Commercial Outdoor Lighting Codes
Filed Under Commercial Outdoor Lighting, Light Pollution, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Commercial buildings are major energy users and lighting forms the largest part of their electricity usage. There are a set of building codes that provide guidelines designed to minimize indoor and outdoor lighting. Making reductions in unnecessary lighting usage will lead to a matching reduction in electricity consumption.
The relevant codes are ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2010. The 2010 version has the objective of producing buildings that are 30% more efficient than those designed according to the 2004 version of these standards.
For exterior lighting controls, the updates include these rules:
- Exterior lighting must be automatically turned off when there is sufficient daylight
- The facade and landscape lighting of commercial buildings must be shut off between the later of midnight, or business closing and the earlier of 6am, or business opening.
- All lighting that is not for the building facade or landscape lighting must have the lighting power automatically reduced by at least 30% between the later of midnight or one hour after business closing and the earlier of 6am or business opening or after no longer than 15 minutes of inactivity.
It is now more difficult to obtain exceptions from codes such ASHRAE 90.1 LPD so more alteration projects will have to meet at least some of the requirements of ASHRAE 90.1-2010.
The 2010 code only grants exception for alterations that involve less than 10% of the connected lighting load. Any alterations of more than 10% of the lighting load must now comply with LPD and automatic lighting shut-off requirements on 90.1-2010.
Energy Star Lighting
Filed Under Energy Efficient Lights, Energy Star Lighting, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
The ENERGY STAR is awarded to select fixture types that meet strict efficiency, quality, and lifetime criteria.
Because LEDs lights are relatively new, there are not many that are Energy Star approved yet.
However LED lighting is an intrinsically efficient lighting technology that is rapidly evolving and improving. LEDs produce light in a new way and many LED lights are already rated higher for quality and efficiency compared with existing lighting technologies, such as fluorescent and incandescent lights.
ENERGY STAR Qualified LED Lighting:
- Reduces energy costs — uses at least 75% less energy than incandescent lighting, saving on operating expenses.
- Reduces maintenance costs — an LED lamp lasts 35 to 50 times longer than incandescent lighting and between 2 to 5 times longer than fluorescent lighting.
- LED lamps reduce cooling costs because they produce very little heat.
- Comes with a minimum three-year warranty — far beyond the prevailing industry standard.
Overall Energy Star qualified products are becoming the standard on which a number of energy efficient “Green” standards are built. Energy Star qualified lighting is required for inclusion in Energy Star Homes and to meet National Green Building Standards.
These standards continue to mature and will continue to increase the demand for Energy Star qualified lighting, especially as energy costs continue to increase.
What Does Energy Star Qualified Mean On A LED (Solid State Lighting) Fixture?
The Energy Star logo is one of the most recognizable symbols of quality and performance. Energy Star qualification of LED lighting means the following key features and measurements
General Requirements
To qualify for ENERGY STAR, LED lighting products must pass a variety of tests to prove that the products will display the following characteristics:
- Brightness is equal to or greater than existing lighting technologies i.e. incandescent or fluorescent and the light is well distributed over the area lighted by the fixture.
- Light output remains constant over time, only decreasing towards the end of the rated lifetime (at least 25,000 hours for residential indoor and 35,000 hours for commercial lighting or 12 years based on use of 8 hours per day).
- Excellent color quality. The shade of white light appears clear and consistent over time.
- Efficiency is as good as or better than fluorescent lighting.
- Light comes on instantly when turned on.
- No flicker when dimmed.
- No off-state power draw. The fixture does not use power when it is turned off, with the exception of external controls, whose power should not exceed 0.5 watts in the off state.
- In addition to the tolerance, maximum temperature variances over its lifespan and viewing angle are defined.
- Color Rendering Index – (CRI) shall be a minimum of 75.
Downloads:
Excel list of Energy_Star_Approved_Residential_Fixtures_List_Aug11.xls
PDF list of Energy_Star_Approved_Residential_Fixtures_List_Aug11.pdf