter of that is due to lighting alone. Moving to renewable energy sources and adopting LED solutions would save tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. Energy saved is energy generated! Fill in the contact form below to get old lights in your household or business replaced with energy-efficient LED lights today.