Why should you measure lighting levels?
The lighting levels that you need throughout your business can vary – for example you need more light to read than you do to visit the bathroom.
However, if you have a room that is brighter than it needs to be, you are wasting money on excess lighting.
Measuring the lighting levels of your premises will enable you to see which parts of your business are set too high or too low.
Excess lighting can affect your energy bills, but poor quality lighting can affect the productivity and well-being of you and your staff. It can also negatively impact on retail sales and customer experience.
Queens SUPA IGA, WA
Queens SUPA IGA uses timers to automatically turn their lighting off at 10pm and on at 4am. Changes have also been made to the way they use their light switches.
They move to ‘half-lighting’ mode during out-of-hours, stocking and baking times. Switching off half their lights during these periods saves them a lot of energy.
In the out-of-hours period they also move to departmental-only lighting. That way when the bakery team come in, they only turn on the lighting for their section. Colour-coded light switches make it easier for the different teams to know which lights apply to their department.
These simple measures are saving the business about $3,000 a month – around $36,000 per year.[1]