Cost Effective
Commercial Lighting Control is one of the easiest and most cost-effective methods to improve your Sustainability Performance in your Facility. Often, simply changing the luminaries will yield results, improving the functionality of lighting Zones, Splitting Circuits out of excluded areas, identifying emergency Lighting Circuits (often they are mixed) and integrating systematized control. Some of these Lighting Control Methods are outlined below:.
Commercial Lighting Control
Commercial Lighting Control Strategy |
Description |
|---|---|
| Light Zoning | Divides the Circuits into purposeful Zones |
| Occupancy Detection | PIR Light Activation – Lights Off after a delay |
| Time & Data Schedules | With Zoning creates better separation control |
| After Hours | Reduces and monitors unnecessary activation times (billing also) |
| Light Harvesting | Automate lighting to Lux sensors to follow the sun (East & west devices) |
| Facade Control | Automate Facade lighting to a Lux sensor |
| Blind Control | Close Blinds in the evening to hold heat during winter months and reduce easterly Sun heat in the Morning during Summer months. |
Commercial Lighting Control: Costs to improve the lighting control Zoning
The zoning of your lighting system is inexpensive and flexible. Re-zoning the circuit is a straightforward task of deciding which work areas operate at different times and their lighting demand from the staff that use that particular work area. Once this decision is made, an electrician can be engaged to provide and install the hardware to provide some individual switching.
Consider the cost per each double T8: If you have a double light, T8, with an electronic Ballast, we will be assuming, for their calculation, 75 watts. (75 x 5 days x 12 hours x 52 weeks = 234Kwh) at, say, 25 cents per Kilowatt hour is approximately $60/year.
In considering the zoning, look at each light fitting as $60 per year cost and balance this with the consideration of the staff requirements to perform the duties without issue. Your electrician’s cost is approximately $1000 per day plus materials and incidentals.
Occupancy Lighting Control – “how to”:
Consider the above zoning strategy, which you have successfully implemented and used switches installed on a wall plate. Add to this circuit or lighting zone, one per zone, an occupancy sensor for additional control. What this adds to your system is that the lights will auto-off if there is no movement in the zone.
The switch on the wall is used as an override “off” or disable of the lighting circuit, but should someone forget to turn off the lights on the way out, then the lights will switch off after a given or programmed time.
The application of an occupancy sensor needs careful consideration of staff activities. Perhaps a timer might be more appropriate, but it may not be as energy conservation effective.
Synergies between Energy Management, HVAC, and building Systems:
The Synergies that exist between lighting control and other services include the HVAC, Lifts, Car parks and much more; integrating these together can amplify your sustainability performance, Lift lobby lighting with Access control, air conditioning and the Car park exhaust system as a simple yet keen example, if your record your Energy Consumption prior to these strategies implemented and then again after, the business case is obvious, then extrapolate those figures across two years, five years.
Costing the Return On Investment with Effective Lighting Control
Costing these and other strategies into a lease arrangement can be profitable for both the long-term tenant and the building owner if the
Lease is say 3 + 3 and the math generates the sustainability improvements paid for in the first 3 years, then the option taken up is more probable.
Each Tenancy, each building has its own opportunities to ensure cost return, improved Value and overall sustainability improvements.
- Emergency Lighting. Legislation compliance, testing and upgrades.
- Car Park Lighting control via timer and lux sensors reduces costs.
- Switchboard Control Center. Lighting control can be as simple as rezoning and switching via wall lights or a complex system involving digital control, timers, occupancy sensors, digital controllers and more.
- BMS Lighting Control Panel: Note the multiple lighting circuits are controlled via contactors, and the emergency lighting is separated from the general lighting to ensure compliance and serviceability.
