How Much Can a Warehouse Save by Switching to LED Lighting?

Switching a warehouse lighting system over to LED lighting can reduce lighting energy costs by 50% to 80% depending on the lighting system that is currently installed; the operating hours, and what type of LED lights have been chosen for the upgrade.  Lighting is often one of the largest electricity expenses for a warehouse as the lights often have to run for long hours across very large spaces.

Switching over LED lighting can lead to substantial savings for a warehouse thanks to the lower electricity bill, reduced maintenance costs and improved lighting quality.  The longer a warehouse operates on a daily basis the more noticeable these savings will be.

Why Warehouse Lighting Uses So Much Electricity

Warehouses will require a large number of fittings and a high light output to operate smoothly on a day to day basis.  

A lot of traditional warehouse lighting made use of metal halide lamps, fluorescent high bays and sodium lamps.  These older technologies consume large amounts of electricity and are often far less efficient than current LED lights.  This makes up for a large portion of electricity used by these warehouses.

How Much Energy Can LEDs Save?

The amount you will save will depend on the lighting system you had before.  Below is a few example of different types of lighting and how much the savings would be switching to LED:

• Metal halide to LED: 60–80% savings
• Fluorescent to LED: 40–70% savings
• Sodium lighting to LED: 50–75% savings

To give a more specific example: a 400w metal halide high bay light can be replaced by a 150w-200w LED high bay which would still achieve the same amount of brightness if not more.  LEDs produce more light per watt and they therefore require far less electricity to achieve the same amount of illumination.

Maintenance Savings Can Be Significant

Maintenance saving will also be significant for a warehouse by switching over to LED lights.  

Warehouse lighting maintenance can be expensive because fittings are often mounted on high ceilings, mezzanine levels, or difficult to access areas.  Having to replace lighting within a warehouse can mean work has to be paused while this is being done and you may have to hire specialised equipment to replace these lights.  These costs soon add up.

As LEDs last much longer than a lot of these older lighting technologies the savings in the long term will be significant.

LED Lifespan Advantages

LED high bay fittings have an average lifespan of 50,000 hours or more.  Metal halide lamps only have a lifespan of 6000-15000 hours and fluorescent tubes their average lifespan is 10,000-20,000 hours.  Switching to a LED high bay will reduce the labour costs and disruptions involved when replacing the lights due their much longer lifespan.

Instant Start-Up Saves More Energy

Metal halide lighting often requires some time to warm up before it is fully lit.  LEDs switch on instantly which means the lights can be turned off more frequently and will therefore reduce unnecessary energy usage for the warehouse lighting.  It will also allow you to make use of occupancy sensors or smart lighting controls if you choose which will lead to further cost savings.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Many warehouse LED upgrades will achieve payback within 1 to 3 years.  Warehouses that operate on a 24/7 basis will often achieve even faster returns than this and the savings will continue for many years after this.

What Factors Affect Warehouse LED Savings?

The amount you save will depend on several factors including:

• existing lighting type,
• operating hours,
• ceiling height,
• electricity prices,
• control systems,
• lighting layout.

Warehouses that have older metal halide lighting, long operating hours, or inefficient fluorescent systems will usually achieve the biggest savings from switching over to LED lights.

Summary

Warehouses can save between 50% and 80% on lighting energy costs by switching to LED lighting.  In larger facilities that have long operating hours this can translate into tens of thousands of pounds in annual savings.  Savings can also be found from LEDs having a longer lifespan which leads to reduced maintenance costs over time.