What Is PoE Lighting and How Can It Help My Business?

Save Time, Energy, and Improve the Atmosphere

People often underestimate the power of lighting. But did you know that if you illuminate your business with smart LEDs, you can save time, reduce energy consumption, and improve morale? 

That may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s true! Smart LED lighting, which is controlled with a PoE lighting system, uses dramatically less energy than fluorescent or CFL bulbs and can be automated to adjust the lights’ brightness and color temperature throughout the day. 

In this article, we’ll explain how PoE lighting systems work, what makes LED lights superior to others, and how they can benefit your Fort Worth, TX, business. 

SEE ALSO: Choosing a Commercial Audio-Visual Integrator 

What Does PoE Lighting Mean?

PoE stands for ‘Power over Ethernet,’ which means PoE lighting systems run over the same CAT-5 low voltage cabling used in data networks. This removes the need for separate AC power sources allowing your business to install light fixtures flexibly. 

Why switch to PoE lighting? Because PoE has completely revolutionized the way we use lighting, allowing you to intelligently control and automate LEDs through a centralized smart system. Even if your business spans several rooms, floors, or buildings, you can control every room from the same interface, choosing the illumination levels, the hues, and lighting schedules.

Save Energy with Lighting Control

Whether you manage an office building or several retail locations, lighting control can help your company reduce energy costs while also improving the atmosphere indoors. 

First, LED lights typically last ten times longer than fluorescent bulbs and 133 times longer than incandescent lights. That’s because LEDs require much less power to generate light and apply 95% of their energy consumption towards producing light. By contrast, incandescent lights only use 2% of their energy for light—meaning 98% of the electricity used is wasted on heat! 

And with a smart lighting system, you’ll schedule lights to automatically turn off when no longer needed, so lights never stay on when the room is unoccupied. Occupancy sensors also ensure empty rooms aren’t needlessly lit. And when you integrate motorized window shades into the system, you can automatically block harsh UV rays to keep rooms cooler. That may save your business from cranking the AC a few degrees lower! 

Improve the Atmosphere & Morale

Does your business still use harsh, bright fluorescents? You may be unintentionally creating an uncomfortable and stifling place to work. And if your business is customer-facing, like a restaurant or store, you may not be offering a welcoming ambiance to which people want to return.

Power over Ethernet allows you to intelligently control lights through smart systems like Crestron. On a tablet, phone, or wall control panel, you can fine-tune all your LED lights’ brightness and color temperature, setting a specific mood for different times of the day. These lighting scenes can be automated to follow a schedule, so perhaps light appears brighter and cool during the day, then warm and cozy in the evening. You’ll boost everyone’s moods, making the building a place people enjoy spending the day inside.

Could your Fort Worth-area business benefit from PoE lighting and automation? Videotex Systems is here to help. Contact our team of experts to get started today!