Longer life lamps are the new ‘basic

BY KATE CALDER

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 With approximately 75 per cent of lighting systems today using outdated, inefficient technology, LED’s superior energy efficiency and up to 25-year life expectancy has created an excitement in the market to adopt the technology.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 op timum 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 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.

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

www.GreenCapSpec.com Demand it. Meet it. Wear it.

There’s a new spec in town T

Get more for your money. The Philips 32W T8 PLUS lamp is the longest-life base-model lamp in the industry. At 36,000 hours rated life* , you get an extra year of lamp life - guaranteed. And we do this with the lowest mercury content in the industry. All at a base-model price. All at ay y.theindustr .icebasemodel pr www.GreenCapSpec.com .GreenCapSpecwwww. .comc

*12 hours per start, instant start. instant stat,s per star12 hour t.r

millions of the basic 24,000 hour 32W T8 lamps into the Canadian market over the past few years. (*Refers to T12 long life, 12 hours per start, instant start ballast. T8 PLUS model has a longer life.)

“We’ve just added a year to the life to all of those lamps,” says MacArthur. “That means we’re producing less lamps, disposing less and introducing less mercury into the whole process – the ripple effect is pretty tremendous.”

T8 Green Technology

Besides energy efficiency and long lamp life, the third factor in Philips’s position as a sustainability leader is the low toxicity of its products. Philips’s longer life four-foot T8 PLUS and T12 Long Life lamps use the company’s patented ALTO technology, which boasts the industry’s lowest mercury content. And this technology extends to the remainder of Philips extensive fluorescent portfolio of value-add products, including their Energy Advantage 25W T8 Extra Long Life lamp, rated at 46,000 hours, with a 48-month warranty. In fact, if you couple the Philips 25W T8 with the Philips Advance Optanium ballast, Philips will further warranty the system for a staggering seven years to educational institutions!

In 2007, Philips reduced the mercury content in its T8 lamps down to only 1.7mg of 100-per-cent recycled mercury – half the content from its leading competitors. Since its launch in 1995, more than 1.5 billion fluorescent lamps with ALTO low-mercury technology have been produced, with 24 tons less mercury than previous non-ALTO lamps.

Philips’s philosophy, “prevention is better than cure”, drives the company to lead by example with solid strategies that will light a greener future. Strategies that reduce energy demands, reduce toxins, and reduce operating costs and waste with superior long-life products. Strategies that make it simple to switch to green. In the end, we all want to save money. And save the earth. It just makes sense.

About the Author: Kate Calder is a trade journalist in Toronto. She has written articles for various industries including electrical contracting, manufacturing , commercial printing and television production.

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