The Best 2020 Commercial Lighting Trends

New year trends across the lighting industry can be summed up in one word: green. Energy-efficient lighting is a priority as concerns about climate change and energy costs grow.  Whether you own a retail store, construct new homes, manage a warehouse, or design healthcare facilities, LED lighting is bound to be on your radar for the new year.

Energy Efficient Lighting

Energy efficient lighting has been trending for years, and it does not seem to be stopping for the new year. In 2013, LED lighting had a 5% share in the global market. As of 2018, that share had risen to 40%, overtaking fluorescent sales.  This shift toward LED lights is driven by a desire to reduce energy waste, curtail climate change, and enjoy the benefits of a lower energy bill. As LEDs become more and more affordable, property owners and managers are finding it easier to justify the upfront costs of LEDs to enjoy these lifetime benefits.  With the rising popularity and accessibility of LED light bulbs, manufacturers like TCP are motivated to innovate even more efficient, affordable, high-quality bulbs than ever before.

So how are LED lights so efficient?  

• LEDs convert close to 100% of the energy they consume to light-energy that is usable and desirable. Incandescent lamps, on the other hand, convert nine or ten percent of their energy to light while the rest is wasted as heat.
• LED lamps range from 50,000 to 100,000 hours of life. Incandescent lamps have, on average, 1,000 hour lifespans. CFL bulbs sit in the middle at around 10,000 hours.
• The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that at the current rate of LED adoption, both commercially and residentially, LED lights will save about $265 billion, preventing the need for constructing 40 new power plants, and reducing the electricity demand of lighting by one third over the next 20 years.

Nonpolluting Lighting

2020 will bring an even more concentrated effort toward nonpolluting lighting. Property owners will focus on sustainability and meeting building codes and the expectations of tenants, consumers, and employees alike as investors give momentum to sustainable investments.

Nonpolluting lighting benefits the inhabitants of a commercial or industrial space. Expect to see more importance than ever placed on the environmental and human health components of your lighting scheme. 

How can property managers achieve a “greener” lighting scheme?

• LED lights and responsive lighting play a huge role in the overall environmental health of your space. LED lights consume significantly less energy than traditional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, and this difference is even greater when multiplied over a large space like a warehouse or big box retail store. 
• You can multiply your energy savings even more by using responsive lighting techniques, like motion sensors and daylight harvesting. In daylight harvesting, property managers optimize the availability of natural light during the day. Integrated sensors collect occupancy data, which can be used to turn on and off the HVAC system.
• Finally, during peak electricity use periods, try dimming the lights slightly. Inhabitants will still be able to function, but you will reduce your energy costs and your carbon footprint, too. 
• Also consider minimizing light pollution that is given off by artificial light at night. To avoid contributing to light pollution, pay special attention to backlight, uplight, and glare (BUG) in your outdoor lights. Avoiding all three will keep the sky around your facility dark and natural, which has a positive ripple effect for wildlife and the environment. 

Industry Lighting Trends

Restaurant Lighting Trends

As delivery services continue to rise in popularity, the restaurant industry will focus their lighting efforts on persuading people to dine in, sit, and stay a while in 2020. This means a heavy focus on ambiance, warmth, and natural lighting. Trendy, atmosphere-creating light bulbs like edison bulbs tend to use vast amounts of energy in their traditional forms. Switching to LED edison bulbs, and LED versions of any other specialty bulbs, will allow restaurant owners to save on energy bills while meeting two trends at once: high ambiance and green lighting.

Hospitality Lighting Trends

Hotels and other hospitality facilities will also see a move toward eco-friendly lighting. Switching to LED lighting is a start, and a great investment in long-term savings. In 2020, guests will also appreciate the consciousness of a hotel that makes good use of motion sensors to save energy when no one is in the hallway or hotel room. 

This focus on functionality does not mean your hotel’s style has to suffer. At TCP Lighting, we offer a wide variety of bulb shapes, color temperatures, and modern hotel fixtures.

Retail Lighting Trends

This year, retail facility managers will respond to the high need to differentiate from competition by tailoring lighting to customer profiles. You understand the customer who shops at your stores and the customer you strategize to target. Including your lighting in that strategic plan will make for a lucrative new year. Determine what your store’s ideal consumer prefers–bright and light? Dim and ambient?

As a whole, retail lighting options are trending toward low lighting and high contrast levels through spotlights and down-lights, especially in small specialty shops.

Big box retail stores will be less affected by cosmetic trends or decorative lighting, and more affected by the shift toward even more energy efficient lighting. LED lighting drives down overhead costs and makes each transaction with a consumer that much more profitable.

Warehouse Lighting Trends

In the past, claiming that LED high bay lights could compete with traditional T5 lamps would have been unheard of. But in 2020, the shift toward energy efficient warehouse lighting and LED industrial lighting will become reality. 

More and more warehouse managers are making the case for the upfront investment, knowing the switch will reduce their overall energy and maintenance costs in the long run. LED luminaires can generate about 50% energy cost savings compared to HID lamps, and 30-40% compared to fluorescent. 

New Home Construction Lighting Trends

When constructing a new home, it is important to know the current lighting trends so you can build homes that are attractive to potential residents. However, since the lighting schemes you incorporate into your homes are semi-permanent, significant investments, and unable to change every time a trend shifts, it is important that the lighting scheme is not so trendy it becomes dated after only a few years.

2020 residential lighting trends safe to incorporate subtly into a new home construction include industrial-style lighting, matte black finishes, and geometric light fixtures. These trends, if applied with a light hand, will be enough to catch a buyer’s eye, but not so overstated that they’ll be unappealing next year. Read more about 2020 residential lighting trends.

Healthcare Lighting Trends

Lighting that focuses on inhabitant health is an overall trend for 2020, but is especially important in healthcare fields.

This means healthcare spaces will also see a shift toward LED lights. The energy cost savings can be funneled into staff development. The low levels of heat emission from LEDs make it easier to control the temperature in patient rooms. Ambient lighting and color temperature play an important role in a patient’s feeling of well-being.

Advanced LED technology is also extremely effective at mimicking natural light, an important factor for promoting health, especially for long-term patients who spend most, if not all, of their days indoors.

Things to Look for in the Lighting Market for 2020

Overall, the industrial lighting trends to watch for all focus on greener practices. More and more industries are making energy efficient lighting a priority, if not an expected norm.  In 2020, you can expect to see property owners and managers making the switch to LED lights, if they haven’t already. Those who already use LED lighting may begin to make their lights even more cost-effective with dimmable lights, daylight harvesting, and motion sensor lights. 

Professional Lighting Systems by TCP

Are you ready to invest in an energy efficient lighting system for your commercial, industrial, retail, or healthcare facility? Experts at TCP lighting are here to help, from the design to manufacturing to installation process. Contact us today to consult with a professional LED lighting expert. 

Only TCP offers a total, end-to-end commercial lighting solution.