How LED Can Benefit Welding Shops
By Leah • Dec 03, 2019
Safely running a welding shop requires many precautions. Industrial welding operations intensify this need, but even small welding shops need to consider various aspects to make business both profitable and safe. The welding process itself has very specific lighting requirements. OEO shows you how LED lighting benefit various aspects of running a welding business.
What Are the Lighting Needs of Welding Shops?
In any space, industrial or otherwise, different light is needed at different times. These can be very roughly divided into two groups: general lighting and task lighting. General lighting is the ambient light of a given space and task lighting is that required for specific processes. For example, photographers famously need different lighting for developing their pictures, otherwise they can ruin the film.
While all welding involves the joining together of materials with high temperatures, there are many different ways to do this. For example, arc welding, gas welding and laser welding do a similar job in different ways. Welding may be carried out in the field, e.g. on building sites, or in an industrial environment, as occurs in welding shops.
However, all types of welding can benefit from good lighting. The materials need to be set up, instructions need to be followed and close attention needs to be paid to ensure the joins are made correctly. Welding shops are also high-risk environments with a lot of safety precautions needed to ensure safety. For the often intricate nature of the welds, glare also needs to be at a minimum.
How Can LED Meet the Needs of Welding Shops?
For the general lighting of a welding shop, LED can provide overall benefits. If the welding is being carried out on large structures or machines, then the industrial space will need to be high-bay. LED lighting is best for high-bay interiors as it creates a strong, bright light which can be focused in the spaces it is needed. It also can change its quality, reducing glare at the touch of a preprogrammed button.
Rival technologies such as metal halide bulbs emit light in 360º which is both impractical and wasteful. Other high intensity discharge bulbs such as high-pressure sodium lamps also have very poor color rendering. Most LED lighting rates much better on the color rendering index, making the management of materials in a welding shop much more safe and efficient.
One of the main benefits LED lighting can provide a welding shop is durability. LED lighting does not require glass casings for large bulbs, as is needed for HIDs. Rather, the fixtures of LED are compact, durable and able to withstand physical and chemical damage. They are also easily made waterproof. Importantly for safety of workers, they leak neither UV radiation or dangerous gases if they are damaged. Risk of non-passive failures (explosions) is practically zero.
When welding up close, an operator will need to wear a mask to protect from both the heat and intense light produced by the welding apparatus. With LED, task lighting is made easier because of light quality and durability, but it the general lighting is also not affected.
General Benefits of LED for Welding Shops
While LED has the durability and acuity to ensure welding projects run smoothly and safely, they also provide the same benefits available to any industrial space. With an up to 80% efficiency when compared to rival technologies, LED will last much longer. This is particularly helpful in welding shops as longer lasting bulbs do not need to be replaced as often. Replacement can be both dangerous and costly in any industrial environment, particularly a welding shop.
With LED significant reductions are made to overheads. Welding requires a lot of natural resources, mainly in the form of electricity or gas. Even laser welding requires a lot of energy to run. LED lighting’s superiors efficiency will provide a significant return on investment, earning more as the lamps last longer.
Since welding shops require such durable fixtures, even in high-bay spaces, you need look no further than the OEO LED GREEN RETROFIT. Able to replace metal halide and other HID fixtures, this lamp provides optimal light output in a casing which is practically indestructible. Contact us to find out if this can benefit your business.