Best Practice Guide

Food and Beverage Growers and Processors

Introduction

Planning an Energy Program

Funding and Approval

Commissioning

On-the-Farm Energy Use

Lighting

Highbay and Lowbay

Hallways and Corridors

Restrooms and Closets

Outdoor Areas

Signage

Daylighting in Big Boxes

Building Envelope

Central HVAC System

Boilers

Steam

Combined Heat and Power

Compressed Air

Refrigeration

Motors

Demand Response

Distributed Generation

Water Use


Fetzer Vineyard

J Vineyards and Winery

Mission Foods

S. Martinelli and Company

Sara Lee

Vineyard 29


View the Glossary

Lighting

Outdoor Areas

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Outdoor lighting is so ubiquitous and yet so essential in the urban and suburban environment that most of us rarely see truly dark skies at night. Outdoor lighting gives us the ability to see and be seen, effectively extending the hours during which we can use facilities like parking lots, walkways, entryways, outdoor patios and recreational areas. Although visual acuity is the primary goal, outdoor lighting is commonly used to add design or architectural details to facades and landscapes, drawing the attention of passersby.

In California, commercial and industrial outdoor lighting consumes an estimated 3067 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity each year - this is enough energy to power more than half-a-million Californian homes. Commercial outdoor lighting alone accounts for three percent of all nighttime energy use, with demand peaking about 7 to 8 PM during the winter months; summer peak is about 9 PM. This demand tapers off around 1 AM as parking lots reduce lighting levels, remains constant until about 4 AM, then briefly spikes around 5 AM as the morning commute begins.

Replace Inefficient Lighting Systems

  • As with any lighting system, choosing energy-efficient lamps and fixtures is the most important measure a company can undertake.
  • Retrofit inefficient luminaries, replacing lamp, fixture, and ballast, or simply relamp (replacing lamp only).
  • Replace incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
  • Replace inefficient high intensity discharge (HID) lamps with more efficient HIDs like low pressure sodium (LPS) or high pressure sodium (HPS), depending on the color rendering needed.
  • At the very least, replace mercury vapor HIDs, as these consume about three times the energy as the equivalent LPS luminaire.
    High output fluorescent lamps are even more efficient, particularly new T5s, but check the temperature rating in case there are difficulties associated with low temperatures. Be sure to upgrade any magnetic ballast for an efficient electronic or digital unit. Seek the advice of a qualified lighting professional to help with any redesign of outdoor lighting.



Install Photosensors
Lighting controls play a large role in making outdoor lighting systems efficient and effective.

  • Photosensors (also referred to as photocells) activate outdoor lighting as daylight diminishes. Commercial buildings tend to stay active through the early evening hours, so parking lots and walkways usually need moderate lighting levels (expressed as lumens) for the first few hours of evening and nighttime.
  • A timer control can then be used to dim or turn off unnecessary lamps and fixtures in areas that are no longer active.
  • Motion sensors can activate lighting as needed by building occupants or for security, providing ample illumination for the stray late worker who needs to safely cross outdoor walkways and parking lots.

Position Effectively
Location and position are also factors worth considering when designing an efficient lighting system. All lighting, both essential and decorative, should be positioned so that direct and reflected light falls down, and not up into the atmosphere or across into a neighbor's space. This helps decrease the bothersome incidence of glare, light pollution and light trespass.

Further Considerations

  • Using lighting as a design element can have dramatic effects, but at 2 AM, no one is around to impress. Consider adding timers and reducing the incidence of design lighting.
  • Remember that higher lumens do not necessarily translate into added security - studies indicate that outdoor lighting is not necessarily a major deterrent to crime and may, in fact, aid perpetrators of certain crimes like vandalism.
  • Seek the advice of a lighting professional who can help design, implement, and test lighting levels in different outdoor areas to optimize the system and ensure safety compliance with lighting standards and building codes.


Resources

California Energy Commission webpage on the Reduction of Outdoor Lighting and Executive Order D-19-01.

California Energy Commission report, California Outdoor Lighting Standards (Revised March 2004).

California Energy Commission, Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) report, California Outdoor Lighting Baseline Assessment.

California Energy Commission, Building Energy Efficiency Standards, information on changes to Title-24 that affect outdoor lighting zones.

International Dark-Sky Association has a number of resources, including information sheets on a variety of topics.

State of Pennsylvania, Department of Environmental Protection. Webpage on Outdoor Lighting: Efficient Outdoor Lighting Benefits Us All.

Clark, B.A.J. Outdoor Lighting and Crime, Part I: Little or No Benefit. Astronomical Society of Victoria, Inc., Australia, November 26, 2002. A look at crime and lighting studies in the U.K. and U.S.