Archive for the ‘Benefits of Lighting Retrofits’ Category

Many people are currently being cautious with their spending given the current state of our economy. However, a safe investment that everyone can afford is in CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs. Making the switch from traditional light bulbs to CFLs will not only reduce your electric bill, but will also prevent greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change. In the average home, lighting accounts for about 20% of the electric bill. By switching to CFLs, your lights will be using 75% less energy than incandescent light bulbs. Since CFLs cost little upfront and last up to 10 times longer they provide a quick return on investment.

Think of it this way: If only 1 traditional light bulb was replaced by an ENERGY STAR CFL in every home in America, in only 1 year it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of more than 800,000 cars. So why haven’t you made the switch yet?

Utilities throughout the country are sending “energy report cards” to customers that compare their energy usage to other comparable operations. California has measured a 2 ½% energy consumption reduction over the 16 month period they have been issuing “energy report cards” to their customers.

This blog has previously note that the U.S. Department of Energy reports that lighting represents 40% of the average commercial building’s electric bill and the Energy Cost Savings Council, reports that energy–efficient lighting projects generate an average 45% return on investment, paying for themselves in just 2.2 years. And yet, 80% of existing commercial buildings operate lighting systems installed before 1986.
A lighting upgrade will substantially increase that Energy GPA, as well as the energy cost drain on your company’s bottom line. A great place to start is the Aelux Resources page.

Henry Ford (yes … that Ford) said over 80 years ago in his book “Today and Tomorrow” (1926) that “…we will not so lightly waste material simply because we can reclaim it— for salvage involves labour. The ideal is to have nothing to salvage.”

If you haven’t updated your lighting recently, you are wasting material – namely dollars. You can calculate how much with our energy savings calculator.

The Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) calculates that asset value increases by $2.50 for every square foot of commercial property that reduces its energy consumption by just 10 percent, and published 30 simple ways to accomplish this. Their recommendations for lighting include:

Lighting can represent as much as 30 percent of a building’s energy usage, so changes to lighting can mean significant energy savings.

RELAMP
Even if you just re-lamped your buildings 3 years ago, take a lighting survey again. Lighting continuously gets more efficient. Converting to more efficient lamps and ballasts saves
total building energy.

DE-LAMP and DISCONNECT UNUSED BALLASTS
Many buildings are just too bright. If de-lamping
opportunities exist, you may be able to go from 4 lamps in perimeter down to 2 lamps and from
4 lamps to 3 lamps in interior spaces. Also be sure to have unused ballasts identified and disconnected.

SEE IF ANYONE IS LEAVING LIGHTS ON
Periodically, stay at work late or drive past after hours to identify additional opportunities for energy savings. Pay attention to exterior lighting as well.

INSTALL OCCUPANCY SENSORS
Install occupancy sensors to automatically turn off lights when physical movement stops. This
strategy may be especially effective in spaces that are used infrequently, such as storerooms and conference rooms. Occupancy sensors work not just for lights but also for HVAC controls.

USE HIGH EFFICIENCY LED EXIT SIGNS
Replace inefficient exit signs with high efficiency LED exit signs. LED exit signs operate 24/7 and
have lower maintenance costs due to their extended life.

AELUX welcomes companies to contact any Aelux team member for a no-cost lighting audit that addresses each of the above issues and more! BOMA’s complete list of recommendations is posted here.