(Excerpted From the August 2013 issue of Progressive Grocer Magazine)
Lighting the Way
The Importance of (LED Cooler Light Installation) Flexibility
By Bob Ingram
"In our experience, one of the most important, but many times overlooked, aspects in the purchase of LED cooler case modules is the need for the product to possess 'installation flexibility.'"
Pete Couture, Director, LED lighting at Peabody, Mass. International Light Technologies, defines installation flexibility as the ability of a contractor to install LED cooler lights and power supplies in whatever cooler case doors are on the premises, and to be able to complete the installation in one visit. He adds, "Although this aspect of the conversion to LED lighting can be critical to a successful case light installation, it is often overlooked by both retail store owners and their electrical contractors when purchasing LED case light modules and power supplies."
Installation flexibility is important, Couture says, because the majority of LED cooler light installations performed today in grocery and convenience stores are retrofit installations, and since many store locations have multiple cooler case designs from multiple generations of display case models and from several cooler case door manufacturers, each cooler case model can present its own unique challenges to an LED cooler light retrofit installation.
Among the challenges Couture cites are beverage cases, many of which have tight clearances between the mullion and the shelves or frames, making it nearly impossible to mount a new light fixture without emptying the cooler.
"The use of VHB [very high–bond] tape eliminates this problem," he explains. "The ILT fixture is only 1.25–inches thick, including the thickness of the tape, with adequate clearance to position on the mullion and then press on to mount."