LED lighting

Many factors come to mind when considering the best working conditions for humans. Key conditions include ergonomics, environmental conditions, and lighting. Studies show that a well-lit workspace can improve employee morale by 78%!

Though they often go overlooked, enclosures and electrical cabinets are workspaces that benefit from good lighting in several ways. Just like your desk or workstation, you should strive to provide suitable lighting which allows for around-the-clock clear visibility in your electronics cabinet.

So. What is “good lighting”? 

Let’s consider the evolution of lighting technology: we have progressed from the simple candle to incandescent, then fluorescent, and now LED. LED technology has gone through decades of improvements to bring us to its modern, state-of-the-art level. 

Did you know that Nick Holonyak, Jr. (the “Father of the Light-Emitting Diode”) invented the first LED that produced visible red-light while working at General Electric in… 1962?

Manufacturers have continued to refine LED technology since the early 1960s, and it is now the best lighting technology on the market. Let’s go through a few reasons and compare the modern LED to its predecessor: fluorescent.

STEGOs LED 025 Econoline light source
The LED 025 light series is suitable for all types of panels and enclosures, especially where space is at a premium.

Components

LED is manufactured using modern techniques and materials. The primary components include plastic, aluminum, and electronics. Compare and contrast the fluorescent solution, which contains metal, glass, and mercury, and you get a safer, sturdier, longer-lasting solution.

Working Life

LED typically lasts up to ten (10) years and includes a warranty. Fluorescent usually lasts a maximum of five (5) years, so LED generally has double the useful life.

Recyclability

LED’s aluminum and plastic components can be recycled. The electronics circuit board can be e-cycled. However, the fluorescent solution requires proper and careful disposal as hazardous waste due to the mercury contained in the tube.

Visibility

Finally, and most importantly –LED provides a far superior quality of light output. Fluorescent lights only produce a limited color spectrum of red, green, and blue light, creating an “artificial” look and feel.

LED produces a full spectrum of color that more closely resembles sunlight. 

Also for consideration: LED is a directional light source, emitting light at a 120˚ pattern versus the 360˚ pattern with fluorescence. This means a more efficient transmission of light to where it is directed.

Beyond these easily measurable differences, LED also offers several anecdotal benefits, including:

  1.  Flicker-free light quality: no hum or flicker during use,
  2.  Instant-on: no need to wait for warm-up time to reach full brightness,
  3.  Easy installation, including a magnetic attachment option.

When spec’ing out designs, it’s a no-brainer when you consider the whole package. LED offers better light quality and is the most efficient, longest-life choice for enclosure design. Pick the STEGO solution, knowing you’ve got the best lighting for your installation, maintenance, and monitoring.

Designing complex electronics that perform perfectly outdoors is, well, complex. At STEGO, we believe that protecting and lighting those complex projects should be the simplest part of your design. That’s why we use German engineering to create the highest quality components. With STEGO parts installed, you can rest easy that your complex design is reliably protected for the long haul.

Install. Maintain. Monitor. 

Any person involved in industrial work environments is working with some version of these on a day-to-day basis. It might be an employee looking to install a new component into the electronics enclosure or a worker checking on the function of the electronics to make sure it is running efficiently. Monitoring is something we ALL do in B2B, but it is a particularly vital function in a manufacturing environment.

What do all these functions (installation, maintenance, monitoring) have in common? They all need efficient lighting to ensure faster, better work. To give your business the edge, you need to consider the functionality and the quality of available light inside your electronics enclosure.

At STEGO, we know enclosures and enclosure lighting requirements. We design our lighting solutions from the ground up to be 1) efficient in terms of power consumption 2) meet required North America certifications and 3) easy to install.

Efficiency

Using the latest in mid-power LED technology, STEGO electronic enclosure lighting has several key benefits versus older, traditional technologies, including:

  1. Durability – LED is considered maintenance-free
  2. High luminous flux (if this term is new to you, don’t worry – it’s pretty simple. It refers to the perceived power of light. In other words, low power consumption to deliver impressive visibility).
  3. Three options for triggering the LED
    1.  A simple on/off switch
    2.  A sensor that triggers off movement,
    3.  An external door switch that triggers when the door opens.

Even though LED is quite efficient at “sipping power,” there’s no need to have it on when nobody can see it!

Ease of Installation

Your installer will have no trouble implementing a STEGO lighting solution into your electronics enclosure. STEGO offers:

  1. An integrated receptacle (saves time)
  2. An integrated power unit (saves effort)
  3. Daisy-chaining (easy, repeatable)

With an integrated STEGO lighting solution, a maintenance technician will have a bright, ergonomic light source to wire relays and perform other tasks. Keep your installers and maintenance technicians in mind! Safety and efficiency in their role lead to happy employees and bottom-line savings. 

For questions about installation, please reach out to us via our website. At a minimum, always check the operating instructions, – it’s ok to read the manual even though it goes against your DNA 😉 

Choose the right solution for your installers and users. Pick the STEGO solution to know you’ve got the best lighting for your installation, maintenance, and monitoring.

Designing complex electronics that perform perfectly outdoors is, well, complex. At STEGO, we believe that protecting those complex projects from extreme climates should be the simplest part of your design. That’s why we use German engineering to create the highest quality thermal management components to protect your designs from anything Mother Nature throws at it. We’ve been pioneering Thermal Management for over 40 years now. With STEGO parts installed, you can rest easy that your complex design is reliably protected for the long haul.