How to Choose the Right LED Cooler Light
A new trend occurring in grocery and convenience stores today is the replacement of fluorescent fixtures with energy-efficient LED fixtures in cooler, refrigerated, freezer food and beverage display cases. While available in a variety of lengths, these fixtures make it easy and flexible for retrofit installations and can help businesses save thousands in energy costs annually. When making the decision to use these environmentally friendly LED fixtures, these are the factors you should consider.
Lumens
With new light bulbs, shopping by lumens is more important than shopping by watts when choosing which energy-efficient bulb to purchase. While wattage measures the amount of energy required to light products, lumens measure the amount of light produced. This means that the more lumens the product has, the brighter the light source is. Instead of buying products based on how much energy they consume (watts), consumers should consider how much light they give us (lumens).
Wattage
Wattage is the measure of the bulb's energy consumption - not how much light it puts out. Energy-efficient bulbs use fewer watts to give off the same amount of brightness (lumens). Because of this, LEDs (which have typically low wattages when compared with lumens) not only help reduce energy usage but also lower electric bills.
Color Temperature
Color temperature refers to the color appearance of the light that comes from a light source. It's an important performance characteristic to asses when evaluating bulbs because the color temperature creates the mood of the space you are lighting and can thus influence buying behavior or work performance. The apparent color of a light source is measured in Kelvin. The higher the Kelvin temperature, the whiter the light.
Power Factor
Power Factor is a measure of how effectively your load takes power from the power plant, which in other words mean it provides a measure of how close your load is to a incandescent light bulb (PF of 1). Systems with low PF require additional power to be generated by utilities. Because of this, high power factor solutions are required for LED bulbs and fixtures, making them energy-efficient.
DLC Listed
When a fixture is DLC Listed (stands for Design Light Consortium) it may qualify for energy rebates by your local utility which can significantly reduce the cost of ownership. The qualified products list is a resource for program administrators, to help them decide which solid state lighting products to include in their energy efficiency promotions.