Reports

In 2012, UC San Francisco launched a pilot demonstration of energy-efficient lighting on the top level of its two-tier parking garage on Post Street in San Francisco. That level of the parking structure had lacked lighting for some time, but a sharp increase in use prompted calls from nearby residents expressing safety concerns. CLTC and collaborators succeeded in delivering ultra-efficient lighting where and when it was needed while minimizing light trespass so as not to disturb residents of the apartment building next door.

Under California's latest Title 24, Part 6 standards, new installations of exterior lighting must be controlled by motion sensors. Adding the same adaptive features to the lighting already installed in parking lots throughout California could also achieve sizable energy and cost savings in a very short period of time.

This business case explores various lighting control options for LED retrofits of street and area lighting, along with funding and financing sources. It provides a general economic analysis of the costs and benefits associated with street/area retrofits and new-construction installations of post-top luminaires. The scenarios presented in this business case analysis have the potential to reduce lighting energy use and carbon emissions 72–93%, in areas with an average occupancy rate of 20%.

A number of lighting manufacturers now produce LED replacement lamps for traditional 60W incandescent lamps, and stakeholders at the state and national levels face decisions regarding quality standards for this product category. To assist these stakeholders and assess the current state of this segment of the lighting market, CLTC performed photometric and electrical tests on samples of 26 commercially available A19 and A21 omnidirectional LED replacement products.

In 2013, UC Santa Barbara partnered with the SPEED team to demonstrate network controlled LED lighting for streetlights and post-top fixtures. These exterior fixtures were purchased with dimming power supplies and equipped with radio frequency (RF) control modules. The post-top fixtures were also equipped with occupancy sensors. These lighting controls allowed all the units to be incorporated into an adaptive mesh network control system that optimized the fixtures’ energy efficiency and gave the campus unprecedented control of its lighting.

In 2013, the SPEED team collaborated with UC San Francisco to demonstrate three lighting retrofits of fluorescent fixtures. Three control systems, each with different system architectures, were installed in three different UCSF corridors. All three systems utilize occupancy controls, but each one provides a different level of control, different programming capabilities, and energy and maintenance monitoring features. The demonstrations produced energy savings of 53–68%, based on occupancy rates of 12–16%.

In 2014, NorthBay VacaValley Hospital became one of the first U.S. health care facilities to install an energy-efficient, ultra-smart outdoor LED lighting system. The award-winning project was so successful that the NorthBay Healthcare group is now considering expanding the VacaValley system and retrofitting the outdoor lighting at other sites.

Semico IMPACT Smart Lighting 2014: Brilliant Opportunities for Building Automation, Santa Clara
Presented by Konstantinos Papamichael

On April 23, 2014, CLTC Co-director Konstantinos Papamichael presented at Semico IMPACT Smart Lighting 2014: Brilliant Opportunities for Building Automation. He discussed lighting control strategies and emerging technologies that maximize the energy-efficiency and functionality of both electric lighting and daylighting systems.

Illuminating Engineering Society, San Francisco
Presented by Konstantinos Papamichael

CLTC Co-director Konstantinos Papamichael discusses how new lighting strategies and technologies can impact human health and circadian function, both positively and negatively.

The combination of occupancy controls, a bi-level generator, and an induction source produces an energy-efficient luminaire with exceptionally long life, good color quality, and dynamic light level response based on actual usage. The bi-level controls contribute additional savings that are directly proportional to automotive and pedestrian traffic patterns. Bi-level luminaires reduce to 50% power on vacancy and increase to 100% power on occupancy.