Category: Lighting Maintenance and Retrofit
When A&K Energy Conservation, Inc. meets with our vendors, and the LED topic comes up. There is a concern that the scores of rushed, untested, and unproven LED systems that make it to market will ruin an otherwise excellent technologies perception to the buying public. It is very important to make sure that you are buying a quality LED system. It can be tough to figure out who is good and who is not. The good news is that the Department of Energy has been paying attention to all of this and has developed a program to test the claims of these mfg’s. They call it the CALiPER Program for LEDs (SSL-solid state lighting).
What is CALiPER?
DOE’s SSL Commercially Available LED Product Evaluation and Reporting (CALiPER) program independently tests and provides unbiased information on the performance of commercially available SSL products. The test results guide DOE planning for ENERGY STAR® and technology procurement activities, provide objective product performance information to the public, and inform the development and refinement of standards and test procedures for SSL products.
A&K Energy Conservation, Inc. has had the pleasure of working with Lighting Science in the past. As a Lighting Maintenance Contractor, we have installed quite a few of their LED systems. Great stuff, and we plan to write something about LSG from our own experiences in the future. However, it was no surprise to see the US NAVY (or anyone for that matter) taking advantage of the new LED pole light and wallpack luminaires in the news.
“SATELLITE BEACH, Fla., Feb 23, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — In what may be the largest lighting retrofit and upgrade in Navy history, Lighting Science Group Corporation (LSCG.PK) and the United States Navy are relighting the streetscapes, parking lots and the residence quarters at two separate sites at the Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) California — Port Hueneme and Point Mugu — with energy efficient LED (light emitting diode) lighting solutions.” -Lighting Retrofit -Continue
The point here is that LED is staying for a while. Manufacturers are finding useful ways to bring this technology to market. It makes perfect sense when you look at the energy savings, inherent long life and lumens per watt advances.
credit: environmentalleader.com
Lighting controls have really started to kick in in recent years. It’s another great way to take your energy savings to a new level. Coupled with a smart lighting retrofit, the savings can be astounding. If you have been on the fence for awhile, maybe it’s time to take the leap.
Below is an article we found, describing an efficient lighting retrofit project introducing daylight dimming controls.
“Ford Motor Company’s latest energy-efficiency project is the retrofit of its lighting systems at its Detroit Campus facilities. New England Energy Management (NEEM) will retrofit or replace more than 50,000 light fixtures, which will include the addition of lighting control systems and daylight dimming controls for maximum efficiency.”
Continued at: www.environmentalleader.com
High power LEDs from Philips Lumileds Lighting Company mounted on a 21 mm star shaped base metal core PCB (image credit: wikipedia)
LED’s meteoric rise from a status or test light to spacial lighting has been nothing less than astonishing. LED’s (specifically HPLEDs) are emerging as a great new tool in the array of lighting available to the commercial, government and private sectors. As a lighting maintenance contractor, we have had the pleasure installing some of these new fixtures with great effect. The maintenance and energy savings are very attractive attributes when coupled with the right applications.
We have been told by those pioneering LED technology, that this is the future of lighting. Huge efforts and money have been spent advancing LEDs to the point where they are barely recognizable to it’s predecessors.
Wikipedia has what we think, a pretty well written resource for those wanting to brush up on the history and direction of LEDs.
“ light-emitting diode (LED) (pronounced /ˌɛl.iːˈdiː/[1]) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices, and are increasingly used for lighting. Introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962,[2] early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness. – Continue
LEED Certified?
What is LEED certification?
In the United States and in a number of other countries around the world, LEED certification is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. Achieving LEED certification is the best way for you to demonstrate that your building project is truly “green.”
The LEED green building rating system — developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders — is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being.
What are the benefits of LEED certification?
LEED certification, which includes a rigorous third-party commissioning process, offers compelling proof to you, your clients, your peers and the public at large that you’ve achieved your environmental goals and your building is performing as designed. Getting certified allows you take advantage of a growing number of state and local government incentives, and can help boost press interest in your project.
The LEED rating system offers four certification levels for new construction — Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum — that correspond to the number of credits accrued in five green design categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. LEED standards cover new commercial construction and major renovation projects, interiors projects and existing building operations. Standards are under development to cover commercial “core & shell” construction, new home construction and neighborhood developments.