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The village of Frankfort, N.Y. is installing LED lighting fixtures in the Hilltop field area.

Lights will be installed to light up some of the field and the nearby roadway. Village Electric Department Superintendent Ron Vivacqua hopes the new lights will provide more visibility across the field. The lights will not be bright enough to allow residents to play in the field after hours, but Vivacqua believes that the lights will be instrumental in cutting down on vandalism that occurs often.

His trust in the new LED lighting fixtures is not misplaced. LED lighting systems have fewer optical losses and higher efficacy. With the new lights, city officials can light the field and roadway using fewer fixtures. Traditional outdoor commercial lighting fixtures have lower efficacy and do not distribute as evenly. They also produce light that is more yellow whereas LEDs produce clean, white light.

Many municipalities and commercial properties are switching over to and adding LED fixtures to their commercial lighting systems. In Milwaukee, the U.S. Bank Center building has switched all of its signs over to LED lighting. Each year, the bank will save $25,000 with the energy efficiency and maintenance savings of the new lights.

Commercial LED lighting is expanding with the rest of the latest innovations in LED technology. More researchers are improving the lights to make them brighter, cheaper and more durable.

The growing LED market
Innovations in LCD displays and residential and commercial lighting have driven the LED industry forward.

According to Novus Light, the latest Yole Développement report on the LED industry reports that general lighting comprises the biggest use of LED technology at 39 percent of all revenue. The LED television market fell behind general lighting applications at 22 percent. The growth over LED televisions is attributed to the advent of less expensive low voltage LED lighting.

As LED commercial lighting fixtures become cheaper, they offer even higher returns on investment. With the savings, LEDs essentially pay for themselves in a short time. They cut down on maintenance costs and labor with longer service times. Energy savings are increased because LEDs use less energy and they can be combined with dimmers and occupancy sensors to further reduce energy usage.

Whether the application is street lighting, office lighting or parking lot lighting, LEDs adapt to any commercial property owner's individual lighting needs and budget.