Part of a series taking important energy concepts and wording them so you can pass basic information to your colleagues, supervisors, and contacts.

Background

There is no hard and fast rule, but for many businesses lighting is a significant, if not majority, source of energy usage. Therefore, reducing energy, a fast-growing cost center, should start with lighting. There has literally – not figuratively, literally – been a revolution in technology allowing equipment to operate just as well, if not better, while using significantly less energy. Leading the way is lighting technology.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) in general, use about half of the electricity (wattage) of an equivalent fluorescent lamp producing the same amount (lumens) of light. For incandescents, wattage reduction is 70% or more. LEDs is not a “new” technology as some think; it was invented in 1927. It was not popular for a long period because of its high cost and limitations on how it can be used. Over time, these issues have been overcome, LEDs can fit in virtually every existing fixture or ballasts, and its cost has dropped markedly and likely bottomed out. Now, it’s a “no-brainer” to replace with LEDs.

The Many Benefits of LED Lighting

• Save significant energy costs. As mentioned above, LED lamps use half or less the wattage of conventional lamps. One may think that replacement may represent “only” a “minor” drop in, say, 16 watts per lamp, and, thus, is “not worth it”. However, many commercial buildings operate hundreds, if not thousands, of lights over many hours per day and days per year. Therefore, the electric usage (kilowatt-hours) and cost savings by switching to LEDs is significant. Switching to LEDs also reduces peak load, reducing that high charge utilities typically charge based on peak demand.

Depending on the LED project, it is typical to see simple paybacks of 1 to 3 years. Since most LED lights are warrantied for 7 years, you will have 4 to 6 years of “gravy”. In fact, many LED replacement projects have a return on investment in the range of 20 to 40% per year. What bank or Wall St. investment pays this well, with no risk (reduced wattage is reduced wattage)?! And the single act of changing to LEDs leads to an increase in future savings as cost is based on electric rates, which only going up every year!

Some managers, even when they are convinced that LED lamps are the way to go, will only replace existing lights as they burn out. Given these robust financial benefits, switching all your lighting to LEDs makes the most economic sense, and represents cost savings that occur and will be quite visible in your first electric bill.

• Longer life spans. LED lamps typically last much longer than fluorescent lamps translating into lower maintenance and replacement costs. LED lights are warrantied for 7 years or more, while fluorescents must be replaced, typically, every two years. Having to change lamps less often saves building management time and aggravation in replacing lamps and frees Maintenance to concentrate on more important issues. Also, fewer lamp changes means fewer trips up and down a ladder or cherry picker, reducing the risk of accidental falls. Finally, the long lifetime also reduces the quantity of lamps you must keep onsite for replacement, freeing up valuable space for other purposes.

• Cool. LEDs release much less heat than other lamp types. Therefore, switching to LEDs can reduce indoor temperatures by 1-2°F, and therefore lower AC usage during hot weather, further reducing your electricity usage, peak demand, and, therefore, cost.

• Superior color, increased comfort. LED lamps produce light that is more pleasing to the eye given its clear light and high marks on the Color Rendering Index (CRI). This also indicates accurate true color reproduction. LEDs can be programmed to change its color temperature as the day goes on to reduce eye strain and stress, increase worker productivity, and raise visiting customer comfort and mood.

But There’s More!

If that were not enough, there are other strategies that one can implement to reduce energy usage through lighting. It is important to start with a lighting evaluation. Are there dark spots? Might you be delivering too much light to places, not only wasting electricity, but also causing eye strain and frustrated workers? There may be opportunities to de-lamp, remove one or several lamps in different areas to deliver the right amount of light.

And there is lighting controls. Operating even an efficient LED lamp is wasting electricity if it is lighting an area not being used. It is often assumed that all lights are turned off by the last user when a space is vacated. However, the reality is often people forget to turn off lights (as well as Housekeeping), and they remain on lighting an empty space for many hours or all night. Lighting controls effectively save electricity by turning off lights when a space is not in use and turning them back on when people enter. These controls can operate based on the space’s occupancy, a set schedule, or amount of sunlight entering the space. Significant electric cost savings can be achieved by intelligent use of lighting control technology.

I hope that this overview of lighting opportunities gives you the information to forge ahead and implement sound strategies sooner rather than waiting, rather than later, to upgrade your lights for greater user comfort and productivity and to save electric costs.

CCES has the experts to help you assess your space and determine which lighting and other energy strategies will provide you with the most direct financial benefits. We can perform the preliminary assessment, rank the options for you, and project manage the strategies you select to ensure locking in to those maximum financial benefits. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or at karell@CCESworld.com.