Energy-Saving Lighting for Industrial Applications

Since the onset of energy crunch, turning off lights has become the symbol of energy savings. The results are far from being satisfactory, in some cases, even counter productive. The most important contribution which a lighting engineer can make as far as energy saving is concerned will be to apply his technical know-how to provide adequate but economic lighting, especially in the industrial plants where lighting is directly related to productivity and the quality of work life. High-efficacy light sources should provide an excellent opportunity to energy saving lighting in the industrial plants. Many shortcomings of these light sources in the past have been either overcome or improved to such a point that no major problems would be encountered in their application. Metal halide and high-pressure sodium have made the longest stride in the recent years. We can expect this trend to continue and grow. The latest available energy saving light sources and their applications in the field of industrial lighting are discussed.