• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

My TechDecisions

  • Best of Tech Decisions
  • Topics
    • Video
    • Audio
    • Mobility
    • Unified Communications
    • IT Infrastructure
    • Network Security
    • Physical Security
    • Facility
    • Compliance
  • RFP Resources
  • Resources
  • Podcasts
  • Project of the Week
  • About Us
    SEARCH
Facility

Smart LED Lighting Harvests Daylight to Sustain Headquarters

LORD Corporation, determined to build efficient facilities, installed Cree LED lights to help with initiative.

February 9, 2015 Jonathan Blackwood Leave a Comment

Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, LORD Corporation is a diversified technology and manufacturing company developing highly-reliable adhesives, coatings, motion management devices and sensing technologies that significantly reduce risk and improve product performance. With 15 manufacturing facilities and nine R&D facilities worldwide, LORD’s is committed to finding innovative ways to create more sustainable workplaces for its more than 2900 employees.

LORD Corporation began making strides towards more energy-efficient lighting at its main headquarters in 2012, with the completion of their first LEED Certified Gold facility, which features all LED fixtures in its corridor and task lighting, with lighting controls throughout the building. The energy savings seen in the new building exposed a need to begin retrofitting other buildings with more energy-efficient, cost-saving lighting.

LORD turned to LED light manufacturer Cree to help reach the sufficiency the company sought in their lighting fixtures. The company first brought blue LED to the market in 1989 and since has striven to create LED lights that exceed industry standards for brightness and efficiency. Recognizing the revolutionary potential of LED lighting, in 2008 Cree expanded its product lines into LED-lighting applications, and those applications fit perfectly with the vision that LORD had for its building.


LORD installed LEDs with SmartCast Technology to help deal with ambient lighting that plagues the building.

“We replaced high wattage fluorescent fixtures with Cree’s CR22 architectural LED troffers with SmartCast Technology,” says John Gardiner, facilities manager at LORD Corporation’s headquarters campus. “We knew that switching to LED fixtures would reduce our energy consumption on its own, but the addition of SmartCast Technology lighting controls allowed us to improve on what we were already saving.”

In addition to the high-performing, energy-efficient CR22 troffers, Cree’s new SmartCast Technology provides a level of control and flexibility to LED lighting.

“SmartCast Technology really sets itself apart from other lighting controls we’ve installed because it’s programmable on its own network with a handheld configuration tool,” says Gardiner. “With other lighting control systems, we have to call a technician out to reprogram when necessary, which costs us thousands of dollars each time. The savings we see from being able to program the system ourselves is a win-win for us.”

When building LORD Corporation’s North Carolina campus, considerable attention was given to the orientation of each building in relation to sun exposure. The headquarters building retrofitted with Cree fixtures and SmartCast Technology is oriented on an east/west axis, and is subject to high incidences of outdoor lighting. This increased level of natural daylight makes the daylight harvesting feature of SmartCast Technology extremely important in maximizing energy savings.

“Daylight harvesting is very important to us,” Gardiner says. “SmartCast Technology allows us to utilize it within individual offices, which we’ve not been able to do with other lighting control systems. Daylight harvesting is a key component of saving energy costs and resources, especially when so much time and effort has been invested in the orientation of our buildings.”

As LORD has changed been changing out lights they have increasingly found an increase in brightness, noting that the light is much whiter and much cleaner to work in. They daylight harvesting allows for lights to self-dim and even turn off to maintain a constant illumination level from morning to afternoon to evening. Adding quality of light to the cost benefits of the LED lighting with SmartCast technology has not only helped the company build toward their goal of sustainability, but has improved the quality of their facilities at the same time.

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!

Jonathan Blackwood
Jonathan Blackwood

Jonathan Blackwood is the Editor-in-Chief of TechDecisions. Jonathan joined TechDecisions in 2014 and writes about technologies that help to innovate and improve practices for companies of all sizes, K-12 and higher education, government, healthcare, hospitality, retail and large venue spaces. He is especially interested in the future of work and education and the Internet of Things. Follow him @BlackwoodTweets.

Tagged With: Control & Automation, Corporate, Green Technology, Lighting, Utilities

Related Content:

  • Singlewire Software mass notification interview Singlewire Software on Mass Notification Solutions
  • Engaging virtual meeting with diverse participants discussing creative ideas in a bright office space during daylight hours Diversified Survey: Workplace AV Tech is Falling Short,…
  • Software License Spending, SaaS, cloud apps Your Guide to Choosing the Best Cloud Security…
  • An overwhelmed businessman in a headset shows frustration while working at his desk filled with sticky notes in a modern office. Five Common IT Issues Everyone Hates at Work

Free downloadable guide you may like:

  • Workplace Collaboration Tools for Corporate SpacesWorkplace Collaboration Tools for Corporate Spaces

    From lobbies and shared spaces to conference rooms and multipurpose facilities, you need high-performing AV technology to effectively share information. From the initial design and evaluation process through installation, you need the most reliable and high-quality display and image processing products possible. This new download, “Workplace Collaboration Tools for Corporate Spaces,” provides examples of successful […]

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Downloads

Practical Design Guide for Office Spaces
Practical Design Guide for Office Spaces

Recent Gartner research shows that workers prefer to return to the office for in-person meetings for relevant milestones, as well as for face-to-fa...

New Camera Can Transform Your Live Production Workflow
New Camera System Can Transform Your Live Production Workflow

Sony's HXC-FZ90 studio camera system combines flexibility and exceptional image quality with entry-level pricing.

Creating Great User Experience and Ultimate Flexibility with Clickshare

Working and collaborating in any office environment today should be meaningful, as workers today go to office for very specific reasons. When desig...

View All Downloads

Would you like your latest project featured on TechDecisions as Project of the Week?

Apply Today!

More from Our Sister Publications

Get the latest news about AV integrators and Security installers from our sister publications:

Commercial IntegratorSecurity Sales

AV-iQ

Footer

TechDecisions

  • Home
  • Welcome to TechDecisions
  • Contact Us
  • Comment Guidelines
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin

Free Technology Guides

FREE Downloadable resources from TechDecisions provide timely insight into the issues that IT, A/V, and Security end-users, managers, and decision makers are facing in commercial, corporate, education, institutional, and other vertical markets

View all Guides
TD Project of the Week

Get your latest project featured on TechDecisions Project of the Week. Submit your work once and it will be eligible for all upcoming weeks.

Enter Today!
Emerald Logo
ABOUTCAREERSAUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERSYour Privacy ChoicesTERMS OF USEPRIVACY POLICY

© 2025 Emerald X, LLC. All rights reserved.