Functionality improvements to the LED Refrigerated Display Lighting System, an ecomagination product from Lumination, LLC, GE Consumer & Industrial's LED business, enable further energy savings for retailers in new and retrofit applications. Based on customer needs, Lumination technologists and engineers have redesigned the LED Refrigerated Display Case System to incorporate full dimming control and motion sensing.

"Retailers have varying opinions about how to optimize the efficiency of our LED Refrigerated Display Lighting System," notes Ravi Kaushik, specialty product manager at Lumination. "We're simply giving customers more opportunities and flexibility to save energy."

The incumbent lighting that LEDs are replacing in refrigerated display cases, fluorescent, cannot be efficiently dimmed or switched on and off without a significant impact on product life. Also, in contrast to cold–loving LED systems, fluorescent lighting does not perform at optimal levels in cold temperatures. "LEDs are a natural for this application," says Kaushik.

A retailer that incorporates motion sensors in its low–temperature refrigeration and freezer cases could program inside–the–case LED lighting to turn off or revert to 25 percent brightness—or any brightness level—when no customers or staff walk by after a period of minutes. The motion sensors will light up cases as a customer approaches, and remain on while the customer stands in front of the case or reaches inside for products. In time, 30 seconds, for example, the case will go into sleep mode and reduce the lighting to a level established by the store or its corporate parent.

"The motion sensing capability addresses the waste of static, full–brightness display case lighting," notes Kaushik. "At some point during a store's operation, during a lazy afternoon, late evening or overnight, it makes financial sense to dim, darken or switch off the display case lighting."

Lumination's LED Refrigerated Display Case Lighting System reduces energy consumption on a 5–door reach–in case by more than 40 percent, when compared with T8 fluorescent lamps. Lighting energy consumption reductions are even more favorable when the LED solution is pitted against HO fluorescent lamps (59 percent) or VHO fluorescent lamps (78 percent).

When compared with fluorescent lamps, the LED Refrigerated Display Lighting System offers reduced maintenance, delivers greater light–level uniformity across the face of products and cuts annoying glare on floors. It also makes low- and medium–temperature reach–in door merchandiser display light sources invisible to shoppers in supermarket, grocery, convenience store and floral retail settings.

The inconvenience of fluorescent lighting breakage is eliminated with Lumination's robust, impact–resistant LED Refrigerated Display Lighting system. It has no glass to break, no IR light, no UV light and no mercury. It is also RoHS compliant and UL–approved.

Lumination's LED Refrigerated Display Lighting solution also saves watts by lessening the load on the compressor. For every light watt reduced in a frozen food case, the compressor works less hard, saving ~ 0.45 watts. On a 5–door case, the additional energy savings can reach 70 watts vs. T8; 134 watts vs. HO; and 330 watts vs. VHO.

The LED Refrigerated Display Lighting solution features a longer rated life—up to 50,000 hours vs. 18,000 hours for fluorescent lamps in low temperature environments—that reduces maintenance hassles and costs. With the Lumination LED solution, re–lamping would occur every 6 to 10 years instead of the 2–year cycle time that is typically associated with fluorescent lamps. It offers a color of ~4800 CCT and color–rendering index of 72. Additional advantages of the LED Refrigerated Display Lighting solution include:

- Eliminate light–source glare on store floors and perceived "dark" packaging by efficiently directing light to where it is truly needed.
- Reduce maintenance with fewer lamp failures before scheduled re–lamping.
- Improve loading access that makes room for more products on shelves.
- Save energy and add dimming and cycling capabilities that are not usually recommended for T12 or T8 fluorescent lamps.