In the past few years, the landscape of lighting within modern commercial settings has shifted greatly, transforming from a ‘nice to have’ to a critical part of ongoing sustainability strategies. With increased pressure to choose environmentally conscious options paired with rising energy costs, efficient lighting has never been more critical to business operation, contributing significantly towards the overall aesthetic and costs as well as a role in public perception. Truth be told, the right lighting solution can transform a workspace, improve employee moral and reduce energy expenses for businesses all shapes and sizes. Providing an in-depth guide into Brackenheath’s expansive range of lighting options, here are three of the very best solutions for commercial environments:
LED Panels
The bread and butter of a lot of traditional office environments, lighting panels have been a staple in the corporate world for over 60 years, transitioning to the more efficient and cost effective in the 2000s as the LED revolution took full effect. Although a familiar sight to anyone who’s worked in an office environment (complete with the square foam ceiling tiles of course), LED panels consume significantly less energy compared to traditional lighting solutions, allowing businesses to get a lot more bang for their buck, helping to protect the ever precious profit margins. With the offerings from Brackenheath providing a bulb light span of up to 50,000 hours, LED panels reduce the frequency of replacements in an effort to minimize maintenance costs, all while providing clear but importantly not over bright illumination to offices. Providing a uniform and professional aesthetic, panels offer consistent and even lighting that reduces glare and eye strain, allowing staff to remain productive throughout the day.
As mentioned, LED panels are the perfect solution for open plan offices and conference rooms due to their sleek, unobtrusive design and controlled light output allowing staff to focus on the truly important stuff. Not limited to office use, panels also make for a great option in retail stores where they can be installed to provide effective overhead lighting without intruding into the shoppers personal space, avoiding the feeling of a claustrophobic environment that will deter prospective customers from making a purchase.
See the full range of LED panels here.
Fire Rated Downlights
Upping the ante of lighting options, Fire Rated Downlights (FRDs for short) are some of the most versatile lighting solutions you can get your hands on, forming one of the key foundations of modern lighting strategy. Providing a more direct and focused beam than the LED Panels previously, FRDs can be installed into ceilings to similarly provide a focused, unobtrusive beam of light, either to provide general illumination or a more specific focus on one area. Coming equipped with CCT4 (Correlated Colour Temperature), FRDs are highly adjustable solution that can have their colour temperature adjusted to provide lighting for different aesthetics on the fly. Need a cool white for a product display? Look no further. Need a warm white for a cosy coffee shop counter? FRDs have it covered.
Another core benefit that is quite literally in the name, ‘Fire Rated’ Downlights are compliant with safety standards related to fire, with the Brackenheath range fully compliant with BS476 Part 21 as standard, basically meaning they can withstand fire for up to 30, 60 and 90 minutes depending on the material used in the fixture. As a result of this protection, the lights can resist intense heat, drastically improving the ease of exit in emergency situations where there may be smoke blocking clear sight lines.
Used most commonly in office spaces, hotels, retail displays and walkways, FRDs in truth can be used almost anywhere commercials settings thanks to their A-grade versatility. Perfectly at home with illuminating office corridors as well as high value displays in the jewellery store, FRDs are a great choice at providing focused lighting to a key area, either to improve safety or draw all eyes to a big ticket item that you are looking to promote to boost sales and revenue. The choices are near endless!
See the full range of Fire Rated Downlights here.
Floodlights
Typically in the past, floodlights have had a bit of a reputation for being a heavy duty lighting style made for exclusively lighting up large-scale environments like football stadiums. This has now changed. Offering a wide variety of sizes and power levels for different applications, floodlights provide high intensity lighting to a wide range of applications improving safety all day and year round. Another use for floodlights rarely exploited is their ability to provide architectural lighting, highlighting a façade of a building to create a striking nighttime appearance. Designed to withstand harsh weather conditions 365 days a year, floodlights are tough and useful for providing light without worrying about intense rain or heat.
Useful in outdoor spaces that require intense illumination, Brackenheath floodlights are best suited to office/factory car parks, exterior walkways and access roads. However, due to their incredible versatility they can also be used in smaller more intimate locations, with a number of different power options available from 50W to 200W. While they may not provide the ideal lighting choice for an enclosed kitchen or toilet area, floodlights can be used internally in a building, providing a great option alongside highbays for warehouse lighting and product displays.
See the full range of Floodlights here.
Lighting for all occasions
Ensuring your employees and customers are covered by effective lighting has never been more important. While rarely considered, the effectiveness of lighting can be make or break in commercial environments, quietly making the difference between a productive workforce and a distracted one, as well as content relaxed customers and disgruntled ones. Offering an extensive range of high quality, robust commercial lighting solutions designed with the customer in mind, explore the full Brackenheath range here.