Digital Light for Greener Retailing

DIGITAL LIGHTING SET TO REVOLUTIONISE ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN THE FOOD RETAIL SECTOR ACCORDING TO NUALIGHT

Food retailers can make significant savings to their energy bills if they replace fluorescent lighting with digital lighting in refrigerated display equipment. A study conducted by pioneering LED lighting module manufacturer Nualight reveals that digital lighting can save retailers more than 50% of their annual lighting bill for refrigerated display environments. For a mid-size retailer with 100 stores, this means a saving of around £550,000 (approx. Euro 700,000) a year in energy bills.

Speaking recently at Euroshop 2008, the global retail trade fair, Dr. Kelly, CEO of Nualight, said:

“Being green makes good business sense; digital lighting is not only environmentally friendly but is also cost effective.  The days of fluorescent lighting are numbered as more energy efficient and environmentally friendly solutions are developed. Our research showed that retailers that implement digital lighting in refrigeration display cabinets can achieve reduced costs, merchandising differentiation and improved retail environments.“

2008 will be a challenging year for retailers and recent trading statements indicate that many are struggling with slower growth, greater competition and a rapidly changing industry. Now more than ever retailers need to look at novel ways of selling more products and at the same time reducing costs. The rapidly rising price of oil, the concern over carbon footprint and the high energy usage in grocery multiples make it imperative for forward-thinking businesses to get green solutions on their strategic agendas.

The Holy Grail for retailers is to be more profitable, have better branding, be regulation compliant and find growth opportunities in difficult trading environments. But where should retailers place their efforts and what are the responsible strategies that will deliver enhanced brand value and increased profits? The most effective approach is a holistic one encompassing superior operational efficiencies and providing differentiation and improved retail environments for the more discerning consumers in a changing world.

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One area where retailers can achieve this is lighting, especially in temperature-controlled environments. The highest density of energy usage in supermarkets is in refrigerated displays – both freezers and coolers – which account for 50 to 70 per cent of total power consumption. Digital lighting, based on light-emitting diodes (LEDs), offers multiple performance benefits. By substituting environmentally-unfriendly fluorescent with digital lighting, lighting ambience can be greatly improved and energy consumption can be greatly reduced since lighting inefficiency translates to higher loads on refrigeration and air conditioning requirements.

Recent industry research conducted by NuaLight considered the most effective way of implementing digital lighting solutions and the returns it could bring. Digital lighting, installed correctly, offers better aesthetics, better photometrics, long lifetime, negligible maintenance, rapid payback and a strong return on investment. Digital lighting is not a commodity and is not a matter of purchasing and installing light bulbs from a component supplier. Each temperature-controlled retail environment presents a unique set of characteristics. The performance of a digital lighting module in a display case is a function of fixture design, case design and installation methodology. Inefficiently executed, the result will fall short of expectations and may end up costing rather than saving money. The research highlighted the importance of organisations conducting energy audits, fixture selection, retro-fitting or installation and validation. Ensuring the lighting implementation process is completed properly will maximise cost savings. Appropriate resources need to be deployed in order to guarantee success, some of which are typically supplied by the supermarket facilities people, component vendors and installation and service companies.

NuaLight is a pioneering digital lighting company and an authoritative industry expert in this market. A one-stop-shop specialising in digital lighting for the temperature-controlled retail sector, NuaLight understands the applications and the requirements from a retailer’s perspective, has strong relationships with case manufacturers and offers installation, retrofitting and maintenance services. Concerned by the urgency of green compliance, NuaLight will shortly make available to the industry a web-based toolkit, dealing with the selection, evaluation, installation and operation of digital lighting solutions. This will enable organisations to confidently forecast their return on investment and shorten their implementation deadlines.

Being green makes good business sense. Digital lighting is not only environmentally friendly but is also cost effective. In a fiercely competitive market, 2008 will be about tightening belts to deliver margins. Retailers will need to urgently deploy innovative solutions to be ahead of the game and going greener with digital light can provide the solution.

http://www.nualight.com/

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