Bangalore: Bridgelux Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of LED lighting technologies and solutions, today announced the installation of nearly 2000 modern LED-based luminaires using Bridgelux ES and RS LED arrays for two new retail stores opening in India developed for its customer, Future Group.

The use of LED-based technology, instead of conventional metal halide lighting, in these two retail stores is estimated to save 318,000 KwH per year or about 2.5 million Rupees in power costs.

The change is welcomed, as some companies in India started following the "greener" aspects of technology, atleast in the area of lighting. International tech giants including Apple and Google has been promoting these eco friendly ideas from long back. Apple's latest "Spaceship" campus in Cupertino is said to be the "greenest" building ever in the world. Moreover, the retail chains like Ikea is phasing out sales of all lighting that isn't LED-based by 2016.

While conditions are like this internationally, India is not yet lured by the big benefits of green lighting. Eventhogh Indian companies like Wipro and HCL Technologies follow the "Guide to Greener Electronics," the companies on other sectors seems to have no idea on the benefits of this technology. Talking on this, Sunil Biyani, Director, Future Group said, "Our retail lighting requirements are very demanding. But we were sold by a combination of mock-up demonstrations and an understanding of the benefits that could be achieved with this innovative technology. We were convinced that we could enhance the quality of lighting to improve the customer experience while simultaneously reducing our operational costs.”

According to R. Hari, chief innovation officer, Asian Retail Lighting, “We decided that LED arrays or chip-on-board (COB) light sources were the right technology to provide the best quality of light to attract more customers into the stores. Arrays also gave us the design flexibility to create a broad range of new luminaires optimized to display the merchandise with the greatest appeal to the customer. We selected Bridgelux LED arrays because of its superior performance, in terms of lumen output, consistency, and light quality when compared to other LED light sources.”

The new stores, Pantaloon, in Market City, Velachery, Chennai and the Central store in Cochin, Kerala are using a combination of downlights, wall washers and track lights all designed by Asian Retail Lighting and using Bridgelux LED arrays. Pantaloon sells high-end clothing and life style merchandise. Central is a seamless, multi-brand retail store.

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