The CLTC is excited to announce a new publication in our Lighting Best Practices series, the Daylight Harvesting for Commercial Buildings Guide! This publication provides guidance towards meeting and exceeding California's Building Energy Efficiency Standards for daylight harvesting.
The California Lighting Technology Center, in collaboration with the California Energy Commission, is conducting research to develop and evaluate technology that integrates automated controls for heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC), electric lighting and dynamic fenestration systems. The integrated system is referred to as the Integrated Building Control Retrofit Package (IBCRP), as it is aimed for retrofit projects in existing commercial buildings.
UC Davis News and Information—As ambulances at a Vacaville hospital speed off to their next patient, an ultrasmart, energy-efficient system is lighting the way. Installed in partnership with the University of California, Davis, the lighting system now illuminates the emergency vehicle routes, parking lots and outdoor walkways of the NorthBay VacaValley Hospital. The system is reducing outdoor lighting energy use at the 24-hour site by 66 percent, saving about 29,000 kilowatt-hours annually -- enough to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of 7.2 tons of waste.
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.
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%.
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 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.
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.
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. LED alternatives to linear fluorescent lighting products fall into three main categories: linear retrofit lamp solutions, linear retrofits for troffers and dedicated luminaires.
Many thanks to the attendees and exhibitors at the 2013 Smart Schools Symposium. CLTC and the team at Greenwise Joint Venture will be in touch in the days and weeks to come, sharing highlights from presentations, contact information for follow-up meetings and more tools and strategies for moving efficiency upgrades forward!
