Feb 19 2016
Avid Solutions, an international automation, industrial IT and smart manufacturing engineering firm, selected Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) LED lighting with SmartCast® Technology to deliver intelligent light for its newest U.S. office in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The firm’s new facility is completely illuminated by connected lighting from Cree, providing up to 70 percent in energy savings and delivering better light that is critical to employee productivity while turning its building into an operational efficiency showcase for clients.
“Better light is critical to our clients’ processes. Whether it is a manufacturing operation, where vertical lighting comes into play, or in warehouse operations,” said PC Romano, president of Avid Solutions. “Our clients are facing the convergence of IT and OT: information and operations technology, and Cree’s SmartCast® Technology plays right into that. They’re providing high-quality light on the plant and warehouse floor while being able to interface with systems at a much higher level – into the IT space.”
Two attributes were essential to Avid Solutions in choosing a lighting solution: technology leadership and sustainability. The new building’s overhead lighting is delivered by CR Series LED troffers and KR Series LED downlights with Cree® SmartCast Technology, which works right out of the box, making it the most intuitive, cost-effective and easiest to install lighting solution on the market. The building also features CXB High Bay LED luminaires over its warehouse and loading docks, providing additional energy savings and significantly reduced relamp and maintenance costs while ensuring high quality, comfortable light for employees. Cree’s LS Series linear luminaires were added to provide ambient, even light in a slim form factor that contributes to the buildings welcoming and modern aesthetic while reducing eye strain.
“In the industrial automation industry, we’re always looking for a competitive advantage. Reducing our operational costs is increasingly important,” said John Travland, department manager at Avid Solutions. “With Cree’s intelligent lighting solution, we organized our interior lighting zones and use daylight harvesting and occupancy sensing to ensure we’re only lighting the areas that need it.”
Cree’s turnkey installation provides employees with better light from the exterior to the interior. The Cree OSQ™ Area luminaire delivers bright, even light that ensures employee safety in the parking lot; while employees benefit from intuitive technology that delivers personalized environments for comfort inside.
“Our people need a great work environment. They spend a tremendous amount of time on their computers and with drawings,” said Travland. “Better lighting is essential to that process. In addition to ambient lighting coming through the windows in our new facility, it’s extremely important to have overhead lighting that reduces glare, eye strain and work fatigue. With the new facility and more even lighting, we found an overall decrease in all three due to the mix of natural and LED lighting.”
Cree offers a second option for intuitive lighting through SmartCast PoE, which enables the IoT for commercial spaces, so companies can derive greater intelligence on the operations of their buildings. Both SmartCast technologies are simple and easy to install and provide better light for a more productive workspace.