Let There Be Light.....

Any of you who have toured our building know that we put a lot of thought and effort into the lighting of the space.  Having comfortable, appropriate levels of light is critically important to making our spaces usable.   And lighting represents a significant opportunity to save energy over the long term.

To maximize the efficiency of our lighting, the design team worked closely with the folks who would install the lighting, Hirneisen Electric and with the main supplier of our electrical components, Fromm Electric.  This is another example of how local companies were closely involved in the project.

This is the story of the choices we made that came together with a great result.

Our specifications for performance were pretty demanding so we used a Lutron EcoSystem, which consists primarily of five categories of products:

1.      Occupancy Sensors

Lighting accounts for up to 50% of a building’s total energy usage. Many of our spaces can remain unoccupied with the lights on for 40% to 70% of daily operating hours, wasting energy and money. Occupancy sensors reduce energy consumption by automatically shutting off lights during periods of non-use. We estimate that occupancy sensors can eliminate 20% to 30% of total lighting energy costs!

2.      Dimming (personal lighting control)

By enabling occupants of a work space to choose desired lighting levels, dimming technology not only saves energy, but can also increase productivity and workplace comfort. For example, personal lighting control can reduce annoying computer screen glare and reflections, thereby avoiding headaches and eyestrain. Since we know how the light will flow through the spaces, the dimmers are automatically set have the lighting at less than 100%--something you can’t do if you don’t spend some serious time thinking about lighting efficiency.

3.      Daylight Harvesting

Daylight sensors automatically dim lights when available daylight is high, and brighten lights when available daylight is low, in order to maintain a consistent, pre-specified light level in the space. Daylight harvesting can save 15% to 50% of lighting energy, and studies show that workers are more productive when daylight is incorporated into their work environment.

4.      High-Efficiency Ballasts

The Lutron EcoSystem Ballasts that control our compact fluorescent lights connect directly to all  of our EcoSystem sensors and lighting controls.  It’s like  buying all of your computers, phones etc. from Apple.  They all work together.  By doing this decreased the required amount of materials (expensive copper & steel) and labor time in construction. Combined with energy-efficient fluorescent lamps, high-efficiency ballasts produce higher light output levels with less energy usage than traditional ballasts.  And, now that we’ve got them all set right, the lights never flicker when they dim.   We have workspaces that are very comfortable to work in.

We used a lot of fluorescent lights, which results in lower overall wattage, extended lamp life and improved quality of light. Fluorescent lamps decrease energy usage anywhere from 30% to 75% without compromising light levels. 

Early on in the process, our team was skeptical about fluorescent lighting.  It was one of our learning experiences.  Gone are the days of nasty green blue light that gives you headaches.  Our fluorescent lights are efficient, comfortable and attractive.

Conclusion

Without the use of the Lutron EcoSystem, our lighting system would have been more expensive and less functional.  By using this system, working closely with Fromm, Hirneisen our design team, we saved between 40% and 70% of  the expense of traditional technology.