Professional Documents
Culture Documents
886 PDF
886 PDF
By Brian Liebel, P.E., and James Brodrick, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE of 1.2 1.4 W/ft2 (12.9 15 W/m2), which
exceeds the maximum of 1 W/ft2 (10.8 W/
Lighting consumes 33% of electricity efcient technologies proven to be cost m2) allowed under the Standard 90.1-2004
used in commercial buildings. The next effective. Essentially, this means the Building Area Method for ofces. Using
few columns will discuss energy efcient baseline conditions for the energy ef- T8 lamps and electronic ballasts, however,
lighting. ciencies for the interiors of buildings the values are easily obtained.
are T8 lamps and electronic ballasts for In some applications, we see lighting
F
rom an electrical engineers view- most commercial spaces. The second set power densities at around the 0.85 W/ft2
point, energy standards such as of measures mandates the use of lighting (9.2 W/m2) through the use of second
ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard controls to shut off lighting automatically generation T8 lamps and high-efciency
90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except when it is not needed. electronic ballasts.
Low-Rise Residential Buildings, are great For many engineers, the additional step On the controls side, Standard 90.1
equalizers. As the need for more electri- of calculating the LPD for the purpose requires that all lighting be controlled
cal equipment in most buildings increases of proving compliance with energy stan- by an automatic shutoff control device
to feed our computers and information dards is considered to be time consuming. for buildings more than 5,000 ft2 (464.5
processing equipment, energy efciency However, use of ASHRAEs Building m2), and that each room has its own
standards decrease our demand for energy Area Method makes the calculation control that also automatically turns off
used to heat and light our buildings. simple by allowing us to simply combine lighting. Control systems meeting these
The energy savings achieved through the areas of similar occupancy and multi- requirements can be either time-based or
energy standards such as Standard 90.1 plying the overall areas by their respective occupancy based. Typically, we see large
add capacity to our electrical grid and LPD allowances to arrive at an overall buildings with open areas using time-
lower the operation costs for building wattage allowed for the building. management systems with lighting relay
owners, making them a key ingredient to To demonstrate compliance, we simply panels that are either independent light-
a successful energy and economic policy. count all the various lighting xtures and ing control systems or integrated with
In addition, energy efciency standards multiply them by their wattages and then the mechanical building management
promote innovation in manufacturing and compare the two values to make sure we systems (BMS). For small spaces, such
engineering techniques that ultimately have not put in more wattage than the stan- as private ofces, occupancy sensors are
lead to even higher levels of efciency dard allows. This task generally takes only generally more cost effective initially and
and cost effectiveness. a few hours, even in larger buildings. provide a higher level of energy savings
Lighting is a primary component of Many engineers may be concerned that in the long run.
a building electrical system for most the maximum allowable LPD requirements
commercial buildings. Standard 90.1 are difcult to implement, especially if they Energy Savings Potential
addresses lighting energy in two ways. are not familiar with new lighting tech- The track record for implementation of
First, the power consumption of lighting nologies (which will be covered in future energy standards is clear. Californias En-
is reduced by setting limits on lighting columns) that actually make these easy to ergy Efciency Standards, for example,
power density (LPD, measured in W/ft2) implement. For example, a standard open clearly have had positive effects for the
based on the specic use of the space. office generally consists of three-lamp state. Californias electric use per capita
These limitations are fundamentally luminaires spaced at 8 ft 10 ft (2.4 m has stayed constant for 29 years from
based on Illuminating Engineering So- 3 m), or 80 ft2 (7.4 m2) per luminaire. 1975 to 2004 while the U.S. has grown
ciety of North America lighting level Older technologies of T12 lamps and 2% per year, and now more than 50% over
recommendations and current energy- magnetic ballasts will result in a LPD range Californias per capita use.* It is believed
* Approximately half of this 2% per year relative gain in electric efciency (California vs. the U.S.) is directly explained by Californias codes and standards and
utility-administered energy efciency programs. The other half of the 2% per year gain is explained by structural differences and a mild climate.
** U.S. Lighting Market Characterization, Volume 1: National Lighting Inventory and Energy Consumption Estimate, U.S. Dept. of Energy, September 2002. This is
available at www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/publications.html, Technical Reports section.