Demonstration

Traditional outdoor lighting technologies operate at full power throughout the night, even when areas are vacant.  This extra load, energy waste and light pollution can be averted by updating the lighting system with energy-efficient light sources and lighting controls.  By installing these technologies, adaptive lighting strategies can be implemented that provide the right amount of light when and where it is needed.  

The Consortium for Energy Efficiency in Non-Residential Buildings (The Consortium), supported by the National Council for Science and Technology and Secretary of Energy in Mexico, is focused on reducing electricity demand in Mexico’s non-residential buildings through collaborative efforts with industry, government and universities.  Specifically, the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, with assistance from UC Davis, is funded to implement an energy efficiency laboratory featuring lighting and air conditioning technologies for non-residential buildings.

The California Lighting Technology Center, in collaboration with the California Energy Commission, conducted research to refine and deploy technology strategies that integrate and optimize automated controls for heating, ventilating and air conditioning, electric lighting, and dynamic fenestration (window and door) systems. Project objectives were:

1. Refine and publish an integrated building control system specification for commercial applications including necessary hardware and software components.

Widespread adoption of LED lighting for general illumination applications is poised to be the single, largest advancement in lighting efficiency during the 21st century. Due to its potential, a variety of market actors have introduced LED products and made associated performance claims that have set the technology up with somewhat unrealistic expectations regarding system efficacy and longevity. To compete in this market, LED manufacturers have focused on research to improve efficacy and reduce product costs, often at the expense of product quality and feature optimization.

CLTC, in partnership with Southern California Edison, completed a project portfolio from 2014-2018 to assess controls, lighting, and daylighting technologies and their potential for commercial applications. The projects have elements of market assessment, EM&V, and selected demonstrations.

The project focus is on evaluating the following technologies:

CLTC partnered with Bosch to demonstrate the Bosch Direct Current Building-Scale Microgrid Platform (DCBMP) at an American Honda Motor Co., Inc. warehouse facility. Bosch demonstrated the effectiveness of the DCBMP, a commercial-scale DC building microgrid that integrates advanced technologies to provide reliable power to the connected loads, resilience during grid outages, increased building energy efficiency and renewable energy utilization.

CLTC researchers are developing a standard methodology for conducting field demonstrations to better inform energy codes and standards enhancement.

The California Lighting Technology Center partnered with San Diego Gas & Electric and two Southern California cities on a project to help accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient advanced outdoor lighting control systems.

The project evaluated outdoor wireless lighting control systems that allows for remote operation and monitoring of fixtures using a web-enabled central management system. Laboratory and field assessments were conducted for separate systems installed as part of citywide retrofit projects in San Diego and Chula Vista.

Linear fluorescent lamps account for 83 percent of installed lamps in the California commercial sector per a lighting market characterization performed in 2014. LED lighting products are receiving attention for their potential to replace fluorescent lighting, reduce energy use and improve lighting quality in a variety of indoor commercial applications, including offices, classrooms and retail stores.

CLTC and UC Davis have partnered with affiliate American Honda Motor Co., Inc. on the Honda Smart Home US project. Groundbreaking took place April 23, 2013 at UC Davis West Village. Project leaders from UC Davis and Honda celebrated the project's completion at an open house event on March 25, 2014. The zero net energy (ZNE) home is a model of residential sustainability, demonstrating best-practice solutions for lighting in new construction projects.