Manufacturers Best Practice Guide
Lighting: Key Strategies
Lighting is low-hanging fruit," says Erik Page, director of engineering for the California Lighting Technology Center at the University of California, Davis. "Making the lighting changes required in the new standards can improve efficiency four fold. No other system will give you that big a payoff."
It is important to have an energy management plan in place prior to conducting lighting upgrades because lighting directly relates to the functioning of other systems such as HVAC and building envelope. With a plan in place there are many actions that can dramatically lower energy use.
Actions to increase lighting efficiency
- Perform audits on your lighting system
- Establish goals and methods for reducing lighting energy draw
- Upgrade incandescents and fluorescent T12s to high-lumen T8s, T5s or T5HOs
- Replace magnetic ballasts with energy-efficient electronic ballasts (building codes and manufacturing standards are mandating the turn over of magnetic ballasts)
- Ballasts and lamps should be replaced at the same time. Consider rapid start and dimmable ballasts to coordinate with an energy management system
- Replace High-Intensity Discharge (HIDs) systems with fluorescent T8s and T5s or T5HOs
- Use spectrally enhanced lighting where possible for the greatest payback
- Delamp unneeded fixtures
- Use compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) in wall sconces in hallways
- Install energy management systems for indoor and outdoor lighting
- Install remote photosensors or solar power for outdoor lighting
- Install LEDs (light emitting diodes) in signs, power indicators and outdoor lighting
Determining Lighting Efficiency
To quickly tell whether a lighting upgrade makes sense, ask this:
- Are T12 fluorescent or mercury vapor lamps still installed?
- Do any of the fixtures make buzzing noises or have flickering light?
- Was the building constructed before 1978, when California's Title-24 building efficiency standards first went into effect?
- Are cooling loads in the workspace a concern, (i.e., is it too hot indoors)?
- Have employees complained of eyestrain or vision-related headaches?
A "yes" to any of these questions indicates that it may be cost-effective to upgrade your lighting system.
Relamp, Retrofit or Redesign
There are three general levels of lighting upgrades:
- Relamp - lamp replacement is usually scheduled as part of regular operations and maintenance. In a group relamp, all lamps are replaced in a single maintenance project in order to achieve uniform lighting levels with a minimum amount of disruption.
- Retrofit - lamps and ballasts are replaced, this is a good opportunity to simultaneously upgrade control equipment like occupancy sensors and timers.
- Redesign - lamps, ballasts and fixtures replaced; often with a redesign, delamping occurs (i.e., less fixtures are needed, so some can be permanently removed).
Leading by Example: General Electric
In 2004, General Electric (GE) began enforcing its own energy cost reduction requirements under a companywide campaign known as "ecomagination" which promotes clean energy technology. They began by looking in their own backyard and discovered that many of their facilities were still lit by inefficient, heat producing High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps.
Utilizing their own high-efficiency lighting, GE has retrofitted 19 of their facilities with the support of all facility managers. However, it took conducting energy audits before all managers were convinced. The retrofitting and relamping project, not only reduced lighting costs, it also lowered air conditioning costs by removing the heat-generating HID's.
GE is now saving an estimated $2 million in lighting costs annually, which translates into a two-year payback on their $4 million efficiency upgrades. With plans to upgrade 100 more facilities, these savings will grow exponentially. Other benefits include improved worker productivity and a reduction of GE's GHG emissions by an estimated 18,000 metric tons annually. GE is also able to use these upgraded facilities as demonstration sites for their lighting products.