According to Lux Research, global demand for LED lighting is expected to surge to $80bn annually by 2020. Consumers are increasingly turning toward the long-lasting, energy-conserving products, but the products also are becoming more popular with food processors and other manufacturers.
Manufacturers seeing the light
LED lighting manufacturer Precision-Paragon is among the firms creating LED lighting products geared toward the challenging conditions of manufacturing environments. Precision-Paragon vice president Joe Martin told FoodProductionDaily.com that LED lighting installation can help a food manufacturer fulfil its overreaching sustainability goals.
“One of the keys to delivering the most sustainable environment is to make sure that a comprehensive approach is considered,” he said.
Precision-Paragon’s recent LED product introductions include the VTL vaportight fixture and VTK vaportight retrofit kit, geared toward increasing energy savings and reduce maintenance costs. The lighting products are suitable for use in freezers, coolers, food processing zones and other areas that come in frequent contact with water.
Safety and maintenance
Precision-Paragon vice president Joe Martin, told FoodProductionDaily.com that in addition to performance benefits, LED lighting products can be safer than their fluorescent counterparts.
“Food processing and packaging environments have historically used wash-down, vapor-tight housings with fluorescent technology,” he said. “The new LED vapor-tight fixtures have a lifespan that is almost twice that of fluorescent; this eliminates a relamping cycle in the facility and reduces the risk of fluorescent lamp breakage," he added.
Additionally, Martin said, the longer-lived LED fixtures help reduce maintenance efforts (they don’t need to be changed as often). Further, in the case of fixture breakage, the LED fixtures do not carry the worry of mercury contamination.