When it comes to lighting up a cold food plant, refrigerated and frozen food processors encounter a wave of challenges. Simply opting for lower lights to save on electricity costs doesn’t cut it anymore.
Thankfully today’s lighting suppliers provide a host of solutions ideal for any type of cold food plant environment.
For example, Boston-based Digital Lumens answers the needs for more energy-efficient lighting with Intelligent LED Lighting Systems. These LED-based
fixtures are said to regularly reduce lighting energy use by up to 90%, while improving light levels, eliminating maintenance and adding better control, says Allison Parker, director of marketing.
“By providing light when operators are in the area and automatically turning off or dimming lights to desired output levels when the area is vacant, the system maximizes efficiency,” she says. “In addition, the LightRules lighting management software gathers data from the Digital Lumens fixtures and provides detailed reports on lighting system metrics (energy use, energy cost, occupancy and more, by aisle, zone, room or facility-wide), and provides the ability to fine-tune lighting settings via software rather than via scissor lift.”
These systems come in 13,000, 18,000 and 26,000 lumen versions, offer instant-on capabilities and perform well in chilled environments (as low as -40°F). Plus, they use less power than traditional high-bay lights, dramatically reducing thermal load, Parker says.
“Because they are only on a fraction of the time, there is less wasted heat from unnecessary light,” she adds.
Meanwhile, SmartWatt Energy, Ballston Lake, N.Y., provides SmartLighting, a combination of LED lighting and advanced control systems.
“LED is quickly becoming the primary and best lighting solution for refrigerated and frozen food processors,” says Chris Covell, president. “It is the only type of light that can be turned on and off instantly, which results in large savings over traditional high-intensity discharge (HID) fixtures. With the evolution of LED lighting, the light source has become more efficient and the cost has dropped, making it an even more attractive option for this application.”
One benefactor of advanced controls is that they operate however they are set when installed. This means that web-based controls, for instance, can easily be changed as needs change for the plant.
“An example is a warehouse aisle within a food processing facility—a traditional motion control would turn off after 20 minutes of inactivity, but with advanced controls, the plant engineer could view usage logs and adjust the control to best function with actual usage patterns,” Covell says. “When this level of granular control is spread out across an entire facility, the results can be dramatic. There is really no better way to save energy than to turn energy using equipment off.”
SolarOne Solutions, Inc., Needham, Mass., introduced a stand-alone lighting system for commercial pathways. The Solo platform features a stainless-steel mounting and luminare design coupled with a support package to make solar-powered lighting more accessible. Plus, the system works autonomously without depending on a grid or any outside wiring.