Most retailers known that the largest cost associated with a lighting system is not the cost of the fixtures or installation, but with cost of owning & operating the system. The two cost factors that play a part in the owning & operation are the energy and maintenance costs. The major cost in maintenance of a lighting system is labor. This can be minimized by implementing a group re-lamping programs to efficiently maintain your light levels and maintenance resources including a bulk lamp purchase.
Spot re-lamping is currently the main method being used to maintain lighting system. Spot re-lamping usually involves the following steps:
1. Store staff notifies someone in maintenance that they have
an outage and need a replacement.
2. A technician may have to go to the site to identify what lamp
type is needed and what equipment is needed to facilitates
the replacement.
3.The new lamp and the materials required to access the
fixture such as a ladder or lift have to be ordered or
if materials aren’t already on hand at the store.
4. Access to the fixture has to be ensured, which involves
the moving of displays and store fixtures.
5.One lamp has been replaced and everything is moved
back to its original position.
If another lamp burns out a week or two later, the whole process is repeated again which is an inefficient use of time and resources, and, very inconvenient for business in general.
A more efficient way to maintain the designed levels of your lighting system is to implement a group re-lamping program. This type of program involves replacing all of the lamps within a given store at a predetermined time before the lamps begin to burn out. This type of program also allows the maintenance crew to schedule access to the sales floor at a more opportune time allowing the least amount of disruption for your customers.
Putting together a program and buying them in bulk will help to minimize the mistake of ordering lamps with different characteristics. Ordering them as they burn out can lead to ordering the wrong wattage, color temperature, etc. Light is seen when it’s reflected off of a surface. Inconsistent levels of light output can create light and dark patches on the sales floor. This can make the merchandise look dull and flat, creating a distraction from the merchandise. Light fixtures along with lamps will accumulate dirt over time, which affects the light output of the lamps and fixtures. Since a technician will already be re-lamping a number of fixtures, they can take this opportunity to clean and dust anything that has accumulated since installation or the last re-lamping. Now the lamp and fixture are clean to help maintain their optimal performance.
