Through life costing. What does this mean for LED’s given the drive in the retail to constantly reduce costs?

Yes well cost is the significant driver for lighting in most retail environments but I prefer to use the term value, cost to me is not just about the initial capital outlet, it is actually the cost of running that fixture through its lifetime. So we should always bear in mind when we make our purchasing decisions, what amount of energy does that solution use throughout its active lifetime and how often we have to maintain that solution. It’s only when you compare those together with the sustainability elements at the back end of that we can then make an informed choice. It really isn't just about capital outlay.

What do you think to this ? 

LED Luminaries produce huge energy benefits. Compared to traditional technologies what are the main benefits of LED?

Everybody today is shouting from the roof tops about LED technology but it's not the answer to all prays. However it certainly offers us some tangible solutions for existing traditional technologies. If we have a look at a 35 Watt HID lamp for example we can in quite a good way offer a 2000 lumen LED alternative that could reduce energy by  almost 50%. The other principle benefit of course is maintenance and you hear lots of things in the market of 50,000 hours life time that really does offer significant maintenance benefits over its traditional pre-decease, so certainly energy and lifetime there the two key fundamental elements to me.  If we add on top of that the fact that LED is easy to control offers us some other unique advantages over the traditional high intensity discharge lamps.

LED's offer viable alternatives to existing technologies in all areas of the retail application. What are your views?

Well I wouldn't say LED technology is there for all aspect of a retail application certainly we have got past the tipping point of compact fluorescent lamps and for low wattage HID Lamps. However if you're looking at a 70 watt solution then we still don't really have LED point sources that deliver the same amount of light as a 70 watt. The other area to consider for shelf light applications is the TL5 still offers a tangible solution. The initial cost for technology still makes TL5 quite a good solutions for that application.