Online Guide to Energy-Efficient Commercial Equipment

Energy-Efficient Lighting and Lighting Design

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Nearly 20 percent of all electricity used in the United States is used for lighting homes, buildings, factories, and streets. According to a recent U.S. Department of Energy analysis,lighting accounts for more than 40 percent of commercial sector electricity consumption in the United States, a total of 391 TWh/year [U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program. 2002. U.S. Lighting Market Characterization, Volume 1: National Lighting Inventory and Energy Consumption Estimate.Prepared by Navigant Consulting. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Energy].  Offices, retail, and warehouses are the largest contributors to commercial lighting energy use (see figure), but grocery stores, health care facilities, and retail stores are the most energy-intensive due to their long hours of operation and bright lighting in most areas. 
In all commercial building types, attention to the selection of the lighting system can result in lower energy consumption and lower operating cost, with minimum additional cost and equal or greater lighting quality than conventional lighting. Side benefits include improved building appearance and aesthetics, and improved building asset value (for both owner-occupied and owner-leased/revenue-producing space). Many of the recommendations we offer are commonly used in everyday construction in regions where energy codes and expensive electric power has forced more efficient design.

• Lamps: Making Light Efficiently
• Choosing Efficient Equipment for Each Application
• Resources on Efficient Lighting

Goodbye to Edison's bulb: LEDs bring 'new age of light'

For those who cringe at energy-guzzling incandescents but still hate the icky light and mercury of compact fluorescents, 2010 is the year you've been waiting for.

Big-box stores are already reconfiguring their lighting aisles, making way for a super-efficient - albeit expensive - newcomer, the light emitting diode, or LED.

With LEDs, lighting is changing faster now than at any point since Edison invented the incandescent bulb in 1879, industry officials say.

"You're going to see an explosion of products and applications," says Kevin Dowling of Philips Electronics, one of the major bulb manufacturers. "What we're seeing in 2010 is a new age of light."

Among the pluses of LEDs: They are 80 percent more efficient and last up to 50,000 hours - longer than your roof. You could keep it lit four hours a day for 30 years and still bequeath it to your children. Full Story

Benefits of LED lightbulbs

Long-lasting - LED bulbs last up to 10 times as long as compact fluorescents, and far longer than typical incandescents.

Durable - since LEDs do not have a filament, they are not damaged under circumstances when a regular incandescent bulb would be broken. Because they are solid, LED bulbs hold up well to jarring and bumping.

Cool - these bulbs do not cause heat build-up; LEDs produce 3.4 btu's/hour, compared to 85 for incandescent bulbs. This also cuts down on air conditioning costs in the home.

Mercury-free - no mercury is used in the manufacturing of LEDs.

More efficient - LED light bulbs use only 2-10 watts of electricity (1/3rd to 1/30th of Incandescent or CFL) Small LED flashlight bulbs will extend battery life 10 to 15 times longer than with incandescent bulbs. Also, because these bulbs last for years, energy is saved in maintenance and replacement costs. For example, many cities in the US are replacing their incandescent traffic lights with LED arrays because the electricity costs can be reduced by 80% or more.

Cost-effective - although LEDs are expensive, the cost is recouped over time and in battery savings. For the AC bulbs and large cluster arrays, the best value comes from commercial use where maintenance and replacement costs are expensive.

Light for remote areas - because of the low power requirement for LEDs, using solar panels becomes more practical and less expensive than running an electric line or using a generator for lighting.

This posting is courtesy of Eartheasy.