Best Practice Guide

Commercial Office Buildings

Introduction

Planning an Energy Program

Funding and Approval

Lighting

Offices and Workstations

Daylighting

Hallways and Corridors

Restrooms and Closets

Signage

Outdoor Areas

Building Envelope

Central HVAC System

Distributed Generation

Demand Response

Commissioning

Procurement Policy

Water Use

Education

Energy Efficiency in Telecommuting

Resources and Appendices

Lessons Learned


Adobe Systems Incorporated and Cushman & Wakefield

Arden Realty and next>edge

Cypress Semiconductor

Equity Office Properties

Glenborough Realty Trust

Natural Resources Defense Council

Qualcomm

Swinerton, Inc.

Transwestern Commercial Services


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.

Business Examples

At Adobe Towers in San Jose, Cushman & Wakefield retrofitted all lighting in three parking garages, resulting in annual energy cost savings of $163,372. In a follow-up measure, Cushman & Wakefield reprogrammed the garage lighting controls to turn off from midnight to 6 AM. After inspecting the new lighting levels, additional emergency and night lighting was installed in dark areas. Cushman & Wakefield was able to eliminate the 24-hour lighting schedule, reducing operating hours from 168 to 80 per week. Adobe invested $20,530 in this latter measure, which saves them almost $35,000 in energy costs each year.


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.