You don’t have to adopt and execute large-scale, budget straining energy efficiency projects at your facility to produce outstanding results. Sometimes it’s the simpler changes made at scale that yield stronger building performance and game-changing savings that can propel your organization to new growth and success.
Lighting efficiency is one such approach that can provide your organization with strong savings that are sustainable year-over-year. For example, simply replacing your existing incandescent bulbs with CFL (compact fluorescent) bulbs or LED (light emitting diode) bulbs can produce amazing bang for your buck when done at scale.
Here are some areas where you can see immediate reductions in your utility bills:
- Replace CFLs with LEDs. Old-school, inefficient incandescent bulbs have, for the most part, been phased out and replaced by CFL or LED bulbs. The light bulb many of us grew up with is highly inefficient (90% of the energy goes to heat, 10% to light), but it is significantly cheaper than newer lighting and provides a warmer, softer light than CFLs and LEDs.
- Replace T12 Fluorescents with T8s/T5s. You can replace your leftover T12s with T8s or T5s. While T8s and T5s are smaller in diameter, each emits higher quality and more light than the T12. Again, upfront, total replacement costs are higher, particularly for the T5, but these upgrades typically pay for themselves over time. When looking to compare T8s and T5s, some think the more expensive T5’s performance doesn’t justify the additional cost. Again, like with other lighting types, you need to consider cost, efficiency, and application when choosing the right lighting to maximize energy performance.
- Remember Your Outdoor Lights. Don’t forget outdoor lighting quality and performance when considering a lighting efficiency upgrade. If the firm you choose for your energy audit ignores your parking lot or garage, find another partner to work with. In many cases, replacing older lighting technology with LED lighting with automated controls can reduce energy costs while preserving and even improving security and safety for your staff members.
- Upgrade Your Exit Lights. Exit sign lighting is also an often overlooked opportunity for energy savings. Depending on your building size, the amount of potential savings will vary, but every bit counts, particularly when put into a national perspective. While your building won’t save billions, by upgrading your older, inefficient exit lights to LED exit and emergency signs (making sure to adhere to code every step of the way), you’ll save battery life, improve reliability and reduce maintenance, all while using less energy to keep your staff and people who work in your building safe.
Lighting Tips
Here are some do-it-yourself tips that you can use even if you don’t engage in an energy audit and full-scale energy efficient lighting upgrade.
- Turn the Lights Off. This is a people initiative. Institute a policy that staff needs to turn office and common area lighting off when it is not in use. Energy isn’t free and wasting it impacts the organization’s bottom line.
- Task Lighting. Provide task lighting so that an entire room doesn’t need to be lit if only a portion of it is being used. A desk lamp is the perfect example of simple task lighting that can save energy.
- Natural Light. Let the sunshine in. Pull up the shades and install skylights. Whenever you can utilize daylighting, do it. You’ll be surprised at how much you can save using daylight to light your spaces.
- Keep Lights Clean. This sounds silly but dusty lights don’t perform as well as clean lights. This won’t necessarily save a ton of energy but it will maximize performance so you get what you pay for.
- Integrate Solar. For exteriors, see if there are opportunities for using solar lighting. Lighting pathways is an option. Take a look at where solar can be used. Remember, every little bit helps.
Technologies and Controls
There are a host of smart building technologies that can be installed to help manage and automate your lighting usage.
- Use Multiple Switches (to light only areas in use). In larger spaces, say a bullpen area of cubicles, replace single switch lighting that illuminates the whole room with multiple switches that control areas of the room.
- Dimmers. Dimmers are another great way to regulate the amount of energy used in a particular space. Dimmers can help tailor light usage to application or time of day and they can extend the life of your bulbs.
- Motion Sensors. Installing motion sensors that detect when a space is in use is a fantastic way to eliminate human error (forgetting to turn off the lights) through automation. This is particularly useful in common areas like kitchens or bathrooms that see intermittent usage throughout a workday.
- Control Systems. For larger, more complex facilities there are a variety of energy control systems, including those that control lighting, available in the market. You can do more of a deep dive on your options here.
You don’t have to go it alone. We can help guide you through the process. The RIFE International team has conducted scores of energy audits and helped myriad government and commercial organizations reap the financial rewards of improved building performance. We’ll help you get more from your existing equipment, technology, infrastructure and people while helping you plan for the future.
That’s what we do. We solve problems. Let us help you solve yours. Reach out to us today-we’d love to hear more about your plans.
