Lights shining in your eyes at every turn while upon a naval ship can make things rather frustrating, especially when you see them every day, maybe a hundred times a day. This is precisely why Navy veteran and president of Energy Focus, Eric Hilliard, have stated that if anyone needs an update with lighting systems it is the navy. Some of their ships are still using lighting from the 1900s, including the T12 bulb, which is possibly one of the biggest florescent lighting.
That means the navy is actually one of the perfect places for a small company like Energy Focus, to take the time to fix up these ships with their poor lighting and improve the lives of many sailors. Of course, there were concerns about the safety of LED lights out in the sea, considering they are more like computer chips than light bulbs. Even just exposure to the sea air seems like it could cause a problem.
That’s where the fixtures and fittings come in though. Although some of the fixtures already in the ships could be utilized to keep the LED lights secured, a few had to be made and then confirmed to be safe by the Navy before they could be used. By 2010, the fixtures had been approved and over 200 different naval ships have been fitted with the LED lights, making costs for lighting, both financially and for the eyes of the navy men, drop significantly.
Additionally, a few ships have been created since then that were built with the original use of LED lights, rather than having to adapt the already existing light fixtures. Overall, the lights have brought improvements to the naval work force, including man hours spent on repairing and replacing the previous lights. And it is improvements like these in people’s lives, even while out at sea that make LED lights all the more worth it.