Induction Lighting: An Old Lighting Technology Made New Again

Induction lighting is one of the best kept secrets in energy-efficient lighting. Simply stated, induction lighting is essentially a fluorescent light without electrodes or filaments, the items that frequently cause other bulbs to burn out quickly. Thus, many induction lighting units have an extremely long life of up to 100,000 hours. To put this in perspective, an induction lighting system lasting 100,000 hours will last more than 11 years in continuous 24/7 operation, and 25 years if operated 10 hours a day.

The technology, however, is far from new. Nikola Tesla demonstrated induction lighting in the late 1890s around the same time that his rival, Thomas Edison, was working to improve the incandescent light bulb. In the early 1990s, several major lighting manufacturers introduced induction lighting into the marketplace.

Despite its high initial cost, induction lighting has many superior characteristics, including the following:

• Virtually maintenance-free operation
• High efficacy—in many cases, 60+ or 70+ lumens per watt
• Long life
• Excellent color rendering index (CRI)—80+ and in some cases 90+
• Choice of warm white to cool white (2,700–6,500 K) 
• Instant start and restrike operation
• No flickering, strobing, or noise
• Low-temperature operation
• Dimmable capability with some units
• High power factor: .90+

Applications with High Potential for Induction Lighting

• In hard-to-reach locations that make maintenance costs high, such as street lighting and tunnels, or in high ceilings where there is continuous operation, such as hotel rotundas
• Cold environments, such as supermarket walk-in coolers and freezers
• Where high-quality lighting is required or highly desirable
• Where reliability is highly valued
• Where high lumen output is required
• In areas that require lamps to reach full illumination immediately.