Category: Lighting Retrofit Useful Resources
Figuring out how to calculate energy savings could be a bit difficult depending on the nature of your lighting retrofit. Lucky for us, many websites have an energy calculator tool. In this example, GE has a few nice calculators. Usable (at the very least) to those who have the most basic understanding of lighting and its terminology.
At GE Consumer & Industrial, we want to help lighting professionals and their customers save energy costs. See for yourself the difference these seven simple estimating tools can make.
Calculators:
Simple Energy Estimator – Watts Per Square Foot Estimator – Lighting Layout Estimator – Fixture Replacement Estimator – Dimming System Watts Estimator – Cost of Waiting Estimator – Simple Life-Cycle Cost Estimator – Lighting Calculators Continued
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There are programs at the local, State and Federal levels that encourage energy efficiency with incentives. If your facility(s) plans to do an energy efficient project, do yourself a favor and see what’s available.
For example, you decided to do a lighting retrofit of an office space(s) located in Long Island, NY. Your local utility would be LIPA (Long Island Power Authority). Let’s say from T12 fluorescent to new T8 fluorescent fixtures. Your incentive would be $20 per fixture as long as they meet 80% overall efficiency. Multiply that by 2,000 fixtures.
$40,000 is definitely not something that could be ignored easily.
LIPA commercial lighting prescriptive program pdf
That’s just one utility in one state. Sometimes it may be hard to figure out where to look to get answers for incentives in your area. A great place to look would be DSIRE. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. It is very thorough and easy to sort out.
“DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the N.C. Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.”
Again, there is nothing to lose by looking and everything to gain.
energystar.gov
Save More, Use Less, and Earn the ENERGY STAR
Did you know that a building or manufacturing plant can earn the ENERGY STAR label just like your refrigerator? An ENERGY STAR qualified facility meets strict energy performance standards set by EPA and uses less energy, is less expensive to operate, and causes fewer greenhouse gas emissions than its peers. Energy use in commercial buildings and manufacturing plants accounts for nearly half of all energy consumption in the U.S. at a cost of over $200 billion per year, more than any other sector of the economy. Commercial and industrial facilities are also responsible for nearly half of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to global warming.
Earn your Energy Star Label – Continued
Credit: wikipedia.org
When choosing a lighting system or technology, It really comes down to what fits the best for your needs or budget contraints. Induction lighting is less expensive than a comparable LED system, but more expensive than a linear T8 flourecent system.
Here is a wiki that goes in to a little more detail about induction lighting:
“In contrast with typical electrical lamps that use electrical connections through the lamp envelope to transfer power to the lamp, in electrodeless lamps the power needed to generate light is transferred from the outside of the lamp envelope by means of (electro)magnetic fields. There are three advantages of eliminating electrodes:
Extended lamp life, because the electrodes are usually the limiting factor in lamp life.
The ability to use high efficiency light-generating substances that would react with metal electrodes in normal lamps.
Improved collection efficiency because the source can be made very small without shortening life – a problem in electroded lamps
– Induction Lighting Continued
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) can be funded for energy saving and efficient lighting retrofit projects. It would be worth it to visit recovery.gov to see if your lighting retrofit project qualifies.
How does the Recovery Act work?
Twenty-eight different agencies – such as the Departments of Education; Health and Human Services; and Energy – have been allocated a portion of the $787 billion in Recovery funds. Each agency develops specific plans for how it will spend its Recovery Act funds. The agencies then award grants and contracts to state governments or, in some cases, directly to schools, hospitals, contractors, or other organizations. The agencies are required to file weekly financial reports on how they are spending the money and their specific activities related to Recovery funds. Starting in October 2009, recipients filed their first of regular quarterly reports on how they are spending the Recovery Act funds that they received.