Commercial lighting is vital for maintaining proper visibility, safety, and workplace productivity. It is also essential for creating a welcoming environment that attracts customers and ushers them into the store.
That’s why constant maintenance is crucial for ensuring that the lighting in your commercial spaces performs optimally.
Why is Regular Commercial Lighting Maintenance Important in the UK?
Proper lighting maintenance in commercial spaces, including cleaning, cable checking, replacing burnt-out bulbs, etc., is vital for ensuring safety and productivity, energy efficiency, and compliance with lighting regulations.
You know what they say: “Prevention is better than cure.” And for good reason! Proper and regular maintenance, even as simple as dusting light fixtures, helps prolong their lifespan. The idea is to maintain optimal performance of the fixtures and to catch minor issues that can potentially become major problems later on.
There’s also the potential for long-term savings in both energy and money. Since maintenance prolongs your lighting system’s lifespan, this lessens replacements, significantly cutting down on your costs.
Meeting The Regulations
Something you might not immediately associate with commercial and industrial lighting maintenance is the benefit of complying with lighting regulations like the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), which requires adequate workplace lighting.
Unchecked problems with your lights can cause them to dim over time, and regular maintenance prevents that from happening. Dimmer lights in your workspace could mean penalties for non-compliance with the regulations, like the one above.
Maintenance Checklist for Commercial Lights
Unguided light maintenance has a possibility for missed or unchecked issues that, when left unseen, might progress and cause damage to the whole system. So, we figured out that a checklist might make a difference.
Having a maintenance checklist on hand ensures that no stones (or bulbs!) are left unturned when performing your scheduled maintenance. This will help make all your maintenance runs more organised and fluid, saving you time from back-and-forths over issues you forgot to check or totally missed.
The checklist below is a set of questions you must go through and answer during your routine checks.
Ready to Maintain Your Commercial Lights? Here’s Your Checklist:
A. Daily/Weekly Visual Checks:
- Are any lights visibly flickering or not working?
- Are any light fixtures visibly damaged (cracked, loose)?
- Are any emergency lights showing faults (if applicable)?
- Are any diffusers or covers cracked or missing?
B. Monthly Checks:
- Are all light fixtures clean and free of dust and debris?
- Are any light levels noticeably dimmer than usual?
- Are any sensors (motion, daylight) functioning correctly?
- Are any control systems (dimmers, timers) operating as expected?
C. Quarterly Checks:
- Have emergency lighting systems been function-tested according to UK regulations?
- Are all wiring connections secure and free from damage (visual inspection by a qualified person)?
- Are any lamps/bulbs nearing their expected lifespan?
- Is the overall lighting level still adequate for the space’s needs?
D. Annual Checks (Professional Inspection Recommended):
- Has a qualified electrician inspected the entire lighting system for safety and compliance with UK standards?
- Have all emergency lighting systems undergone a full-duration test?
- Are there any signs of wear and tear on wiring, ballasts, or drivers?
- Is the lighting system still energy-efficient, or are upgrades recommended?
Why is UK Compliance Crucial for Commercial Lighting Maintenance?
Lighting regulations in the UK cover adequate lighting for safety, energy efficiency practices, and emergency lighting requirements. Compliance with these regulations is crucial not only for keeping your records clean with the regulatory boards but also for benefiting you, your commercial space, and those who use it regularly.
Proper compliance with UK lighting maintenance regulations ensures that your lighting system is running optimally. This helps prolong the life of your light fixtures and accessories and keeps your energy use efficient, which in turn lowers energy costs.
How Can You Ensure Effective Commercial Lighting Maintenance in the UK?
Establish a regular maintenance schedule.
Our Commercial LED Lighting Maintenance Checklist can help you ensure that no steps are missed during light maintenance. However, this checklist won’t be effective if there is no set maintenance schedule. Establishing a regular maintenance schedule can help you catch issues that can potentially cause outages that could affect systems and production.
Train staff in basic visual checks.
Some parts of the maintenance checklist can be completed by you or your staff on your own—there is no need for a professional. Knowing where to look and what to look out for will result in smoother and faster maintenance, which can also save you on professional/expert fees. Just make sure to let the pros do the tasks that need expert eyes and hands.
Keep a record of maintenance activities.
Have a dedicated logbook for your maintenance. This should help you stay organised by giving you a clear bird’s-eye view of what needs to be done for your lighting system. Note the issues that have been addressed and the new ones that need to be fixed on the current run. Make sure to add the date of the maintenance so it’s easier to look back on the changes made before and the urgent matters to work on during the current one.
Engage qualified electricians for periodic inspections and repairs.
Maintenance of the more complex parts of your lighting system, the ones that you can’t cover with visual checks, like checking connections and wires, etc., should be left to the professionals. Trying to save on fees can only backfire in the long run with part replacements. Getting an expert’s assistance can help you avoid additional costs and potentially save more by prolonging your lights’ lifespan.
Consider energy-efficient upgrades during maintenance.
Part of the maintenance efforts should be identifying which parts of your commercial lighting are costing you too much money and finding and installing more energy-efficient alternatives. Simple Lighting has a wide selection of different commercial LED lights for your needs. You can browse through options for LED light sheets, emergency lights, high-bay lights, and more.
Ready to Simplify Your Commercial Lighting Maintenance? Download Our Free Checklist!
Need Professional Help with Your Commercial Lighting Maintenance in the UK?
Simple Lighting has a rich track record of providing high-quality lighting products to commercial and business spaces. If you have any questions about your lighting and its maintenance, our team of experts can help! Just send us a message with your question, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
