Shining More Light…For Less Boston MA

We all want more for less. Well, it's that way with lighting too. Consumers and businesses want better lighting, but not necessarily having to pay more for it. And manufacturers are working feverishly to do just that: provide lighting products that are better, yet save on energy costs.

"Folks want as little electricity used per watt as possible," says Jim Milligan, national sales manager for linear fluorescent products, TCP.

In fact, efficient lighting is all about the lumens per watt. "More lumens per watt means more light per watt," Milligan adds.

It's also about the results the customer is looking to obtain. And those results include optics, lamp life, color rendering, initial installation costs, architecture/design, energy efficiency, dark skies among others.

"There are 12 or 13 different options on what type of optics a customer may choose and much depends on their needs," notes Eric Haddad, vice president—commercial sales and marketing, Hadco.

Haddad advises customers and electrical contractors ask questions to best meet needs and goals. He also recommends the formulation of lighting layouts to ensure meeting IESNA standards.

"Energy efficiency is the driving point. Home builders and consumers are looking to go green," says Eric Borden, vice president—product management and market research, Sea Gull Lighting. "Better quality task lighting and accomplishing those tasks more effectively is the goal."

Of course, the type of lighting also depends on the application. For instance, for industrial applications, linear fluorescent is a popular choice. Homes are looking towards compact fluorescent. Retail looks to have even, general illumination via fluorescent, with LED lighting a popular source to obtain more focused lighting on products.

Lighting technologies

There are a host of lighting technologies available in the marketplace, and it depends on the applications as to which is the best lighting source. Haddad explains the pros and cons of a variety of lighting types.

For those looking to obtain lighting that costs less but provided good surface coverage, refractive lighting may be the best option. Refractive technology also can enhance safety. He says it maximizes space while maintaining good uniformity.

Hadco's optical rib technology, for instance, provides higher foot candles on the ground as well as less perceived luminaire surface brightness. It also provides more light at the bottom of the pole and optical rib lighting can help achieve LEED compliance.

"Refractive technology features approximately a 10-to-1 spacing to mounting height ratio, or prisms direct light where needed," Haddad explains. "Optical rib technology features approximately a 6-to-1 spacing to mounting height ratio, which is obtained through cut-off reflector or a low brightness aesthetic globe. Full cut-off features a segmented reflector or flat lens."

It goes without saying that fluorescent lighting is becoming more popular—both as an efficient light source and as an energy-efficient light source. Fluorescent lighting has come a long way in recent years.

"Color rendering is excellent with fluorescent lighting today," Borden says. "There has been a global effort to improve fluorescent lighting, with Europe far ahead of the U.S. in compact fluorescent lighting development."

Indirect lighting can be better and more efficient lighting for certain applications. Borden says it eliminates glare by "filling light in many angles."

Higher grades of phosphorous lamps also means more lumens per watt, Milligan says. With more lumens per watt, he says the result is less carbon emitted into the atmosphere, which means a lower carbon footprint.

Lighting choices also depends on the region. For instance, low-pressure sodium is popular in Arizona because of the need for dark skies because of the observatories, Haddad explains. Haddad says low-pressure sodium lighting gets about 140 lumens per watt, lasts about 15,000 hours, but has poor color rendition and highlights oranges and browns, which is good from a dark skies perspective.

LEDs are gaining popularity as well. "Manufacturers are putting a lot of resources in LED technology," Haddad notes. "With LEDs you can aim lights, get better optics and attain aesthetic decoration, which is key to many retailers."

Milligan notes that TCP focuses on good, general illumination rather than directional lighting so that light is equally distributed over aisles and products, and to meet ASHRAE standards.

Importance of installation, maintenance

Not only is the type of lighting important but so is its installation. If lights are not properly installed, any gains in efficiency—both in improved lighting and in energy efficiency—can be lost. That also goes for lighting maintenance too.

Because installation is so important, lighting companies often work with their customers and electrical contractors in the design, installation and operation process. Milligan says TCP provides a "turnkey package," in which TCP assists with the labor and lighting design. "We keep an eye on watts per square foot and power density," Milligan adds.

Installation savings also can include the number of poles used. Naturally, the fewer number of poles installed, the lower the installation costs and the cost of installing electric lines.

Maintenance is key to lighting system's working to their optimum capabilities and also to keep costs down. Haddad cites "tool-less" types of lighting systems as one example. These units provide easy access to lamps, ballasts and even controls.

"The more easily accessible the system, the less cost. Since photo controls are often the first to go, they especially need easy access," Haddad says. "It's simple, the more tools needed, the more maintenance time is involved. The more difficult it is to access the system, the more time is needed."

Haddad notes that easy access to the ignitors is important because of their likelihood of encountering problems. "Ignitors easily go because of the number of times it strikes to light," he explains. "Ballasts normally don't go bad, especially if they are magnetic."

Other key points to efficient lighting include periodic cleaning or fixtures that have ingress protection. "Consumers should look for optical chamber IP ratings of at least 6 (IP stands for Ingress Protection)," Haddad explains. "IP65 is good but IP66 is better."

Haddad notes that the first IP digit indicates dust intrusion. For a "6" rating, no talcum powder can be in the optical chamber after the completion of a test, meaning no dust and debris. The second digit indicates water intrusion, so if the second number is "6" that means no water can be in the optical chamber after the completion of the test. The water test is 26.4 gallons per minute being shot at the lighting fixture through a fire hose.

Lighting accounts for approximately 20 percent of all energy costs, so consumers and businesses are increasingly looking at lighting as a source to lower energy bills. "It's something we have control over and improved lighting has obvious important aspects in regard to the atmosphere, energy efficiency and lighting decoration desires," adds Borden. "To help attain those goals we are designing fixtures to make them more contractor friendly."