Longer life lamps are the new ‘basic’ BY KATE CALDER
Lighting alone accounts for around 50 per cent of the energy bill in most commercial buildings, so for the end user, extended lamp life reduces significant costs for labour and lamp replacement, as well as disposal costs associated with recycling. It’s no secret that LED technology is going to be the lighting solution of the future. With approximately 75 per cent of lighting systems today using outdated, inefficient technology, LED’s superior energy efficiency and up to 25-year life expectancy has created an excitement in the market to adopt the technology. The next few years are going to see rapid change in the industry with the introduction of LEDs, and already early adopters in commercial settings are starting to install the technology. Philips is excited about the future of lighting, and has dedicated substantial resources to ensure that they are at the forefront of LED product development. Nevertheless, until the lumens per watt and the colour consistency of indoor LED lighting has been developed to optimum standards, and until the longevity far outreaches traditional linear fluorescent lamps, replacing an entire operation with LEDs is still a few years away. Even factoring in the energy savings with LEDs, the technology is still so new that replacing T8 tubes with the latest LED linear fluorescent replacement products could have a unit cost nearly 50 times that of a standard T8 lamp, and would likely deter the average individual from a substantial investment that’s yet to be “tried, tested and true.” In other words, linear fluorescent lamps still offer many advantages today in terms of light quality and total cost of ownership that shouldn’t be overlooked. Sustainability Stepping Stone As LED technology in the indoor arena improves, and its use becomes more widespread, Philips Lighting Canada is bridging the gap between linear and LED with an industry exclusive – the
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company’s 32W T8 and 34W T12 lamps manufactured to have 20 per cent longer life are now being offered at the base model price. “The vision for tomorrow’s lighting is LED technology, but we need to be capitalizing on what’s valuable today for an efficient and sustainable approach,” says Philips Lighting Canada’s Sharon MacArthur. Essentially, the basic versions of both the T8 and T12 product categories have been eliminated and, as a complimentary upgrade to end users, the longer life versions are the new entrylevel lamp. They’re launching this initiative with a campaign entitled “There’s a New Spec In Town.” What’s more, Philips’s industry-leading three-year, out-of-the-box warranty applies to the new base models, and performance characteristics such as lumens, lumen maintenance, colour temperatures, mercury content and CRI are equivalent in the longer-life lamps. “Four-foot T8 linear fluorescent lamps are still a very viable product category, and we see it as a stepping stone as moving to the future of lighting,” says MacArthur. Less Waste, Less Money Wasted Lighting alone accounts for around 50 per cent of the energy bill in most commercial buildings, so for the end user, extended lamp life reduces significant costs for labour and lamp replacement, as well as disposal costs associated with recycling. Philips offers the longest-life four-foot fluorescent lamps in the industry, with no lamp now rated at less than 30,000 hours*. This is a monumental shift when you consider that Philips has historically sold
