Sustainable lighting: ERCO Greenology

Relighting: Perfect light for decades

Qualitative lighting design is timeless, but the technology used is not. The approach of perception-oriented architectural lighting – today called Human Centric Lighting – is over 50 years old. Then as now, it is a prerequisite for effective lighting and good quality of light in the long run. Thanks to efficient LED technology and the possibilities of digital control, Human Centric Lighting concepts can be realised more energy-efficiently today than ten years ago. Existing lighting installations can benefit from this gain in efficiency through relighting. Such upgrades will be sustainable in the long term if it is possible to retain the original lighting design and continue to use large parts of the infrastructure. This is the approach we take when developing our luminaires:

Save energy by adding control and dimming functions to your 3-core wired installations thanks to LED luminaires with wireless control. Your electrical installation can remain as it is.
Replace your luminaires fitted with halogen or discharge lamps 1:1 with efficient LED technology. Our LED spotlights are compatible with old ERCO track systems and our recessed downlights have long used identical ceiling cut-outs and upgradeable mounting frames.
Adapt our luminaires to the conditions on site. The modular design allows a high degree of customisation: be it the mounting solutions, the light colour, the control type, the protection rating or simply the housing colours.

Relighting: Perfect light for decades

Qualitative lighting design is timeless, but the technology used is not. The approach of perception-oriented architectural lighting – today called Human Centric Lighting – is over 50 years old. Then as now, it is a prerequisite for effective lighting and good quality of light in the long run. Thanks to efficient LED technology and the possibilities of digital control, Human Centric Lighting concepts can be realised more energy-efficiently today than ten years ago. Existing lighting installations can benefit from this gain in efficiency through relighting. Such upgrades will be sustainable in the long term if it is possible to retain the original lighting design and continue to use large parts of the infrastructure. This is the approach we take when developing our luminaires:

Save energy by adding control and dimming functions to your 3-core wired installations thanks to LED luminaires with wireless control. Your electrical installation can remain as it is.
Replace your luminaires fitted with halogen or discharge lamps 1:1 with efficient LED technology. Our LED spotlights are compatible with old ERCO track systems and our recessed downlights have long used identical ceiling cut-outs and upgradeable mounting frames.
Adapt our luminaires to the conditions on site. The modular design allows a high degree of customisation: be it the mounting solutions, the light colour, the control type, the protection rating or simply the housing colours.

Durability due to eco-design

Sustainable lighting starts with product design. We use pure, high quality raw materials that can later be recycled and reused or are already recycled materials. Where possible, we dispense with adhesive joints or welded joints in order to be able to easily separate and repair parts and components. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the materials that determine the design of a product. It's the other way round: the structure and modularity of a luminaire determine which materials are specified in order to fulfil demands for design and long-term functionality.

We develop mechanical and electronic components as a single system. Our luminaires are thus ideally matched to the long refurbishment cycles of architecture.
We develop modular luminaire concepts. This results in application-specific product features with interchangeable components, e.g. lenses and electronic control methods. These can also be customised according to customer requests.
Our luminaires consist of a low number of components. In this way, we reduce the complexity of the products and thus the resources needed for production and recycling.

Sustainable investment

We develop our luminaires as optoelectronic units, designed for durability and low-maintenance operation. Even after 50,000 hours of operation, which corresponds to over 13 years at 10 hours of illumination per day, 90% of the High-power LEDs we use still have at least 90% of their original luminous flux (L90/B10). With a failure rate of individual LEDs of just 0.1%, continuous operation without failures is possible. In contrast to lower, more common specifications such as L70/B50, there is no reason for oversizing the lighting installation in the planning phase to compensate for a drop in lumen output over time. Illuminance levels required by standards are still achieved even after many years of operation.

Comparing an ERCO High-power LED (L90/B10) with a standard LED (L70/B50) demonstrates the positive effect of high-performance LEDs on investment costs:

At the time of installation

Office floor illuminated with uniform luminaire grid of 50 downlights with identical light distribution according to EN 12464-1 (initial: Em = 351lx, U0 = 0.44).

ERCO L90/B10 with 0.1% failure rate for single LED

Market standard L70/B50 with 0.2% failure rate per LED module

After 10,000 operating hours

With a failure rate of 0.2% per LED module (right), the first downlights can already be expected to fail. Luminaire replacement is necessary to achieve uniformity of U0 > 0.4. The ERCO solution (left) is almost unchanged from the original value.

After 20,000 operating hours

With ERCO High-power LEDs (left), both illuminance and uniformity remain above the normative recommendations. In the case of L70/B50 LED modules (right), the additional purchase of a single luminaire is again unavoidable to compensate for the insufficient uniformity.

After 30,000 operating hours

The reduction in luminous flux of the L70/B50 lighting solution (right) is so severe that the standard value of 300lx is fallen below. The system has to be replaced, thus doubling the investment costs. The ERCO LED specification L90/B10 (left) is still maintenance-free.

After 40,000 operating hours

The ERCO L90/B10 solution (left) continues to meet the normative requirements for illuminance and uniformity for the office lighting. With L70/B50 (right), the first failures are to be expected again following the new installation.

After 50,000 operating hours

The ERCO L90/B10 lighting solution (left) continues to comply with standards and offers high investment security in the long term. Even presumably higher costs at the time of initial installation are of little importance if the significant reinvestments across the operating time with an L70/B50 specification are considered.

Sustainable and cost-efficient

Human Centric Lighting with ERCO lighting tools means: you need fewer luminaires for a lighting task. Specialised distributions such as "oval flood" spread the light beam in one direction and thus enable uniform illumination of corridors with very large luminaire spacing. Fewer luminaires reduce the initial use of resources and installation effort and lower energy and maintenance costs in the long run.

50% more light on the target surface

Sustainable lighting is more than just looking at the efficiency of a luminaire in lm/W. Whether for accent lighting, uniform wallwashing or the illumination of office workstations – the decisive factor is how effectively the expended electrical energy is utilised, i.e. how much light reaches the target surface (in lx/W).

ERCO represents the most effective lighting tools and methods of lighting on the market. A comparison with the competition shows: with a similar connected load, Parscan for example achieves a significantly higher illuminance. This means Parscan brings visibly and measurably more light to the target surface and is therefore more effective than other spotlights.

No spill light, no wasted light

Electric lighting supplements natural daylight, and energy is needed for the purpose. This resource must be used responsibly. Our proprietary lens technology is the basis for optics that project light precisely onto the target surface. The distribution of the luminaire thus has no disturbing spill light and is therefore up to 60% more effective than conventional methods of light control which use reflector technology.

Precision: ERCO lens technology

With Spherolit lighting technology and darklight lighting technology, ERCO sets standards in terms of light output ratio and visual comfort. With the objective of ever more efficient LED lighting technology, we continuously refine the design and precision of our optics.

Spherolit technology

A micro-structure of freeform surfaces enables precise control of light with extremely flat lenses, even with axial and asymmetric distributions such as oval flood or wallwash. The transmittance of the interchangeable lenses is 92% in the visible range of the spectrum. The result is homogeneous light beams with minimal spill light.

Darklight technology

The clear darklight lens projects light from multiple LEDs through one focal point, providing maximum visual comfort. Broadband anti-reflection coating processes enable a transmission of >96% across the entire spectral range.

In-house developed lighting technology

LEDs are heat-sensitive. Decisive for their efficiency is correct current flow and good thermal management. The higher the current, the more light is emitted. At the same time though, the temperature in the LED also increases. An excessively high operating temperature leads to rapid degradation, a process in which the LED becomes increasingly dimmer. If cooling is insufficient the LED might even be destroyed.

Current flow and heat dissipation must be coordinated so that an LED emits as much light as possible whilst not exceeding a critical operating temperature. This ideal state varies according to the type of LED and the layout of several LEDs on one LED module. To ensure high efficiency and a very long operating life, we not only develop control gear, LED modules, lens systems and thermal management as an integral system, we also manufacture them.

Future-proof with wireless control

With Casambi Bluetooth and Zigbee, ERCO is increasingly focusing on wireless control methods. The effort with cabling and thus also the complexity of planning are thus significantly reduced. For a wireless lighting control system that, for example, is comparable to a DALI control system in terms of functionality, a 3-core connection cable instead of a 5-core cable is sufficient. This corresponds to material savings and cost savings of approximately 40%. Building owners also gain a freely controllable lighting system that ensures long-term flexible use of the building if requirements change.

10% higher light output ratio with 48V technology

Product ranges such as Eclipse 48V and Parscan 48V use low-voltage technology. Voltage conversion from mains voltage to 48V direct current is performed centrally and not at each individual luminaire. A low voltage infrastructure such as the Minirail 48V track thus has only one power supply unit. From a utilisation of the power supply unit of 30%, the light output ratio of this solution increases by up to 10% compared to a similar installation. Since with low voltage technology the power supply unit in the luminaire is omitted, more compact luminaire designs are also possible – this expands the scope for design and also means less production material.

The most effective lighting tools on the market

We develop luminaires and methods of lighting that are utterly effective. Light should only be used where it is needed – meaning not all over the place and thus wastefully throughout the complete room.

The effectiveness of a lighting installation considers the light in its application and is defined by the precision of the luminaires used. It is distinct from efficiency as an indicator of the pure energy conversion from electricity to light. The high efficiency of a luminaire alone, expressed in lumens per watt (lm/W), does not by itself make it an ideal tool for sustainable lighting concepts. ERCO considers both key phrases within product development: efficiency through the use of the best LEDs and in-house developed driver electronics for especially low energy consumption. Coupled with effectiveness from high-precision photometric systems also developed by us. The crucial factor here is the quantity of light reaching the surface to be illuminated for a given connected load – i.e. the ratio of illuminance to connected load in lux per watt (lx/W). To make an efficient luminaire into a luminaire that is effective in its application, precise, dedicated optical systems are needed that direct the light precisely onto the target surface without light spill. Only in this way is it possible to implement effective zonal lighting concepts that, in contrast to normal planar lighting, only use light where human perception requires it. The lighting technology of almost all our luminaires is based on the principle of projecting the light via lenses. This makes them up to 20% more effective than conventional luminaires with reflector technology.

A CO₂ neutral light factory

With the eco-design concept of our products and comprehensive energy and environmental management in production, we are transforming ourselves into a CO₂ neutral light factory. The conscious and conserving use of resources, the expansion of new technologies and the continuous optimisation of our production processes lead to a steady reduction in our CO₂ emissions and ultimately to CO₂ neutral production.

Expansion of the circular economy

We comply with the principle of circular economy in the production of our luminaires. From responsible material procurement and disposal in accordance with the WEEE directive to the recyclability of our luminaires – we evaluate and enhance every production step according to ecological and economic aspects. This allows us to make our production more sustainable and CO₂ neutral in the long run.

Expansion of the circular economy

We comply with the principle of circular economy in the production of our luminaires. From responsible material procurement and disposal in accordance with the WEEE directive to the recyclability of our luminaires – we evaluate and enhance every production step according to ecological and economic aspects. This allows us to make our production more sustainable and CO₂ neutral in the long run.

Yes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

We are clearly committed to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Economic, ecological and social aspects are encompassed in these objectives to promote sustainable peace and prosperity and to protect our planet. With our responsible corporate actions we make a contribution on a global level.

Environmental management according to ISO 14001

We strive for excellence in everything we do – including operational environmental management. ISO 14001 certification confirms our commitment to environmental goals and continuously drives us to improve our energy and environmental performance with new measures.

Download ISO 14001 certificate

Download ERCO Environmental and Energy Policy

Continuous energy management

Always keeping an eye on the energy balance: with continuous monitoring of our energy indicators (DIN EN ISO 50001), we analyse the status quo of our processes and continually identify new methods of reducing our energy consumption. One example is the upgrading of ventilation systems, which can save about 400 tonnes of CO₂ annually. With all measures adopted as part of our energy management, we are able save around 175 tonnes of CO₂ annually.

Download ISO 50001 certificate

Free-air cooling in production

Low outside temperature, high cooling capacity: in plastics processing we use open-air cooling to regulate the temperature of our plastic injection machines. The principle: cooling fluid is first pumped outside to cool down and then pumped back again. Only if the outside temperature is not sufficient for cooling down is an additional cooling system used – however, this is only necessary in 5% of cases. With this method, our CO₂emissions can be reduced by approximately 117 tonnes

Production material: avoid waste

Material is used responsibly in every production step and waste is effectively prevented. In powder coating for example, the powder that does not adhere to the product, the so-called "overspray", is automatically collected and conveyed back into the powder guns. It is thus returned to the process cycle and reused. Another example of the responsible use of materials is the colour mixing system, which only produces as much colour as is actually needed for a luminaire or series – even minimal batches.

In-house water treatment systems

The water used in various production steps, for example the wet paint process, forms a closed circuit. Excess paint is collected here by a film of water. The contaminated water is cleaned or neutralised again and ultimately reused. The degree of purification is so high that the water that is not used further in the process cycle can be discharged into the general wastewater system.

Compliance & Speak-Up System

We act in accordance with a binding Code of Conduct which is in line with ERCO's management system and system of values. It formulates the essential rules and principles for responsible, legally and ethically correct conduct by all employees. The ERCO Code of Conduct goes beyond simply complying with applicable legislation by being established on the basis of internationally recognised standards for the promotion of ethical, social and ecological responsibility. We have implemented a compliance management system that ensures adherence to all requirements in the Code of Conduct. One component of this is our speak-up system, which enables employees to anonymously communicate misconduct or grievances. In this way, we ensure that misgivings are expressed and attended to in a confidential manner and that working together at the light factory is both productive and mutually appreciative.

Certified quality management

The ERCO management system has been certified to DIN EN ISO 9001 (quality management) for more than 30 years. It is continuously further developed and adapted to new high standards. This enables us to consistently optimise our processes and ensure maximum quality in the production of our lighting tools in the long term. The certification of our quality management also means that we design our production in a socially responsible and environmentally compatible way. We thus contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, not only in economic aspects, but also in environmental and social terms.

Download ISO 9001 certificate

Solar power from the roof of the light factory

We have had a photovoltaic system on the roof of our production building since 2007. With this, we generate about 155,000 kWh of electricity annually, which corresponds to about 54 tonnes of CO₂.

The green light factory

The roofs and surrounding meadows of our light factory are emblazoned with green In addition to roof greening on our flat roofs, at least 50% of ERCO's premises are green spaces. These are predominantly left in their natural state and thus form a species-rich habitat and breeding ground for plants and insects. There is also a spring area on the site from which a brook rises. This area is protected as a wetland biotope and thus forms an important ecosystem – as a water source and habitat for numerous flora and fauna.

Our bee colonies

Since 2017, around 200,000 bees have been part of our light factory – five colonies of Buckfast bees, a species considered particularly hardy and gentle. This is an active contribution to nature conservation and against bee mortality. After all, bees are an indispensable part of our ecosystem, and their pollination services ensure the survival of plants, animals and humans. This means that tasty honey on a regular basis is not the only benefit.

ERCO luminaires in the circular economy

Our manufacturing is performed exclusively in Germany on the basis of maximum environmental requirements. It has a vertical integration of 80% and accords to the principles of the circular economy. From buying raw materials and the eco-design of luminaires to production and after-sales service – our value creation process must be measured against the highest quality standards and the responsible use of resources.

Responsible sourcing

Example: supplier audits. We place the highest demands on the suppliers of our raw materials in terms of product quality, corporate social responsibility and the consideration of transport and supply chains. With regular on-site audits, we ensure that our high standards are not only complied with on paper.

Consultancy & sales

Example: ERCO lighting consultants. With independent distribution organisations and partners in around 55 countries, we have built up an international network of trained lighting consultants who support lighting designers and architects worldwide in the realisation of their projects. For example, with our strategy for efficient visual comfort: this focuses on user-oriented lighting design that is based on human perception, thus minimising the energy consumption of lighting in buildings.

Eco product design

Example: modularity. One focus of our luminaire development is the design of interfaces. In this way, a large number of application-specific product characteristics are created from just a few assemblies. This saves resources not only in production. Thanks to interchangeability, for example with lenses, it is possible to react quickly to new requirements even during operation. Should individual components fail, they can be easily replaced. At the end of its service life, the luminaire can be disassembled into individual parts and recycled.

Manufacturing excellence

Example: avoiding waste. Highest manufacturing quality and sustainable production processes are not a contradiction. We are constantly investing in new technologies to avoid rejects. Any change must also provide ecological benefits – for example the waste heat from our injection moulding machines heats our buildings. Any materials used in production are also subject to a substitution check, i.e. they are continuously replaced by more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Packaging & delivery

Example: Packaging. The way in which products must be packaged is partly subject to legally binding specifications. We use recyclable cardboard to keep packaging raw materials within the circular economy even after luminaire installation. We bundle orders and integrate as much merchandise as possible into one package in order to send "no air". On request, also individually marked for efficient construction site logistics.

Repair & upgrade

Example: interchangeable components. Should individual components such as control gear or LED modules fail, they can be easily replaced thanks to the modular design of our luminaires. Where possible we dispense with jointing, for example by gluing, to ensure that the luminaires can be disassembled into individual parts for repair or recycling. We analyse the technical background for repairs and incorporate these findings into the eco-design of new products.

Recycling

Example: single-variety raw materials. We pay attention to the use of already recycled raw materials or unmixed materials – this is ideal for recycling processes and downstream secondary use. Raw materials that cannot be reused in our own production are thus valuable resources for other sectors of the economy. This makes our luminaires recyclable to over 95%. Within the framework of the WEEE Directive, we guarantee the no-cost redemption of old luminaires as well as their recovery and recycling.

ERCO luminaires in the circular economy

Our manufacturing is performed exclusively in Germany on the basis of maximum environmental requirements. It has a vertical integration of 80% and accords to the principles of the circular economy. From buying raw materials and the eco-design of luminaires to production and after-sales service – our value creation process must be measured against the highest quality standards and the responsible use of resources.