Can Commercial Lighting Automation Lower Operational Costs?

Your Park City, UT restaurant should have proper lighting, throughout every hour, from open to close. The appropriate lighting can completely change the dining experience your customers have. But as with most necessary additions to a business, leaving bright lights on all day can greatly increase the bills. However, you can keep energy costs low with commercial lighting automation. Let your restaurant thrive with the numerous options that controlled lighting offers.  Read on to see the features we’ve listed out below.

The Benefits

The main reason why so many Utah restaurant owners are turning to commercial lighting automation is that there are multiple benefits to doing so. It creates ambiance for guests, keeps staff alert and focused, and gives your whole space a clean and professional appearance.  

But the real advantage comes in the form of energy savings. These lighting automation systems are designed to minimize your energy costs each month, saving you money and keeping your business eco-friendly.

How it Works

A lighting control system is a collection of smart devices that monitor and react to changing lighting, temperature, and occupancy conditions. The whole system acts automatically (although you can certainly make changes from a tablet, computer, or smartphone) so that the effort on your part is completely minimized.

Each lighting system is different, depending on the needs of your customers and the building.  That said, your system would likely include some or all of these features: 

• Occupancy Sensors: If a light is on and no one is there to use it, it is simply doing one thing: wasting energy.  With occupancy sensors, lights will automatically turn off when they detect a room is empty.  This can be extremely helpful in your restaurant’s bathrooms or staff rooms, which can remain unoccupied for extended periods of time.

• LED Lighting: Many companies are shifting to LED lights since they use much less energy and last 25 times longer than normal bulbs.  They are also more cost-efficient these days as more and more manufacturers have been producing them.

• Daylight Harvesting: Natural sunlight can sometimes be the perfect addition to setting the right mood for any meal time.  When there’s ample sunlight, then there will be no need for your lights to remain at full brightness.  A daylight harvesting system has sensors that can tell when natural sunlight is coming through your windows, and dim your lights.  Then, if the sun shifts or moves behind a cloud, your lights will subtly brighten again.

• Integrated Motorized Shading & HVAC: A little bit of sunlight brightening up the room is a good thing, but what happens when the sun is blazing overhead, heating up your restaurant? Linking up automated shades to your system can help with that.  The shades can automatically raise up or lower when they detect too much sunlight is heating up the area.  The shades lower and keep your HVAC system from overworking.

Commercial lighting control has real, substantial benefits for restaurants. It will help you save energy and costs, so why not consider the options for your business? You can learn more by contacting us at (801) 330-8320 or online through our contact form.