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Thirty five (35) percent of the electricity used in a building is for lighting, according to figures presented to members and guests of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter attending the May 15 program at the Confluence Park Restaurant.
However, Brad Montgomery, Ohio Valley sales representative for Lutron Electronics, Co. said this usage can be reduced by 50 percent or more with modern lighting systems.
He said this can be done through:
Montgomery said modern technology has provided the means for greater use of natural light that is coming into a space and backing off electric light usage with time-based controls, vacancy sensors, and personal control systems.
“For each percentage you are able to dim an electric light, you save that much in energy,” he said.
In facilities where load capacity or demand usage fees come into play, Lutron has been able to show the amount of energy used for lighting and how through modern technology the consumption can be reduced.
“Typically, we can achieve this and stay away from any demand load charge or fee by reducing the load by 10 percent. The important thing about 10 percent is that there is almost no visual change in the light output. The human eye really can’t detect it.,” Montgomery said.
As an example, he told of a total light control system installed in a company headquarters in Seattle. Each day for four days the facility manager there backed off the lighting by 10 percent. At the end of the fourth day, the facility manager received a phone call asking what he had done to the lights because the lighting was “so much better.”
Montgomery cited the construction last year of The New York Times new Manhattan headquarters, which was Lutron’s largest installation project.
He said 12,000 ballasts were installed in the building, “and by using new building methods and smart technology not only did they lower their construction costs by $2-3 million, they also are saving about $350,000 a year in energy costs by utilizing lighting control systems.”
“Many times,” he said, “we see spaces are over lit to meet code because most of the time they are designed for a worst case scenario, meaning midnight when there is no natural light coming into the space.
“This can be remedied with installation of an astronomic time clock to make sure lights are turned off at night or when the space is not used.”
Montgomery pointed out there are two types of sensors—occupancy and vacancy. Occupancy sensors that are usually placed on the ceiling or wall activate the lights when a person enters and leaves a room or area. A vacancy sensor, the newest product, doesn’t turn the lights on automatically.
“You have to hit a switch to get the light output,” he said, “but when you leave the room the lights will turn off automatically when it doesn’t detect anyone being in the room or area,” Montgomery said.
He said personal control is a very important strategy for lighting and that the Lutron digital ballast system allows for this by giving the end user either remote control or a screen on the desktop with which to manage the lighting.
“What we typically find when we allow someone to have personal control is that no matter what the base line they will back the lighting off 15 to 25 percent. We also find that it increases productivity, because they feel they are in control of their environment and that the system has been specifically designed to meet their needs,” he said.