Lighting

Lighting systems are critical components of your building. Electric lighting is one of the major energy users in buildings. As reported by the Department of Energy, lighting accounts for 31% of the energy use in commercial buildings. The good news is that the potential for savings in this area is also significant. Significant reductions in energy use can be achieved by installing energy-efficient lights, fixtures, and controls.

In recent years, new technologies such as electronic ballasts, dimmable fluorescents, and others have revolutionized the lighting industry. Retrofits to install new technologies are often cost effective, paying back within a few years. Lighting includes both electric lighting and daylighting. The whole-buildings approach to design often includes daylighting because lighting is one of the major energy uses in a building. Combining daylighting with energy-efficient electric lighting will achieve the best lighting with the lowest energy use.

You should select lighting to optimize an illuminated environment and the activities of those using it, while minimizing the energy consumed for the purpose. Savings on lighting energy use can be realized through careful design and use of efficient lighting technologies and lighting controls. Lighting affects visual performance and comfort. Further, more efficient equipment can reduce unwanted heat gain from lights, which decreases energy use required for air conditioning in the summer.

Buildings that incorporate multiple features not only use less electricity, but also have lower cooling loads because less heat is being generated by the lights. By accounting for this, a whole-building design can balance the extra cost of daylighting strategies with the lower cost of smaller air-conditioning equipment. Although the heating system may also need to be sized larger, it is much more efficient to heat a building with an efficient central heater than with light bulbs. Light bulbs also create uneven heat loads in buildings, which makes constant and even temperature control harder to achieve.

Before embarking on lighting system modernization or replacement, you need assess the existing lighting in and around your building to identify potential improvements. Consider the value of all the benefits you will receive, including benefits that are not directly tied to energy use. If you only consider energy savings, paybacks may be too long to justify installation of new lighting. If you examine the full range of benefits- for example, an improved working environment and more productive employees - the value of benefits quickly add up, creating a strong economic justification for improvement.

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