The costs of running a cold storage business are enormous. This is because lighting these spaces comprises a large part of the operating expenses. Most light sources produce heat and significantly add to a facility’s cooling costs. What's more, the cold freezing temperatures adversely affect the performance and light quality of most traditional bulbs, increasing a facility's maintenance costs.
Commercial refrigeration uses up about 7% of all electricity consumed by the U.S retail building sector. In fact, refrigeration costs often are responsible for at least half of the energy costs of a building with cooling facilities. Cold storage rooms have a temperature range of 0 to 15 degrees while freezing rooms have to maintain temperatures as low as -40° Celsius.
Both fluorescent and high-intensity discharge lamps generate heat when in operation. HID bulbs not only consume a lot of electricity, they also produce a lot of heat. Their light shifts frequently and they have long startup times. They also function poorly in cold environments and freezing temperatures further shorten their lifetimes.
A fluorescent lamp has a ballast that releases at least 10% of its input power as infrared energy. This means that this component is responsible for the release of up to 10 watts of heat for a cluster of a hundred. These bulbs can increase the temperatures of a 13 sq. ft. space by up to 39° F in an hour!
This refrigeration system, therefore, has to work on overdrive to compensate for this discharge of heat, impacting its overall costs. And with energy costs on a daily rise, it is imperative to decrease the energy costs cold storage businesses are faced with.
While projects like the improvement of insulation in the building or system optimization could help, the light inefficiency quagmire can easily be solved through the use of LED walk-in cooler lights.
LEDs produce very little infrared energy and are very energy efficient. They use both lower wattages and voltages than other bulbs and last longer. In terms of energy efficiency, LEDs use up to 60% less energy than other traditional lighting sources. However, LEDs used in wet and cold environments are not your ordinary LEDs.
These extreme environments require vapor-tight lights, which are light fixtures with an IP67 or upper IP Code Rating. LED vapor-tight lights are sturdy light fixtures that are waterproof. They have a metallic fixture liner, placed in reinforced fiberglass or PU casing coupled with a high- collision diffuser.
This design makes sure that no water or vapor from the light's exterior gets into the light's electrical components. These lights can be used as ceiling lights or mounted vertically and they provide safety and comfort at work by providing the desired light intensities at low temperatures.
Basic Requirements for Lighting Fixtures in Cold Rooms
Most cold and freezing rooms are food storage spaces and require LED fixtures that must be:
- Easy To Clean
The design of the luminaire should allow for easy removal of impurities by brushing or hosing down through high-pressure cleaners. This means that the lighting fixtures require the correct high IP protection to ensure that they are not damaged by water.
- Solid
The use of the right material in design ensures that the light fixture is robust and will last longer. The cold environment will subject the light fixture to a lot of mechanical damage, so it should be designed with this in mind. LED walk-in cooler lights should also withstand electromagnetic interference while working.
- Little Heat Production
All LED light fixtures for use in cold rooms should emit very little heat. They must work correctly in the low-temperature environment and should achieve an average of 150 lux.
- Low Maintenance
LED lighting for cold rooms should be virtually maintenance-free, eliminating the need for high labor costs and the frequent replacement of burnt out luminaires.
- Low Energy Consumption
Some LEDs consume less energy than others. If these are used in cold rooms, they will have significantly lower operational costs compared to conventional light sources. The initial costs for LED lighting could be higher than for traditional light sources, but their low maintenance and energy consumption counterbalance the costs. These two factors ensure that the money invested on LED technology is recouped quickly.
Types of LED Walk-in Cooler Lights – and Their Advantages
High Bay LED Vapor-Tight Light Fixtures
These light fixtures are perfect for large indoor spaces and are either mounted or suspended from high ceiling heights. They are manufactured with a high-quality alloy of aluminum which makes them resistant to corrosion. They also have polycarbonate lenses which can endure corrosive cleaning agents.
High bay vapor-tight LED light fixtures are ideal for ceiling heights between 20 ft to 40 ft and distribute their light evenly from high spots, providing high-quality illumination. They can have integrated light control features such as dimmers to increase energy efficiency, enhancing the working environment for the workers and boosting safety.
Coolers can contain moisture, and that's exactly why we have our line of vapor tight walk in cooler lights that will keep out this moisture. In an environment such as a freezer, allowing any type of moisture into a fixture can be detrimental to the light and its lifespan. With the vapor tight design, it prevents this issue from every occurring. Be ensured that your new LED lighting system for your cooler or freezer will keep out the moisture and maintain a long lifespan with our LED vapor proof light fixture for walk in coolers and freezers.
LED Vapor-Tight Linear Fixtures
These lights are suitable for areas such as large rooms or hallways. They are available in 2ft, 4ft, and 8ft. They have a high-impact clear or frosted lens that enhances their light output and are very suitable for task lighting.
LED Vapor-Tight Jar Fixtures
Also known as bell jar fixtures, they are compact and are used in small spaces in moist environments. They have IP ratings of 65 or 66 and are very ideal for doorways and cold stores.
LED Cooler Light Fluorescent Retrofit Kits
Another incredible way to reduce replacement of your cooler lights is with LED cooler light retrofit kit options. These kits allow you to reduce replacement costs, but still enjoy the benefits of LED; including potential rebates.
Whether you have a cold storage warehouse in need of high bay retrofits that withstand the cold temperatures or need some beverage cooler LED light retrofit kits for a walk in cooler or even need it for LED refrigerated display case lighting, we can cover either and everything in-between.
Benefits of LED Waterproof Lights for Cold Facilities
To enhance the preservation of room temperatures, most cold storage warehouses and refrigeration facilities usually have a few or no windows at all. In these environments, high-quality lighting is crucial for efficiency and safety.
When choosing a lighting source, it is important to pick one that is of high quality and efficient. It will turn your cold room into a low-maintenance facility that does not eat into your energy and maintenance budget. LEDs vapor-tight lights were made with these facilities in mind and their many advantages include:
1. Low Heat Emissions
LED vapor-tight lighting fixtures give off minimum infrared energy and maximum light, saving on electric bills. Traditional light sources burn filaments, gases or electrodes to produce light, but LEDs do not. LEDs have no oxidation or evaporation processes, so they do not generate much heat. They are perfect for cold rooms because they help keep cold rooms cold.
Other bulbs produce a lot of heat, forcing the cooling mechanism of the refrigeration unit to work harder to bring the room temperatures back down. This eventually drives your energy costs through the roof. The high heat from traditional light sources will also damage the function and performance of your refrigeration facility.
LED heat sinks are designed to extract the little heat LEDs produce, cool it and prevent it from affecting the controlled cold environment of a walk-in cooler refrigeration facility. LED vapor-tight lights can help cut your energy costs by up to 20% compared to ordinary LED lights.
2. Enhanced Energy Efficiency
LED lights produce more light per watt, resulting in lower energy usage. This economic feature helps create a more productive cold room facility.
3. Extremely Long Lifespans
LED lights can outlast traditional light sources by up to 20 times. This translates to fewer replacement and maintenance needs as well as efficient and reliable light sources.
4. Durability
Sturdy light sources are perfect for use in cold storage environments, where they may face a lot of abuse from forklifts, trolleys, or pallets. Glass bulbs that easily shatter and are brittle are ill-fitted for these environments. LED vapor-tight lights, on the other hand, have hardy plastic diodes, which resist damage in busy environments.
5. Adaptability
LED lighting is incredibly adaptable and has a wide array of options, which means that it can be customized to any setting. It also integrates well with lighting control systems, boosting user comfort, productivity, and safety. When paired with intelligent systems, LED vapor-tight lights become smarter and more sustainable lighting solutions for cold storage facilities.
LED lights pair well with power monitoring units and networked sensors, adapting to the environment and communicating to facility managers on matters concerning power usage and light maintenance schedules.
6. Perfect Low-Temperature Lighting Solutions
HID lamps have lengthy warm-up and restrike periods, but LEDs can be switched on and off on demand. They also perform better in cool environments and hit maximum efficiency in colder temperatures.
Walk in coolers, freezers, doors, and other cold storage environments need a lighting system that can withstand the conditions, and LED can do just that. In fact, due to the cold environment it can actually increase the lifespan of an LED due to it never getting too hot. Our cold storage freezer LED light fixtures will maintain great light output in low temperatures as well as maintain a long lifespan of 50,000+ hours. So whether you need walk in cooler or walk in freezer LED light fixtures; they will withstand the temperature.
7. Safer Lighting Solutions
Unlike HIDs and fluorescents that emit UV light and have harmful mercury and glass casings, LEDs are solid state lights. They are more resistant to vibrations and shock compared to brittle bulbs and glass tubes with thin filament wires.
8. Reduced Costs
Reducing walk in cooler lighting costs becomes practical and sustainable with LED lights for walk-in cooler applications. With energy savings up to 75%, you can reduce a tremendous amount of energy consumption. Also a cold room lighting system can save tremendously with longer lifespans, reduced maintenance costs, and rebates.
9. The Lumen Output
The light output of conventional light sources was determined by how many watts they consumed. But the light output of LED lighting is measured by the lumens they produce; no attention is paid to the wattage. A higher number of lumens indicate that a light source is brighter.
Lumens (lm) tell us the amount of visible light (light seen by the human eye) produced by a light source. Low energy-consumption LED lights give more light with less power use. A LED lamp of 6.5W, for example, will provide a quality of light similar to that of a 50W halogen bulb.
This means that the LED will utilize 87% less energy than the halogen bulb and yet give the same quality of light. LEDs convert most of the electricity they draw into light rather than heat, and as their technology improves by the day, more and more lumens will be produced from fewer watts.
10. Color Rendering Index
The color rendering index rates how a light source reveals colors of objects to the human eye. Light sources with high CRI levels are better for color-critical applications such as food grading and food handling facilities. The highest possible CRI numerical value is 100, and LED lighting has excellent color rendering abilities of up to 98.
11. IP Rating
This rating defines the effectiveness of an electronic enclosure against the intrusion of dirt, dust, or water and is an International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard. LED lights meant for cold environments require the correct IP ratings to ensure that they are safe for use in wet conditions.
The first number of this 2-figure rating indicates a fixture’s protection against solid object intrusion while the second number rates the fixture’s protection levels against liquids. The liquid rating rates from 1 (for protection against slow drips) to 8 (for complete protection in submerged watery environments).
IP Rating Protection against Liquids
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Level
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Particulate protected against
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0
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None
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1
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Drips of water
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2
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Drips of water when the light is tilted to 15°
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3
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Water sprays
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4
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Water splashes
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5
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Water jets
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6
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Powerful water jets
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7
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Immersion up to 1 meter deep
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8
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Beyond the 1m depth of immersion
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Vapor proof light fixtures are built with a strong die-cast exterior casing which protects the lamps’ wiring and socket mechanism against moisture, vapors, non-explosive gases, corrosive fumes, and non-combustible dust. For the cold storage facilities and walk-in coolers, the most common fixtures are:
- IP65 Rated Fixtures
These are protected against the intrusion of water from smaller water jets during hose downs and are completely protected from dust.
- IP 66 Rated Fixtures
They can withstand water projected at them from powerful 0.5-inch nozzles during cleaning and are totally protected from dust.
- IP67- IP68 Rated Fixtures
If the situation calls for lights submerged in water, these are the light fixtures to go for. They are also entirely protected from dust.
LED walk-in cooler lights have many advantages over traditional cooler lights. They are waterproof and have no clunky, energy-wasting ballasts – and therefore use less energy. They emit negligible heat, something that makes them the perfect lighting solutions for cold storage and walk-in cooler refrigeration facilities.
They can be electronically and remote controlled and provide bright light for many years. Their multipoint design reduces light wastage and light pollution by focusing light on surfaces that need it the most. This helps in achieving more even foot candle distribution.
Make the Switch Today
Whether you manage a cold storage warehouse or a walk in cooler, our cold storage & walk in cooler LED light fixtures are a perfect fit. Our vapor tight cooler LEDs keep out moisture, work in cold temperatures, save energy, and output high quality light.
Walk in cooler LED lights are the go to technology for cold applications, and they offer near endless benefits when compared to any other lighting technology used in freezers and coolers.
These benefits include things like energy savings up to 75%, increased lifespans up to 2 to 3 (or more) times longer, decreased maintenance costs, improved quality of light, and better safety.
Have some questions about Cold Storage or Walk in Cooler LED Lights?