About $200 billion is spent globally for illuminating work spaces, homes and businesses, about half of which comes from commercial buildings. Yet much of that energy is wasted.
Lights are left on when they aren’t needed, areas are bathed in too much light. By employing effective lighting strategies to use only the light you need when you need it, you can substantially reduce your utility costs.
Probably the least efficient way to light areas is also the most common. Simple lighting installations are room-based controls that provide a single light switch or multiple switches to turn on the same light or set of lights. One way to make this type of lighting system more efficient is to install an individual occupancy sensor that is connected via low voltage wiring to a set of light fixtures in a room.
This same system can then be installed in adjacent rooms so that the automated occupancy control turns the lights off in one room when somebody leaves the room and turns them on in the next room when they enter it.
Turning Lights Off Automatically
A centralized control system offers a more sophisticated lighting solution. In this system, each lighting element — such as a sensor, a wall switch or a fixture — is hard-wired back to a centralized controller to create a complete lighting network. A discrete set of control capabilities, or strategies, can then be used to modify lighting through the entire facility based on specific pre-set levels such as scheduling, occupancy, daylighting and so on.
Because these systems are interconnected throughout the entire facility, they typically are installed during the construction or rehab phase of the operation because port-construction installation is costly, time consuming and interruptive. They also tend to be proprietary, with a single vendor providing both the controller and the lighting devices being controlled.
Accessing Lighting Systems Online
Next generation controls are similar to advanced controls but remove their limitations. These include such things as wireless networking, which enables large scale systems with controls that can be operated from anywhere and adjusted without physical wiring.
Open standards also eliminate the limitations of proprietary systems, with single controls being used to control devices from many different vendors. The also can be integrated with non-lighting systems, such as HVAC and plug loads, to provide a more comprehensive energy management solution.
While modifying standard lighting systems with occupancy sensing can save you up to 30% off your current lighting costs, the savings with more advanced systems can be even higher, up to 60% when used in conjunction with occupancy sensing, daylighting and scheduling at the same time.
The biggest savings comes from a reduction in energy usage through eliminating unnecessary lighting. Other savings can be realized through reducing lighting maintenance requirements and cutting the time and labor costs associated with managing lighting. Plus, government and utility incentives can provide even more savings.
Savings from lighting control systems also change over time. While the energy savings of basic installations tend to shrink over time, more advanced systems can self-correct, adapting to retain value over time.