Lighting quality is a critical consideration in effective lighting design, and often should take priority over energy savings and the economies of cost. But what is lighting quality? It goes beyond energy and cost and light levels to include brightness, light distribution, color, aesthetics, daylight, ease of use for controls, and other issues. While many […]
Control Design Toolbox: The Lighting Controls Narrative
As demand for lighting controls continues to grow, advanced solutions are becoming increasingly specified while also becoming increasingly sophisticated. This increasing sophistication translates to greater owner benefit but can also pose greater risk of design and installation mistakes. In a perfect world, designers create clear and detailed lighting control requirements that are easily installed by […]
Correctional News Publishes Article About Green Benefits Of Lighting Controls
In May 2011, Correctional News published “Lighting Controls Provide Green Benefits” by Joshua Slobin, which describes the energy-saving and resulting sustainability benefits of advanced lighting controls. Get the full story here.
Free DOE Webtool Outlines Multiple Paths to Big Lighting Energy Savings in Office Buildings
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled the Commercial Lighting Solutions for Office webtool. Available free at www.lightingsolutions.energy.gov, CLS for Office provides customizable lighting and control templates enabling building owners to generate more than 30% lighting energy savings compared to office buildings complying with prevailing energy codes.
NEMA Premium Brand Now Includes High-Efficiency Fluorescent Electronic Ballasts for 4-Ft. T8 Lamps
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) launched the Premium Ballast program to identify the industry’s most efficient fluorescent fixed-output and dimmable electronic T8 ballasts, thereby providing a mechanism for market recognition and specification of these products.
Bi-level Switching Study Demonstrates Energy Savings
In this special report by the Lighting Controls Association, we will describe bi-level switching code requirements, its role in the Commercial Buildings Deduction, methods and equipment, and the results of a study of typical energy savings achievable with bi-level switching in popular applications.
Fluorescent Retrofits for High/Low-Bay Applications
Indoor spaces with high ceilings, such as factories, warehouses, big box retail stores, gymnasiums and all-purpose rooms are often lighted by probe-start metal halide lighting systems. At higher ceiling heights, 350W and 400W units are common …
Advancements in lamp and ballast technology have resulted in two alternatives to this basic system that can significantly reduce energy consumption while providing other benefits. The first alternative is fluorescent T8 or T5HO hi-bay fixtures, which can replace probe-start metal halide fixtures in retrofit or new construction for energy savings up to about 50%. The second alternative is pulse-start metal halide lamp-ballast systems, which can provide up to 25% energy cost savings in existing applications and up to 30% in capital and operating costs in new construction.