The Future Looks Bright: Energy-Efficient Lighting Technologies

New advances in controls, fixtures, lamps and more help reduce energy costs and environmental impact.
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Sponsored by Engineered Lighting Products, Journée Lighting, Kim Lighting, and WattStopper
C.C. Sullivan

Design Tools for Better Efficiencies

Project teams have a host of issues to sort out when designing and implementing a successful lighting system, including cost, performance and maintenance considerations. Over the past few years there has been a surge in lighting design tools meant to help ease those challenges, addressing energy-cost benefits, lightlevel and performance requirements, and the relative benefits of control schemes.

Several new, easy-to-use software programs help designers estimate energy savings, calculate watts per square foot, needed fixture counts and the like in the pre-planning and schematic design phases. Importantly, these tools also give designers a starting point on equipment and operational needs. These tools can perform assessments for multiple projects and retain data for future reference, and reports can be personalized for use in submittal packages and proposals. Among the most current:

  • Commercial Lighting Solutions (CLS) is an interactive online tool created by DO E to help commercial buildings improve lighting efficiency by at least 30 percent over ASHRAE 90.1-2004. Developed in partnership with lighting designers, architects, and commercial end-users, CLS provides energy savings projections based on user input and selections. The solutions are designed to meet or exceed energy savings levels needed to qualify for tax incentives established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
  • Advanced Lighting Guidelines will be published by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) this fall, with updated content on the importance of daylighting, evolution and new technologies of lighting controls, and integration of lighting design with other green building practices.
  • Plug-Load Calculation Tools enable users to calculate energy savings opportunities as well as return on investment (ROI) by automatically controlling office equipment and other plug loads. "Many office workers leave equipment plugged in and on 24/7," says Jeff Park, LEED AP, CLEP, manager of sustainable market development for WattStopper, which created one such tool. "That's 8,760 hours per year of electrical consumption for task lighting, computer monitors, personal charging devices and more." Mobile versions are available for use on laptops and PDAs.
  • Other software programs, such as EcoLumen, DIALux and Radiance, prove to be useful software for lighting designers and facility managers. Each program is slightly different and all have pros and cons - one program that can't do daylight calculations, for example - but essentially users enter basic information such as room dimensions and colors and space usage patterns, as well as fixture choices, and the software spits out recommended illumination levels and lamping options.
  • Energy-modeling software, in addition to pure lighting programs, is also critical to designing of efficient commercial buildings that hold their value over time. Modeling assists architects and engineers in quickly identifying the most cost-effective and energysaving measures for heating, cooling, lighting, water and other energy flows in buildings. EnergyPlus, OpenStudio and Energy-10 are just a few of the programs available online for use.

Big Challenges Remain

In spite of the technology solutions and the market pressures facing building owners, there are far fewer projects employing truly cutting-edge lighting systems. That means that across the country, we are still wasting energy where it isn't necessary. The answer? "Education," says the Energy Center of Wisconsin's Schuetter. "People have trouble switching from the system types that they know and are comfortable with. More education will relieve this anxiety and allow for more widespread implementation." Gary Gordon agrees that there is a "huge lack of knowledge and awareness among corporate end-users."

"Another barrier is the economy and the worries of the future," according to Kim Lighting's Lueken. "All projects are taking a cautious approach and buying smaller quantities to appraise the application. By the time the appraisal is done, the product has improved and the analysis is outdated."

Other lighting designers, like Simeonova, are more optimistic. "I don't see any barriers. Energy-efficient lighting is favored initiative by government, politicians, Wall Street, academia, business, and the public. The challenge I see is to avoid focusing predominantly on numbers and issues, at the exclusion of people."

C.C. Sullivan is principal of a marketing and content agency that specializes in architecture, design, and construction. He is former editor-in-chief of the magazines Architecture and Building Design + Construction.

Engineered Lighting Products Journée Lighting
Kim Lighting
WattStopper

 

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Originally published in GreenSource
Originally published in September 2010

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