LEDs as a solution for Belgian Icecream Group
The Belgian Icecream Group (“BIG”) is the largest Belgian ice cream producer with its own brand names. In Belgium the group is the market leader with its house brand IJsboerke. They opted for ETAP’s E14/LED for the construction of their new deep-freeze warehouse.
The Belgian Icecream Group’s deep-freeze warehouses have an indoor temperature fluctuating between -20° and -30°C. The warehouse makes use of sliding racks.
In the development of the lighting proposal, account had to be taken of the following requirements:
- An average illumination of 200 lux was assumed on the corridor floors.
- In the racks the customer opted for an average vertical illumination of 100 lux.
- In addition, a lot of attention had to be paid to the ergonomic aspect in order for forklift operators not be blinded when stacking the products in the racks.
- Lastly, easy maintenance had to be assured at all times.
Immediate maximum light output
Since fluorescent lamps require a long start-up time in freezing conditions, ETAP provided a solution with LEDs that continue to operate optimally even at very low temperatures. To this end the E14/LED (IP65) luminaire, fitted with 1.2 W LEDs was the appropriate answer. The aluminium reflector provides high light output and suitable light distribution. The stainless steel quick mounting brackets guarantee ease-of-maintenance.
The use of LEDs allows to only light up operational aisles. In contrast to fluorescent lamps, LEDs can be smoothly turned on and off even at cold temperatures, thus avoiding the needless burning of luminaires in unused areas. As a result considerable savings are made in terms of energy. With the longer lifespan of LEDs, maintenance costs are also greatly reduced. The cost recovery period for this LED solution is less than two years.