Manufacturing
Through our entrenched experience in designing energy efficient
lighting solutions for Manufacturing facilities, we have documented
several key learnings. These learnings demonstrate our ability to
identify and manage the unique engineering challenges associated with
every lighting project.
Lighting Quality
Lighting quality, brightness and energy consumption are a function of a
complex, three-pronged relationship. While you may think it is a
straightforward relationship between the size of the bulb and the
ballast it is in fact a combination of three factors. Lumen output
determines the brightness of the light and has the greatest impact on
energy consumption. The Color Rendition Index determines the quality of
the light. And the Correlator Color Temperature determines the color of
the light whether it is a warm red/orange light or a cool clear blue
light. This variable has a large impact on the feeling in the room. The
relationship between these three variables and the give and take of how
they are specified for a project is best understood with years of
design and build experience.
Cleaning
Many manufacturing facilities are required to dedicate 1 shift for
cleaning. This requires the use of high pressure water and in some
cases chemicals which ultimately can reach and penetrate lighting
fixtures. This forces Sun Industries to evaluate fixture locations and
potentially change fixture types in order to protect them from water
and chemicals. Typically a vapor tight or waterproof fixture is used in
these applications.
Temperature
Many of the facilities will have freezers that operate at temperatures
in the range of 35 degrees to -40 degrees. The correct ballast and
fixtures are critical in these applications to ensure proper
performance. What works at 35 degrees may not be appropriate at -35
degrees.
Product Safety
Shattersheild lamps have become much of the standard in production
areas throughout facilities engaged in the production of consumables,
pharmaceuticals, topicals or ingredients. Customers are concerned about
breakage that could contaminate these products. Sun Industries has also
recommended the use of these lamps in offices to avoid
non-shattershield lamps being mistakenly installed in the production
and product areas.
Rebates
The identification and qualification of utility rebates and EPAct tax
credits can have a substantial impact on the bottom line of the
project. Sun Industries projects always calculate pay back as part of
their financial analysis and auditing services. Both the costs and the
Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO) expense reductions plus the
energy savings are factored into the algorithm. The inclusion of the
rebates significantly reduces the payback period for their projects.
Sun Industries partners with their clients to identify available
rebates in the client’s geographical area.
Lamp Location
During the course of a project, Sun Industries identifies lamps that
may need to be re-located to properly focus light in the facility. The
correct focus can greatly improve the quality of light in an area
resulting in higher productivity of the staff. If the move is within a
specific range, the cost of relocating the lamp is included in the
project.
Regulatory Issues
Production facilities are often subject to a variety of federal and
state regulations regarding the materials they handle and the final
product they produce. Safety and quality concerns must be factored into
the design and on-site execution of any lighting project in a
manufacturing facility. Knowing what to do and not do could be the
difference between a successful project and a future hassle caused by
an alleged irregularity or potential violation of a regulatory
provision. This is especially critical in facilities governed by FDA
and EPA guidelines and includes everything right down to proper
disposal of replaced fixtures and ballasts.
High Task Areas vs. Low Task Areas
Employee tasks vary in manufacturing environments. Some require higher
levels of lighting than others. Our design team uses computer generated
photometric programs to accurately design lighting layouts for
different task areas of the facility. Light level diagrams are created
prior to installation allowing designers to specify the optimal number
of fixtures in different work areas based on the tasks performed in the
areas. Our design not only contributed to excellent lighting conditions
but also minimized the number of luminaries used, allowing for maximum
energy efficiency.
Case Study - Bottling Plant
This manufacturer recognized that the lighting in its facility had room for
much needed improvements. They developed a standard for lighting that required an
average of 60 foot candles in the warehouse and production areas. In addition, the plant required shatter proof lamp technology to prevent contamination of the product. It would take a
highly customized solution to get their facilities back to the
standards the corporate directors and the FDA were mandating.
Sun Industries designed and built a lighting program that met the
objectives of the customer. They removed and disposed of the 370-1000 Watt
fixtures and 400 Metal Halide fixtures from the plant. These fixtures
were producing only half of the newly required foot candles. The
solution included installing 580 8-foot 8 lamp High Bay fluorescent fixtures with built in occupancy sensors and/or integrated
lighting controls. The results was a 100% increase in the lighting load
that actually decreased the Kilowatt hours.
Energy efficiency was not the primary objective of the assignment but improving the quality of lighting was. Sun
Industries not only delivered an upgraded lighting environment that met
the foot candle criteria but they did it all
without increasing the energy consumption required to support the new
lighting system.
Case Study - Manufacturing
A National manufacturing client with facilities in California knew they
needed to improve the quality of their lighting but they didn’t have
the time or the resources to research, design and upgrade their
fixtures. What initially started as a holistic energy saving evaluation
turned into a stand alone lighting project. Sun Industries applied
their knowledge and expertise to help the manufacturer meet their
lighting and energy savings objectives by engineering a solution that
used the appropriate lighting design for every area of the plant.
Similar to many manufacturing environments, there was lighting systems
in 3 unique settings that each demanded a custom solution. There is the
production area, and in this case a food product, a warehouse and
offices. Because the production area involved a food product Sun
Industries chose shattershield bulbs. For the entire facility a
one-for-one retrofit replaced old technology that had degraded to 45%
of its original light. By installing new technology that degrades to
less than 5% of its original light, the once dark facility was now
dramatically brighter – creating environmental, safety and worker
productivity implications that were extremely positive. And by
retrofitting with instant-on technology they no longer have warming up
periods of over 5 minutes that impact the efficiency of the entire
facility. Sensors were also installed in appropriate areas to manage
power consumption. Sun Industries designed a lighting system that
dramatically reduced the number of lamp SKU’s reducing Maintenance,
Repair and Operating (MRO) expenses and with the lamps, fixture and
ballasts that they installed they reduced energy consumption by over
50%. In addition to these cost benefits, Sun Industries assisted in
securing utility rebates and the EPAct tax credit which funded over 1/3
of the project.
Each of the facility managers has the autonomy and authority to
contract with the vendors of their choice. Sun Industries proved their
knowledge and engineering expertise to the facility manager through
their extensive audit and financial analysis. And, unlike the proposals
received from manufacturers of lighting equipment, Sun Industries
offered a technology neutral solution which made the most sense for the
different spaces within the facility. Technology neutrality convinced
the client that they were truly receiving the best solutions and at the
best price.
Case Study - Manufacturing 2
A
manufacturing facility in California set out to improve their lighting
and controls, sensors and switches that operated them. Their goal was to not only improve their employee’s work
experience but also to decrease the facilities monthly utility
expenditures. They required energy efficiency modifications in their
office space, warehouse and their production floor.
To achieve the projected savings that were estimated in the energy
audit and the financial analysis a multi-faceted plan was executed
including:
- Retrofitting office space lighting with energy efficient T8 lamps and electronic ballasts
- Configuring occupancy sensors in offices, office corridors and cubicle spaces
- Installing energy efficient T-5HO high bay lighting in the production floor
- Configuring high bay occupancy sensors in the warehouse aisles
- Configuring photocell sensors to the fixtures adjacent to roll-up shipping doors
To maximize energy efficiency the Sun Industries design team used
computer generated photometric programs to accurately design lighting
layouts for different task areas of the facility. Light level diagrams
created prior to installation allowed designers to specify the optimal
number of fixtures in different work areas of the facility based on the
employee tasks. Areas of high visual task performance were installed
with high foot-candle fixtures while areas of lower visual tasks were
installed with lower foot-candle fixtures. The result was excellent
lighted conditions that minimized the number of luminaries.
Controls were also installed to minimize energy consumption. Photocell
sensors were installed in areas adjacent to the loading dock and other
sources of natural daylight. This provided daylight harvesting as
natural light levels increased in these areas. The light fixtures will
automatically deactivate when the light levels from the entering
sunlight reaches a specified threshold. In addition, high bay occupancy
sensors were configured in the warehouse aisles to activate and
deactivate based on employee presence in the area.
Since the completion of the project, energy consumption has been
tracked in the facility. The monthly utility expenditure has decreased
on average over $3,000 per month, average daily KWH has dropped 886KWH
and this facility qualified for a $19,000 Southern California Edison
rebate. All meeting the initial projections of the project based on the
energy audit.
Sun Industries
Illuminating the Future
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