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Stamats Communications, Inc. Sep 2005| [Headnote] |
| Let your lighting system reduce energy and long-term maintenance costs |
Upgrading is a daunting task for building owners and managers, and rightfully so: Upgrades have the potential to do damage to bottom lines. However, lighting upgrades can actually help an asset's bottom line, giving owners and managers a reason to embrace improvements.
Not only will lighting upgrades improve building and rentable area aesthetics, but lighting upgrades will help conserve capital by reducing energy and long-term maintenance costs.
Lighting Automation
One of the easiest ways to reduce energy expenditures is to install motion sensors in low-traffic areas. When motion is detected, sensors activate lighting for a designated period of time and then turn it off after a period of inactivity. To ensure safety, sensors are linked to emergency systems and provide necessary light in times of need. This type of upgrade requires a minimal investment and can decrease energy costs by 15 to 30 percent.
Another lighting automation, which preserves cash flow, involves the installation of timers to automatically turn off lights during non-operating hours. For example, if a building lobby does not permit access between the hours of 12 p.m. and 5 a.m., timers will automatically dim or turn off lights completely to lessen energy requirements. By reducing "on" time for several hours over the course of the week, owners and managers can save considerable energy costs.
Lamp Upgrades
One of the simplest ways to upgrade lighting includes replacing older lighting with new and improved lamps, such as T5 fluorescent lamps (the numerical designation refers to the diameter of the lamp in eighths of an inch; the thinner the lamp, the greater the optical control and fixture efficiency). This particular lamp type boasts energy efficiency, a long life-span, and high light intensity.
The lamp type installed will depend on the area in which they are deployed. Other cost-efficient lamp options include T8 lamps, which offer outputs comparable to T5 lamps but with a slightly lower efficacy, and high-output T5 lamps, which possess a higher lumen output than the standard T5s but with slightly lower efficacy.
Neon Alternatives
LED technology is quickly replacing neon lighting, most popular in exit signs, exterior signage, and in parking garages. Not only are LEDs all-weather performing and easily customizable, the energy savings from retrofitting existing neon to LEDs can help reduce energy costs by up to 35 percent.
For instance, if an exit sign that used neon lighting burned 24/7, it would require 20 watts of energy. If that same exit sign utilized LED technology, it would only require 2.8 watts - a 37.2-watt differential. Multiply 37.2 watts by the total number of exit signs in a commercial office building, and the savings start racking up - an owner/manager could realize a savings and return on investment in under L2 months.
LED savings also include maintenance hours. LEDs require significantly less energy than neon and they can last from 60,000 hours to 100,000 hours - that makes for almost 7 years of minimum life.
Commercial properties require constant maintenance, and upgrading is often done on an as-needed basis because of the capital outlays required. In the case of lighting upgrades, building owners and managers may see a complete return on investment and savings within months of the upgrades. Simple changes in common area lighting and exit signs add up, freeing up an owner's bottom line.
| [Sidebar] |
| Lighting Audits |
| Before making any changes to building lighting, building owners and managers need a lighting audit performed to identify the best ways to save, Lighting audits will require an accurate lamp count for the asset, the type of lamps and ballasts employed, specific hours of operations for the building, and the current cost of electricity in kilowatt-hours. |
| Audits are inexpensive, and resulting savings will most likely pay for the incurred costs within the first year. Typically, lighting maintenance companies will charge between 4 and 8 cents per building square foot, or the audit may even be free, pending agreements with the lighting and maintenance companies that are utilized. |
| Regardless of the lighting changes made, it is certain that lighting upgrades will help to lighten the load on an asset's bottom line. |
| Get FREE Info |
| Want more information on a variety of lighting products? Circle Inquiry No. 718 on the Free Product Information Card, page 115. |
| [Author Affiliation] |
| Ralph Sica is uice president of business development at Amtech lighting & Electrical Services, a subsidiary of San Francisco-based ABM inc. (www.abm.com). |
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