LED Lighting is taking the lead in the hotel industry

Over the last two decades, the hotel industry has seen an increased awareness of sustainability issues amongst both customers and management, including the environmental, economic and social impact.  Hoteliers are promoting “green” initiatives to make their hotels more sustainable, thus enhancing their reputation and increasing levels of customer satisfaction. As energy costs continue to rise, many hotels have adopted eco-friendly policies, implementing energy efficient technologies and practices to save money and gain a reputation as a “green” hotel.

Lighting accounts for a significant percentage of energy use and the most obvious benefit of upgrading to LED lighting is the improvement in energy efficiency. This has an immediate impact on the monthly electricity spend (from lighting), with a corresponding reduction in carbon footprint. As well as demonstrated energy savings of 85% or more, maintenance savings of up to 100% can be made. Typical return on investment calculations show full payback from as little as 3 months.

Few need convincing of the financial advantages of LED lighting, but there is still a perception they may be efficient and long lasting, but do little to enhance the ambience of the premises. Great for offices, warehouses, production floors, but atmosphere-killers in the hospitality industry. Nothing could be further from the truth. The colour temperature of LED lighting is highly controllable, and manufacturers are introducing character lighting ranges specifically designed for environments where the warm glow of an incandescent bulb is a valued feature.

Reap the rewards – and save as you go

As well as an immediate improvement in energy and other costs, existing ballasts and control gear (which can utilise a further 20% energy) are eliminated. Moreover, LED lamps from reputable manufacturers come with lengthy guarantees and there are further cost savings from a reduced burden on maintenance. All this makes a very strong case for moving to LED technology. Fortunately, this can be achieved without throwing away the existing infrastructure – and past investment. LED lamps and luminaires are readily retrofitted within the current lighting scheme.

In addition, retrofitting is the least business-disruptive way to upgrade existing lighting. Installation is quick and work can be scheduled around downtimes, so that operation can continue as normal. For offices, warehouses and industrial buildings, LEDs provide qualitatively better lighting, on top of an overwhelming quantitative benefit. For example, LED technology provides a directional form of light, so it can be focused where it is needed. LEDs are flicker-free, combatting the common problem with fluorescent lighting. High performance LED lighting is highly consistent, contributing to a good even spread of light, without any colour shifting or contrast imbalances. Good quality LED lighting is well suited to building automation and control, since there are no issues with being turned on and off.

LED filament bulbs – savings with style

The Bright Goods range of retrofit LED filament light bulbs have been designed to replace incandescent and filament-based lighting technologies which give all of these benefits in lights that create a warm and welcoming ambience. Such traditional filament light bulbs are going through something of a resurgence in popularity. From industrial style enamel pendants, to just being hung bare, with coloured flex, the appeal lies in the classic shapes, the glass, the brass and the filament. However, traditional ‘filament’ bulbs remain unreliable, short-lived and power-hungry.

The solution is a range of antique-style filament LED lamps, carefully hand-crafted to look exactly like traditional bulbs in an array of classic, well-loved vintage shapes. These innovative LED filament lamps simply plug into existing fittings to highlight and improve almost every kind of interior space. Where a traditional filament bulb consistently in use over 10 hours a day would require replacing in less than a year, these lamps are fully dimmable and provide a high-performance lifespan of 30,000 hours –  around ten times that of a conventional filament bulb. Savings are up to 90% on energy savings and running costs.

Happy outcomes

Satisfied customers include DoubleTree by Hilton and the first Premier Inn in Germany, who replaced their old lighting with long life, energy efficient LED filament lamps. A more individual example of a Bright Goods installation is at the world’s tallest Novotel in London’s Canary Wharf. The LED filament lighting was specified as part of the AccorHotel Group’s PLANET21 sustainability programme to increase its energy efficiency and environmental performance.

Louisa Daxer-Robbins, Operations Manager at Novotel, commented “The LED filament lamps are aesthetically beautiful and have helped to achieve the coveted ambience we were looking for, complementing the bespoke design of each individual area within the hotel.  Furthermore, they offer an impressive energy saving of up to 75% which fulfils our criteria for sustainability.”

 Conclusion

Whilst the financial gains and environmental reasons for making the switch to energy efficient LED lighting are clear, good lighting can visibly transform the hospitality experience and leave a lasting, positive impression for the visiting guest which is key to ensuring customer loyalty.  This in turn will enhance a hotel’s reputation and boost brand awareness.  Hotel owners now look to create an environment that will make their hotel stand out in terms of elegance and sustainability.