KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Department of Architecture and Interior Design

Bachelor of Architecture/Architectural Studies

Year Two; Semester Two (2017/2018)

ARC 210: BUILDING SCIENCE II - LIGHTING

Tutor: - Arch. Robinson O. Manguro

LESSON 05: SUSTAINABLE LIGHTING AND FINANCIAL EFFECTS

Sustainable Lighting is lighting designed with energy efficient light sources. "There are simple
design strategies and some materials that can facilitate the energy saving advantages of natural light.
Light colored interiors and open floor plans are good choices. This approach also augments artificial
light efficiency.

Sustainable lighting design is more than achieving a watts per metre square target. It should consider
the entire lighting system - from the materials used to the location of the manufacturers and the
ongoing maintenance. In Australia for example, The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA)
has provided the construction industry with a series of tools for sustainable new and existing
buildings, in both design and construction. These are known as Green Star tools and their application
provides the building with a Green Star rating (four to six stars, with six being the highest possible
rating).
On average, lighting contributes to approximately 10 per cent of the overall points that are required to
obtain a Green Star rating. The criteria target lighting energy use, however there is no consideration
for the whole of life, maintenance or recycling opportunities of the lighting installation.

The Green Building Council of Kenya is a new institution that is still based on South African rating
system and is not widely used in the country.

SUSTAINABLE LIGHTING PRACTICES

1) Daylighting Design
The most sustainable lighting is natural daylight. It is not only a free renewable resource but it also
has well-documented health benefits. Careful architectural design is required to maximise natural light
in a building while maintaining indoor temperature regulation and reducing direct light glare. The
strategic placement of windows, skylights, light shafts, atriums and translucent panels in harmony
with other building components, such that light is reflected evenly throughout internal spaces, is
known as daylighting design.

2) Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

The sustainable building industry is primarily focused on energy efficient lighting solutions. Standard
light bulbs, known as incandescent bulbs, are known to be highly inefficient. Electricity is passed
through a metal (tungsten) filament that heats to over 2000º Celsius and glows to give off light. Only
10% of the electrical energy is converted to light; 90% is wasted as heat. Halogen bulbs are similar
but instead have a small pocket of halogen gas that reacts with tungsten to produce light. They burn
brighter, use less electricity and last twice as long as a standard bulb, but are still inefficient compared
with other forms of bulbs.
Energy efficient light bulbs use significantly less energy than incandescent bulbs, and also last longer.
There are two main kinds: Compact Fluorescent Lights and Light Emitting Diodes.

a. Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL)

These are small versions of full fluorescent lights, and consist of a glass tube coated with phosphor,
filled with gas and a small amount of mercury. Electricity jumps off electrodes on the end of each
tube, and excites the mercury molecules to emit ultraviolet light. This excites the phosphor coating,
which emits visible light that shines out of the tube. CFLs give off the same amount of light as
incandescent bulbs, but they are up to 80% cooler, are 4 times more energy efficient (to replace a 60-
watt incandescent, you only need a 15-watt CFL), last 10 times longer (up to 20,000 hours), and are
responsible for the emission of 70% less carbon dioxide.
CFLs come in many different configurations and wattages, and are suitable for all lighting purposes.
Although more expensive to buy than a standard bulb, they easily recover their costs in energy
savings. On the downside, they contain trace amounts of mercury, which is hazardous to health and
the environment. Care needs to be taken to ensure the glass tube doesn't break and that the bulbs are
disposed of safely.

a) Light Emitting Diodes (LED)

LEDs are small, solid light bulbs that are lit by the movement of electrons in a solid semi-conductor
material as electricity is passed through it. This is also called 'solid state lighting', because it uses a
solid material, as opposed to gas (CFL) or filament (incandescent). LEDs are extremely energy
efficient, lasting over 100 times longer than incandescent bulbs, and up to 10 times longer than CFLs.
They have low heat generation, low power requirements, and are highly durable because there is no
filament or tube to break.
LED is a relatively new technology, and currently the bulbs are most suitable for track and recessed
lighting, where a pointed light is required rather than radiated light. They are more expensive than
CFLs, but energy savings over their lifetime means their cost is soon recouped. Because their power
inputs are minimal, LEDs are readily combined with solar panels to provide reliable, energy efficient
lighting day and night.
 3) Interior Design
You can maximize the light in a given room by choosing light colors and reflective materials for your
walls, ceiling and floor. Light-colored and shiny flooring options like linoleum or polished wood can
reflect a lot of ambient light, brightening up your space. Low-VOC(volatile organic compounds)
paints typically come in only light colors, anyway, sparing the indoor air from noxious gases. Mirrors
on walls will also reflect light around and brighten your space exponentially

4) Sustainable practices
Along with technological solutions like energy efficient light bulbs, and using renewable energies for
their electricity source, simple practices such as turning lights off, using dimmers and timing switches
can all help to make lighting more environmentally friendly. Furthermore manufacturers still need to
address issues of waste, pollution and energy in their products' life cycle. The building industry is
committed to reducing the environmental impact of lighting, and new buildings now include lighting
design issues from the outset.

BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABLE LIGHTING

1) Sustainable environment
The goal of sustainable lighting is to have net-zero energy consumption. A device with net-zero
consumption does not rely on electricity generated by fossil fuels to power artificial light sources.
Daylighting, through adaptive windows and skylights, is a more environmentally sustainable solution,
because it relies on the natural light of the sun to illuminate a space without drawing power from the
electrical grid.

2) Reduced Costs
No matter how sustainable a new lighting solution is, companies must strike a balance between the
advantages of this improvement and the cost of adopting new lighting devices. Fortunately,
incorporating sustainable lighting is almost always financially advantageous for companies.
Initial costs might sometimes seem very prohibitive but eventually the long term effect is less costly.
An integrated design approach--still relatively new in the construction industry—is taking hold.
Recent studies show that building green through an integrated approach can result in little or no cost
premium when compared to similar buildings. A 2003 analysis, conducted on behalf of California’s
Sustainable Building Task Force, of 25 office buildings and eight schools seeking certification
through the LEED green building rating system found a small cost premium associated with
completing the steps necessary for basic levels of certification, with a more substantial cost premium
for the single building seeking platinum status. This was as reported by “ Report to California’s
Sustainable Building Task Force – October 2003”
According to “Cost of Green Revisited: Reexamining the Feasibility and Cost Impact of Sustainable
Design in the Light of Increased Market Adoption - July 2007”, a few years later, an analysis of 83
buildings seeking LEED certification compared to a control group of 138 non-green buildings and
normalizing for building function and other major drivers of cost, found “no significant difference in
average cost for green buildings as compared to non-green buildings

3) Easy on the Eyes

Natural light, CFLs, LEDs, and incandescent bulbs all give off a different spectrum of light. In
technical terms, each has a different special power distribution (SPD) curve, a graph which reflects
how their light is distributed across the spectrum of light. Popular Mechanics released a visual that
compares the SPD curves of incandescent bulbs, CFLs, and LEDs. None of these artificial light
sources generates as broad a spectrum of light as the natural light of the sun.

4) Greater Satisfaction
Studies have shown a tangible difference between the effects of natural light and artificial lights on
people. One significant difference lies in satisfaction. Incorporating daylighting into a building’s
design is proven to increase the satisfaction of retail customers, tenants in office buildings, as well as
both patients and staff in healthcare facilities.

5) Improved Company Performance

The greater satisfaction and positive atmosphere created by natural lighting has a direct benefit for
businesses. It has been shown to improve employee performance in a number of areas:
 Retailers see a 20 percent increase in product sales
 Offices potentially improve productivity by 25 to 28 percent
 Healthcare facilities reduce patient recovery times by 12 percent

6) Qualify for Special Designations

There are many subsidies and tax exemptions available for forward-thinking companies that incorporate
sustainable technology into their facilities. Many of these, however, require a LEED certification, or
equivalent, which shows that a building is designed with the environment in mind. Switching over to
sustainable lighting may not qualify your company or property for any special designations on its own,
but it is one step toward a LEED certification and a reduced carbon footprint.
PRACTICAL STEPS TO SUSTAINABLE LIGHTING DESIGN