Blog

May 14, 2023

Light of Day

As grocers focus on designing and building stores that are destinations, they

As grocers focus on designing and building stores that are destinations, they must continually find ways to get shoppers to think of their store as more than just a place to buy milk, eggs and other basic groceries. This is evidenced, say industry observers, in the fact that grocery chains are adding departments and services such as full service cafes, boutique retail departments and high-end gourmet showcases. Lighting is a key element in highlighting and attracting shoppers to these new departments and elements within a store environment.

Today's lighting is all about making a store, product or shelf set stand out and look its best, say observers. "Awareness and competition are two key factors driving interest in lighting," says Fritz Meyne, Jr., vice president sales for Bitro Group, based in Hackensack, N.J. "It is all about finding new ways to use lighting as a decorative element."

Bitro has introduced a number of new products including a Tune-able Lattice featuring new color temp options in 3000K, 4000K and 5000K. "This offers Kelvin choice for static rendition of white light needed to create warmer or colder illumination effects relative to ambient color needs," says Meyne. The company has also introduced New Lattice with Optics for shallower working depths. This allows for depths as shallow as 1.5-inches and the optics help increase the light beam pattern to bounce around structural objects. Bitro also has a new Glacier White 3-centimeter white cast acrylic for Resno letters, designed exclusively for LED illumination eliminating hot spot and uneven lighting concerns.

With the expectation for stores to be certified and sustainable via programs like Green Globes and LEED, observers say LED lighting technology and design are key factors in achieving sustainability and productivity in store design and compliance. "LED is no longer a ‘science experiment’ that grocers are testing, it is a proven technology that can deliver the output of traditional lighting sources while providing the color qualities and visual comfort that shoppers desire," says Michael Lehman, vice president marketing, product development and design for ConTech Lighting, based in Northbrook, Ill.

Lehman says that advances in LED chip and driver technology are making the luminaire more efficient, efficacious and anesthetically pleasing. "Grocers that were the first to invest in LED technology three to five years ago are finding that retrofitting their current systems with newer LED technology will not only improve their store light levels and quality of light, but also save additional energy and reduce maintenance," he says.

ConTech has introduced a number of lighting products recently, including a super high output CPL LED high bay fixture. Officials say the lumen output matches light levels of a 400W metal halide high bay. "This is a great general light fixture option for higher ceiling heights," says Lehman. The company has also introduced a Stealth LED wall lighter which offers up to 5900 delivered lumens. Lehman says it was optically designed to provide a wide and even distribution of light for wall wash and signage lighting.

impact LED technology has had and will continue to have on the grocery industry is tremendous. Scott Roos, Vice President product design and lighting education for Juno Lighting Group, based in Des Plaines, Ill., says that in a short time LED has become the dominant source for grocery lighting, as the slightly higher initial costs, or in many cases cost parity with legacy technologies, are more than offset by energy and maintenance savings. "LED technology can be harnessed to improve a store's image and create a better shopping experience," he adds. "As LED technology has matured, there are many more luminaire options to more precisely and effectively light various areas of the store."

The ability for more precise optics and color quality are for the most part technology driven, or at least technology enabled, notes Roos. "Aisle lighting with better illumination on vertical shelves has been a recognized unmet need for many years," he says. "The precise control and miniaturization that LED technology allows has just now made a practical solution available."

As benefits have been realized in other parts of the store, retailers have been upgrading lighting for lower margin areas, such as center store, and swapping out fluorescent for LEDs. "Linear LED is more expensive than fluorescent, but the return on energy savings is better especially when you add dimming controls including photocell, motion and timers," says Bill Plageman, vice president of marketing, product management and customer service for Amerlux, based in Oakland, N.J., adding that while typical LED lighting fixtures can return up to 60 percent savings on energy with controls, Amerlux's Lighting systems offer close to 85 percent energy savings.

Amerlux's Linea, Gruv and Stellina lines, under its recent partnership with Enlighted, will feature Enlighten Digital Smart Sensors. The controls offer motion and photometric sensors, dimming capabilities and data collection. Company officials say that not only do the sensors give retailers the ability to control the space they manage, it can help reduce energy spends and the big data analytics generated through this technology have the ability to impact the bottom line through substantial cost savings.

Amerlux has also introduced Cylindrix IV (C4) LED Accent track lighting for higher-ceilings and larger spaces. It offers a variety of beam spreads and color temperatures. Company officials say Cylindrix is one of the most flexible lines of energy-efficient, high-power accent and display lighting available and is an ideal replacement for 70w ceramic metal halide fixtures.

As more store and department merchandisers have become involved in the lighting decision process there has been a profound change in direction, say observers.

"Merchandisers want their display fixtures to attract, guide and influence shoppers to the product displays in their department," says Bruce Schneider, sales specialist, merchandising lighting for Bridgeton, Mo.-based Hussmann Corp. "They require lighting products to properly illuminate the entire display area and have the correct color temperature for the product display as well as the overall brand image of the store." Hussmann's current LED portfolio has higher value LEDs, which Schneider says has a more dramatic impact on fresh meat, produce and seafood.

As lighting options have matured, they are no longer just about illumination, but about sensing and connecting to create brighter environments. "Intelligent lighting allows businesses of all types to operate more profitably and to create even greater value for their clientele," says Jerri Traflet, senior retail marketing manager at Boston-based Current, powered by GE.

Current, powered by GE, is creating connected products and digital platforms that together can enhance shopping experiences, improve workforce productivity and management, as well as reduce energy costs by 10 to 30 percent, says Traflet.

The initial move toward LED technology may have been focused on retrofitting solutions into existing fixtures. However, Daniel Miller, vice president of product development and engineering for PowerSecure Lighting, based in Stamford, Conn., says today's LED technology has matured with lower initial costs, longer lifetimes and higher quality of light. "There has been a palpable shift toward requesting integral LED fixture solutions and specialty targeted fixtures aimed at general lighting in the grocery space," says Miller.

Lighting the Way

Officials at Juno say that the ability to fine-tune the light spectra to the present degree has opened up a host of new possibilities. For instance, Roos says small form factors and precise optical control make it easier to deliver uniform, high vertical footcandles on aisle shelving. "We have successfully deployed the Lithonia Proteon SL linear LED luminaire with bi-lateral aisle lighting optics in grocery stores, such as Whole Foods, 49th Parallel Grocery and Giant Eagle, with outstanding results," says Roos.

Another area in which advancements are being realized is with optimized spectrum accent lighting. LED adjustable luminaires, in both recessed and track formats, provide the ability to deploy accent lighting throughout the grocery store in a much more energy efficient, low maintenance and color correct format than has ever been possible. "There are no longer practical limitations to prevent displays and feature areas within a grocery store to be illuminated with the nuance of a boutique," says Roos.

Juno recently introduced a Spectral White phosphor mix designed to make whites brighter and colors more vibrant. "Grocers, along with other retailers, are just starting to experiment with these options to understand how they can enhance the appeal of the merchandise in their stores," he says.

According to Schneider, Hussmann's new SPLASH digital lighting technology combines color and motion, attracting the attention of shoppers and generating product awareness. "SPLASH can be used to highlight special promotional products, draw attention to new products or brands and create interest in categories that are normally overlooked and more," he says, adding that the SPLASH technology can be applied to anywhere in the store, from low and medium temperature display cases to center store aisle shelving or promotional end caps.

PowerSecure Lighting's Solais brand has introduced its exclusive VioLight technology. Company officials say VioLight enhances colors of merchandise to provide true color, creating a vibrant environment. "This addresses the need of our clients to more closely mimic the strong, bright colors seen in the natural environment," says Miller.

Going forward, innovation and technology will continue to merge and drive interest in the lighting category, say observers. "We see a sustained interest and actual use of RGB lighting effects, plus the addition of white into the RGB format as driving factors in the future," says Meyne, adding that control options with RGB will continue to be accepted using Wi-Fi and intelligent input control options for phone, tablets and computers which will be able to be controlled from anywhere in the world.