Lighting
You Wish You Worked Here!
Dec 19th
Your dream office may have relaxation pods for naps and spa rooms for massages like the ones in Google’s Zurich office. A “play pit” like the one in the Lego Group Lobby may be a place to sort out your deep thoughts. Or you may prefer to hang your hat in an office at the shore of the six acre campus of water and walking paths exactly like the one that Nike employees share. You may think that more amenities would make you and your co-workers happy, but you might be missing something major.
Employees care deeply about the lighting.
Fifteen years of research from the Light Right Consortium (lightright.org), which has been managed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), have conclusively and empirically shown that proper office lighting leads to higher productivity while actually reducing absenteeism and turnover. Overwhelmingly, good lighting means more comfort and higher employee satisfaction. Dare to dream.
Sadly, you probably don’t have great lighting in your office. Most of the current US office infrastructure has evenly spaced, parabolic “troffers”; oblong or square grid based luminaires, with T-8 fluorescent lamps, and specular or semi-specular baffles. They dot the ceiling with large bright spots. Monitor screens and windows are two other, very disparate, sources of brightness. Further, whether in the open plan cubicle or private office, overhead storage or shelving may block the best available light, causing deep shadows on parts of your workspace. If you have a task light to compensate, add that illumination to the variety of conditions in your space. You very likely suffer from over-illumination, glare, and discomfort.
Perhaps even worse is the electrical energy waste. Traditional troffer systems eat up as much as 4 watts per square foot in the average workspace in the United States. If you’re lucky enough to have a perimeter or corner office, you probably have two such fixtures all to yourself, at twice the wattage for the area. Best practices today call for light levels at one watt per square foot or less in the open plan office.
So what is good office lighting? Good lighting balances the ratio of light between your work spaces, intermediate, and long views. Balanced brightness keeps the muscles in your eyes from working too hard; eye strain is caused by constantly adjusting to the amount of light from your screen, paper tasks, and views to the surrounding spaces and entire environment. Good office lighting incorporates some visual views or natural light from the outside, from window-scapes to the natural world. Incredibly, these improvements in your office could save the world a dramatic amount of electricity, and new practices can save the corporation big dollars as well.
Lighting Designers to the Rescue. The Light Right research confirmed people are most comfortable (91 percent of comfort) with a combination of direct and indirect lighting, wall washing, and occupant dimming control. From the results, the U.S. DOE put forth specific recommendations in its’ Commercial Lighting Solutions Program. The program, also developed at the PNNL, offers various suggested layouts. The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (iesna.org) has written DG-18-08, “A Guide to Designing Quality Lighting for People and Buildings.” This is a manual on best practices “related to visual performance, energy and economics, and aesthetics.”
Your fantasy come true is called task ambient lighting. Practitioners agree that “workstation specific” task ambient solutions are the best available lighting plans to addresses your personal tasks and your surroundings; lighting that is for you and your space, over which you have some control with personal dimming and spatial arrangement.
Energy savings can be captured with control systems that bring the wattage per square foot down as low as one quarter of a watt per square foot. Various methodologies are available to deploy control systems into the lighting scheme, all of which are attuned to the environment and your overall well being. Exciting new wireless devices including self powered photo sensors and battery-less switches use designated, protected radio frequencies to transmit information on electric usage to the overall Building Management System (BMS). Software for existing wireless devices can run on simple tablets and allows remote control by facilities managers.
Not coincidently, peak electrical usage and available light typically occur around the same time. Demand response controllers and daylight sensors, respectively, allow the local utility to minimize your use of electricity at peak hours and maximize the use of natural light from exterior windows. Occupancy/vacancy systems take away the risk that someone forgot to turn out the lights, and personal dimming controllers allow you the flexibility to control the amount of light you need, which can vary dramatically with age, task, and condition of each occupant.
The Regulators are doing the right thing. Really. Commercial Lighting can account for as much as forty percent of electrical usage in the industrial world, according to the US Secretary of Energy. Good lighting is good for the world, and President Obama put into law the Energy Act of 2007, which encourages upgrades to lighting systems and offers tax deductions for owners who comply to the standards. As part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), accelerated depreciation benefits may be taken for energy efficient systems in new and existing spaces. You never knew you could have it this good.
California Title 24 has put best practices into law in a state energy code that requires the one watt per square foot adoption in office lighting.
According to The Greater Greener Building Plan put forth by NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg as part of NYCPlan for 2030, the city’s largest 16,000 commercial buildings will all be submetered (starting this past August) for electrical usage by tenant, and lighting retrofits must be completed by as early as 2017 for some city buildings.
The state of Connecticut has just released a NEW Energy Code, effective October 7, 2011 for commercial spaces, based on the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE 90.1 2007. Every commercial project must conform to code. It is “Mandatory, Prescriptive, and Performance based”.
The most often applied standards are published by ASHRAE, a 115+ year old organization devoted to advancing the state of the art in High Performance Building. They publish energy usage guidelines not only on lighting, but also on the building envelope, HVAC systems and refrigeration systems. They are The Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, and they publish national standards by industry consensus. The AHRAE Code 90.1 has become the backbone for regulation.
From all corners of the building and construction industries there is vigorous discussion of, and new updates continually forthcoming on, how to design the typical office floorplate with appropriate light levels.
The right light is the lighting just right for you, and the reduced energy profile is the most advantageous for the planet. So while you gaze wistfully at your current surroundings, large or small, cube or corner office, be sure that change is on the way to help you enjoy your workday a little bit more. Better Living through Better Lighting may be your office dream come true.
Written by Allison Shemitz Walker, CEO of The Lighting Quotient.
Insulation: A Key Factor In Sustainable Schools
Dec 13th
Schools are where children – bright, energetic, and ready to learn and grow – first see society at work. It’s where they learn how to write, solve problems, socialize, relate to others and the world around them, and it’s where they build foundations for the future.
But what kind of foundations are schools providing?
Sadly, many children attending public schools in America are actually spending their days in inefficient and even deteriorating classrooms, which can negatively affect their well-being and overall ability to learn.
So what’s the solution?
Designing, building or upgrading schools so that they are sustainable and energy-efficient learning environments is certainly part of the solution. But it goes beyond an initial concept.
From the preliminary design stages and initial construction to maintenance years down the road, there are many ongoing factors that contribute to a green school. All of these factors combined are part of the “green schools” solution.
What makes a school green?
The design of the school does not simply come down to the architects and contractors. Rather, the building should be as integrated as possible so the facility can operate with maximum efficiency. The physical materials that go into the school are major components that can help solve the problems plaguing children’s well being and ability to learn. Some of the simplest changes that could greatly contribute to improved occupant well being include increased day-lighting, improved insulation and incorporating furnishings, fixtures and equipment that are in alignment with the green integrity of the facility.
Many classrooms have insufficient natural light – or no windows whatsoever – which has a direct impact on students’ ability to stay focused and comprehend new material. A report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory states that natural light in schools may significantly increase students’ test scores and promote better health and physical development – and can be attained without an increase in school construction or maintenance costs.
Measures include orienting the building to maximize day-lighting potential and minimize undesired heat gain. Other features, such as tall windows and slanted roofs, which allow light to “bounce” in, can also add natural light to a classroom.
Poor ventilation, mold and other hazards cause an alarming number of classrooms to be reported as substandard or even dangerous. Ensuring a building is insulated with the right materials is also critical to increase student comfort for a more conducive learning environment.
According to “Sustainable School Architecture” by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) accredited professional architects Lisa Gelfand and Eric Corey Freed, no other green building feature has greater impact for less cost than insulation. Insulation materials, a good sealing package and proper HVAC ductwork can provide thermal control and create good air flow, all being integral to increasing efficiency and reducing operation costs, when used together properly.
The outside temperature can affect learning within the classroom when a building is poorly insulated. And it isn’t uncommon, for schools lacking air conditioning and properly insulated classrooms to dismiss students early because of the soaring heat. For schools that do have functioning HVAC systems, the equipment works much harder if walls and ceilings are poorly insulated, thereby increasing energy and operation costs.
Proper insulation can also contribute to the acoustics of a room, as well. Disruptive sound can come from outside activities, noisy HVAC equipment and even conversations from across the room or adjacent classes. Loud learning environments can increase stress levels in students and teachers alike, resulting in misunderstanding and lost classroom time. However, proper insulation is designed to control noise transmission between rooms and absorb sound vibrations, which may improve the learning environment.
Finally, the classroom furnishings, fixtures and other equipment also have an impact on the school’s overhead costs. No- or low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, recycled flooring, cleaning products and energy-efficient lighting are a few examples of ways to improve a classroom.
Green schools in action
The urgency to conserve and sustain our environment is increasing. It might be a bit of work for us to change our habits now, but we can instill the ideals of sustainability in our children – in schools.
Part of building the foundation for young students today includes teaching them about sustainability to ensure their well-being in the future. One organization, The Green Schoolhouse Series, is doing just that.
A unique collaboration that brings together communities, school districts, corporations and volunteers, The Green Schoolhouse Series replaces uninspired and outdated portable classrooms at low-income public schools with sustainable “Green Schoolhouses.”
“The Green Schoolhouses will be built using donated top-of-the-line, green, sustainable products and state-of-the-art technologies,” explained Marshall G. Zotara, Co-founder and Senior Managing Partner of CAUSE AND EFFECT Evolutions. “Not only will the students benefit from learning in a more energy efficient classroom setting, the Green Schoolhouses will also serve as integral, hands-on teaching tools.”
The schoolhouses address many of the problems that impact students’ learning abilities. The inaugural Safari Schoolhouse in Phoenix, AZ, for instance, is aiming for LEED® Platinum certification. Stantec Architecture designed the building to utilize maximum day-lighting, Owens Corning will provide insulation, while the paint, flooring, lighting and furnishings are all sustainable products donated by green-minded companies.
Because of companies such as the ones contributing to The Green Schoolhouse Series, it’s possible to improve children’s learning environments – the foundations on which they build their knowledge, habits and perception of society.
Written by James Hou. James Hou is Director of strategic marketing for the Engineered Insulations Systems segment for the Building Materials Group at Owens Corning where he is responsible for creating and optimizing go-to-market strategies and plans.
Market Disruption Driving Creative Strategies in the Demand-Side Management Space
Dec 9th
Wrenching transformation and consolidation is sweeping across the once stable and conservative lighting industry. New technologies such as LEDs, digital networks and wireless communications are displacing legacy products. Component companies such as CREE are acquiring fixture manufacturers and thereby creating new lighting conglomerates. And, lighting is no longer about discrete applications – lighting is now a citizen in a broader energy intelligent enterprise. Similar change is taking place in other energy efficiency product categories – from HVAC to compressed air – with mature and well understood products being replaced by intelligent and complex technologies requiring significantly more solution design, customer support and hand holding. Moreover, these new energy efficient technologies are increasingly factoring into smart grid and demand management strategies deployed by utilities and grid operators, layering-in both additional opportunity and complexity.
New clean, intelligent and energy efficient technologies have re-set market lifecycles in many traditional product categories. Product categories that were in the late maturity phase a few years ago are now categories back in the early adoption phase. This has tremendous impact on go-to-market strategies. The technical and engineering knowledge and processes required to sell, deploy and support these new technologies are dramatically different. Late maturity is typically characterized by high sales velocity, low cost of sales and broad distribution through highly efficient, high-turn channel partners. In contrast, early adoption requires more consultative, hands-on sales processes across an elongated sales cycle – usually executed by well-trained, high cost direct sales forces and specialized channel partners.
This reset is forcing manufacturers to move quickly to find new strategies and paths-to-market. Channel participants are scrambling to remake their business models and to up-level their competencies. This disruption has caused new channel models, innovative go-to-market strategies, and novel industry partnerships to emerge. Here are some examples:
CHANNELS HARNESSING THE POWER OF INFORMATION
The rear-view mirror days of relying on utility bills to understand energy consumption are gone. Real-time information is the new gold standard in the energy management business. The smarter channel players have figured this out and have reworked their business models and solution offerings. Two such companies that are leveraging data and analytics to differentiate are McKinstry, a larger company in the Pacific Northwest, and Groom Energy, a smaller company based in Boston. McKinstry has evolved over time from a traditional mechanical contractor into an integrated Design-Build-Operate-Maintain firm that offers facility and energy management services in addition to engineering and construction services. However, what distinguishes McKinstry is how it leverages information. McKinstry recognized early the power of information and has invested heavily in its state-of-the-art operations center. This operations center enables McKinstry to leverage real-time building energy and operating data to “tune” buildings to operate at peak efficiencies at all times. By acting as its clients’ “eyes and ears,” McKinstry is able to anticipate breakdowns and dispatch service teams before costly disruptions occur. Similarly, Groom Energy, recognizing the power of information, has successfully transformed its business from lighting retrofitter to a full service energy management company that helps its clients capitalize on what they’ve coined the Enterprise Smart Grid. Groom competes against larger, slower moving competitors by helping clients become more energy intelligent. Groom not only helps its customers evaluate the myriad of software and analytical tools available, it goes further to integrate the submeters, sensors and software technologies to make it happen and also acts on the information coming back to design and implement solutions. The good news for McKinstry, Groom and other forward thinking companies is that they are the exception rather than the rule. There are still far too many companies in the energy management space that are living in an analog world and driving blind. These laggards will need to adapt quickly or risk obsolescence.
MANUFACTURERS PIONEERING NEW PATHS TO MARKET
Manufacturers of demand-side management technologies are also rethinking their paths to market. These companies are realizing that sales strategies centered on traditional dealer networks and broad-line distributors may no longer be the most relevant. Let’s take a look at Ice Energy, a newer player in the HVAC space. Ice Energy has developed an innovative thermal energy storage technology – branded the Ice Bear — that enables customers to use low cost off-peak power to meet cooling demand during costly peak hours. The technology is a great compliment to traditional HVAC units manufactured by companies such as Carrier and Trane and Ice Energy has fostered partnerships with these companies. However, Ice Energy is not content to surrender its destiny to these partners and wait for sell-through by channels it doesn’t control or influence. Instead, Ice Energy decided to drive sell-through with its own unique strategy. Ice Energy recognized that aggregating its units and deploying them at scale offers utilities megawatts of clean, peak power capacity at less cost than constructing new peaking plants. Putting rubber to the road, Ice Energy cut an innovative deal with Southern California Public Power Authority deploying Ice Bear units across 1,500 distributed sites in the utility’s service territory to offer 53 megawatts of stored capacity. Many of these units will coincide with rooftop unit replacements, enabling Trane and Carrier to realize sizable sell-through as a result of Ice Energy’s innovative thinking. A win for all involved, including ratepayers!
NOVEL INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS
The shifting industry landscape is also resulting in some interesting partnerships. One such partnership is between Redwood Systems and Anixter. Redwood Systems, an innovative venture funded upstart is looking to shake-up the lighting industry with its DC-based power, networking and controls technology, has aligned with Anixter, an established structured cabling distributor that hasn’t historically played in the lighting space. A few years ago it would have been laughable to think that structured cabling professionals could become significant players in lighting. Now some smart people are betting on it. However, before too much high-fiving takes place it is important to realize that the business world is littered with distribution agreements that never gained traction. What’s tricky about this deal is that Redwood’s new-to-world technology is supposed to be sold by mature structuring cabling professionals. Can these old dogs learn new tricks? Can their profit models, based on minimizing cost of sales, support the requisite high touch approach? For this deal to succeed, Redwood and Anixter will need to collaborate on training programs and tightly script sales playbooks on how to position, sell, deploy and support the new technologies. Redwood will also need to make its “factory direct” sales and technical resources easily accessible to Anixter and its cabling professional customers. And, given the higher cost of sales associated with selling Redwood’s products, Redwood may also need to offer more attractive pricing terms and market development funds to support demand creation. Although they will not want to cross the legal line into the franchise realm, franchise systems with tightly scripted processes and strong factory support may be an antecedent to review as they think about making this relationship a success.
It’s clear that business as usual will no longer suffice for technology and service providers competing in the demand-side management market. Moreover, companies will not prevail solely on having the best mousetrap. The winners will be those companies that complement great technology and great service offerings with innovative go-to-market strategies that are not only creative but also lifecycle appropriate.
Written by Erik G. Birkerts and Thomas G. Knight, founding partners of Evergreen Growth Advisors, a boutique strategy consulting firm serving clients in the Clean Energy industry.
LED Lighting: What Makes A Manufacturer Reputable
Oct 24th
| Ben lack: | Energy efficiency is a hot topic right now and for companies who are looking to try to lower their operational costs and there’s a lot of fantastic technologies out there that companies can take advantage of to lower these energy costs. But, we’re finding currently in the space that some of these companies are having a hard time conveying their message and their technology’s value to the end user. I’m curious to know what strategy your company is taking to effectively deliver that message. |
| Marcel Fairbairn: | Well, first of all, one of the problems I have with some of the technologies that are out there, not necessarily LED technology or even lighting but some other technologies that I believe in and I think are great technologies do not currently have good ROI’s. They don’t payback quickly and sometimes they don’t payback for 10 years and in most cases, almost every project we’re involved in, our payback is less than 2 years and certainly less than 3 years. Very rarely are we doing work or a sale to a client where the payback is beyond 3 years. So, our entire business model basically is communicating the ROI and payback to the people who it matters to whether it’s the CFO or the business owner or the sustainability person. In every company, it tends to be a different person who’s tasked with this, but we’re certainly not preaching the green aspects of things or saving the world or any of those types of things. It really is a cost and operating savings and we do a very good job of communicating that information to the people who care. One of the ways we do it is a propriety product that we developed called the Lampinator which is actually an iPhone and iPad app with a fairly gadgety kind of name to it, but it is an app that we developed and it’s a very simple method of walking through a client’s location and very quickly changing their existing lighting technologies to LED lighting and then showing them a very quick snapshot savings and in fact, on a 20 minute walkthrough, we can collect enough data so that as we’re walking out the door, we hit send on this app and it sends a very nice cover letter and then a snapshot of their energy savings annually and all of the lights we’re changing out in each room or building directly to that person. So, as we’re walking out of their building, they’re getting an email from us and it usually impresses them greatly.Really that is what we do differently. We educate the client on the savings and ROI in a way that other people don’t. |
| Ben Lack: | As you focus your value on the return-on investment, what are some of the concerns that clients have with the actual technology itself and how do you respond to those concerns to alleviate them? |
| Marcel Fairbairn: | Many clients should be concerned and in fact, some clients should have probably walked away from the table as opposed to making the decision. We’re currently doing some retrofit business with Starbucks who just a year ago, there was all sorts of press releases that Starbucks and a popular lighting manufacturer had signed an agreement to replace 9000 Starbucks locations with all LED technology. Well, the problem was the technology was terrible and the lighting ended up being horrible in Starbucks stores. So, now they’re actually going back to those same stores and retrofitting again with proper technology. The problem is just because it says LED or it says that it has LEDs in it does not necessarily make all products the same. It’s not an apples to apples kind of thing. We carry only very top brands and the very best products that we can possibly find in every type of lighting that we sell. Those brands are Philips, Toshiba, Lighting Science, CREE; they’re the top of the top brands in LED and certainly they’re a little bit more money sometimes, but you don’t get the savings as the business owner. You don’t get the savings if the products either a) do not last as long as they say they’re going to last or b) don’t provide you with lighting that you’re happy with.The bottom line is, first of all, the lights have to be as good if not better than what was in there, that’s step 1 for us. Step 2, if the manufacturer says it’s going to last 15 years or 10 years or 8 years, we want to make sure that we’re going to hold their feet to the fire on that. In many cases, that has not been the situation and in many cases, people really have been ripped-off by snake-oil sales people in the LED business and that’s unfortunate. |
| Ben Lack: | Everyone is going to tout the 10 to 15 year shelf-life. So, how do you as a company vet the technologies are doing what they actually say that they are doing? |
| Marcel Fairbairn: | First of all, you lock-in with companies who have good reputation, who have good experience, who are able to show you other projects similar to yours that they’ve done and you can go do validation calls. Basically, if I own a retail store and I want to find out about other retail stores who have done this, I want to talk to other customers of yours who are in the same environment that I’m in and see what they think. Those validation calls typically will make someone realize that yes this is very good, but tying in with a reputable company like LED Source of course, but there’s others out there, will give you the best shot at ending up with something that you’re very happy with and we’ve never had a bad experience. So, I cannot tell you that we’ve got a single skeleton in the closet because we don’t have any disappointed clients, because the products that we put in are from top brands. They’re backed-up by those brands. I think the shortest warranty we have is 5 years and these are real warranties from real manufacturers. Like I said, Philips, Toshiba. There’s companies out there that have taken very low quality products from overseas and put their brand name on them and just because the LED chip says that it’s potentially rated for 50,000 hours, doesn’t mean that when you put that chip inside a light fixture that that fixture is going to last 50,000 hours because it’s got to do with not just the chip but the chip, the power supply and then the cooling is the most important thing. So, if you take a chip rated for 50,000 hours, it will say ‘in optimum conditions it’s rated for 50,000 hours’. If you put it in bad conditions, it’s probably only rated for a few hundred hours. This is something that sickens us and it’s taboo but it does happen out there. There was a very notable case recently with Costco and a lighting manufacturer. I believe the lighting manufacturer was charged or brought up in a lawsuit from the Department of Energy because they were over specifying their products. They were saying that they lasted I believe that was 35,000 hours, and they were seeing them fail in a couple of hundred hours. There was one particular product they said, I think it was a candelabra lamp, they said it was 70 lumens and they measured it and I think it was 8 lumens. So, this type of thing exists and it doesn’t with our company because we made a decision a long time ago that we would only carry the very top brands. The one way that you can protect yourself is by buying the top names and staying away from the names you haven’t heard of. |
| Ben Lack: | How much does the manufacturing location factor into the quality of the bulbs? |
| Marcel Fairbairn: | In reality it doesn’t because even top manufacturers make their products in the same places. Eastern Europe, China, Mexico etc. They will manufacture in those places. However, the difference is that in those areas, especially China, there are lower-end manufacturers and there’s a huge number of them and what happens is, again people will bring in a container of lights from a low-end manufacturer in China and they’ll private label them with their own brand and this is a completely different product but it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with where it’s made. It’s got to do with the quality, the cost of the lamp or the product and the commitment of the company who is selling it to pay more money to get a good product. If I want a $20 lamp that I want to sell out to the market for $20, I could certainly go buy one from Philips or Toshiba for $16 or I could go to brand X in China and buy the same looking lamp for $3 but it’s not the same lamp. It’s a completely different technology.I would hate to say and it would make me a bit of a hypocrite if I said that all lamps from China are lousy. That’s certainly not the case. Even some of our high-end entertainment LED fixtures are actually put together in China for obvious reasons, but they are typically made using LEDs that were manufactured in the United States. So, still a lot of the best LED chips are manufactured in the United States and sent to China to be put together in Chinese made products. |
| Ben Lack: | Your company has a unique approach about how you’re trying to reach potential customers and I would like for you to talk about what that strategy is and why you guys are choosing to go down that route? |
| Marcel Fairbairn: | My partner and I come from a different side of the lighting business. I’ve spent most of my career in entertainment lighting and then in architectural lighting as well, but never really in commercial lighting. Commercial lighting is sold by some very traditional, very old-fashioned methods and we found that LED is a very disruptive technology and it required a disruptive way of bringing it to market. In other words, it couldn’t be sold through the same old traditional channels, instead you needed to basically disrupt those channels and find a new way to bring these products to market. For us, what we wanted to do was take everyone’s opinions and thoughts and feelings out of the equation. If there’s an electrical contractor who makes 60% margins on incandescent, 50% margins on fluorescent but only 20% on LED, we don’t want him steering the customer towards incandescent because he’s going to make more money on it. We want to make sure that we’re talking directly to that end-user and giving him real information and we also want to make sure that it’s not Philips giving him that information because on this particular project, Toshiba might be the better product or Lighting Science or EcoSense or one of our other manufacturers may make the best product for this particular application. We feel like we really are consultants more than we’re a lighting distributor. We’re consultants who work very closely with our clients and very closely with our manufacturers and we teach each of those about the other basically. So, we’ll teach our clients about the LED products and about the technology and the savings that can be generated and how they should use these technologies basically. We’ll teach our manufacturers about the market and we’ll teach them about our different market channels and the products that they need at what their particular problems or issues are.One of the things that some people don’t understand I guess, is that not everyone is looking to go green, not everyone is considering LED technology because it’s going to save the Earth or save energy. I will give you one example, we recently worked on a project that was actually a prison and they had a very high cost of changing lamps in jail cells. Obviously, because you have to clear prisoners out of that particular cell block and empty the cell and then the lamps themselves have to be sealed off in a way that they can’t become a weapon later. So, the less they can change those lamps the better for them and I think the change over cost per jail cell was something in the $600 range which is completely crazy obviously. If they can have light bulbs that last them 15 years, that’s going to save them a fortune. So for them, it had nothing to do whatsoever with saving energy or saving trees or the planet or anything. It was simply cost savings on the maintenance side and we have a lot of examples like that. It takes an education on our side, application knowledge, a product knowledge but it also takes time to educate the customer that there’s not only one reason to do this, there might be multiple reasons to do this and some might be more compelling than others. |
| Ben Lack: | So, why are you in this business and why are you doing what you’re doing? |
| Marcel Fairbairn: | We’re in this business because we’ve always been in this business. We’ve always been in the lighting business and when LED technology came about in the late 90s, it was directed towards entertainment and architectural lighting primarily and we were in those markets and the problem was the people who were selling LEDs at the time were theatrical lighting companies or architectural lighting companies. LED companies really wanted someone to specialize in LEDs. Finally in 2002, my partner and myself started a company to sell LEDs in the North American market and it was a company specifically and exclusively dedicated to LED technology. At the time, that wasn’t a huge market so we kind of grew into it and then around 2006, we started seeing white lighting products come out and the whole world started to change and we just happened to be in the right place at the right time.We are in the business because there was a need for a company like ours to be in the business and we’re growing now because there’s still a need in every city of North America for a company to be able to educate the market on the benefits of LED lighting.It really is never too early to get into the LED market. A lot of people think that as the prices are coming down, I’m going to wait. In many cases, the prices are coming down and in some cases, they’re not coming down at all because what’s happening is instead of the price coming down, the lights are getting brighter so they’re able to instead of a light being 50 watts, it might be 40 or 30 watts next year and it’s still putting out the same amount of light and it still costs remarkably the same amount of money. But even if costs go down by 50% over the next 2 years, it’s still costing you money not to get in now because if you get in now, in 2 years your lights are going to pay for themselves, so it’s actually costing you 50% more to wait. So, jump in now it’s never too soon. Two years ago, I would say some of the technology was a little bit dodgy and was growing. Now in almost every lighting application, the lights that we’re supplying are better than the lights we’re replacing. So, that means the products have grown to match the market and it’s time to jump in. |
Squinting toward retirement: A boon for the lighting industry
Sep 19th
Americans report in surveys that they are likely to retire later than expected as a result of this economic downturn that doesn’t seem to want to quit. While that’s bad news for golf courses and Florida real estate, it helps one industry: energy efficient lighting.
We are squinting, rather than sprinting toward retirement these days. As part of the post-50 crowd, I very much appreciate good lighting in my work space, and I discovered that I am not alone in researching a recent report on lighting.
Why do we geezers need better lighting? A 60-year-old employee’s eyes receive only 40 percent as much light as a worker who is 30 to 40 years younger, according to a paper by Leviton. These older employees tend to dislike the one-size-fits-all lighting of most commercial buildings; in fact, find it stressful.
Lighting is best when tailored to the needs of the individual. This can be done by giving employees manual override of automated lighting, so that they can adjust brightness and color depending on what they are doing in their work station at any given moment. And of course that is one of the features touted by lighting control manufacturers – the ability of consumers to customize lighting preferences.
Why worry so much about worker comfort? Happy workers tend to stay in their jobs, and that saves employers money, says a white paper “Personal Control: Boosting Productivity, Energy Savings” by the Lighting Controls Association. New employees need about 13.5 months on the job to achieve maximum work performance. As a result, worker turnover costs a business about 1.2 to 2 times the salary allotted for the position. Research indicates that workplace design plays a significant role in employee satisfaction. And right now many people dislike the lighting, heat and acoustics of their workplace, even young folk.
Improving lighting doesn’t necessarily mean giving employees their own remotely control light bulbs – although it helps. The Light Right Consortium looked at six different lighting options in a typical office space in Albany, New York. Between 81 percent and 85 percent of employees said they were comfortable with a lighting design that provided direct/indirect lighting and wallwashing. By comparison, designs that provided light only from above received a ‘comfortable rating’ from only 69 to 71 percent of study participants. But the combination that the employees liked most included direct/indirect lighting, wallwashing and dimming controls that allowed workers to customize their lighting. This design won a ‘comfortable’ rating from 91 percent of employees.
Lighting is a booming industry. The use of LED lighting, alone, is expected to grow by 30 percent in 2011 and become a $1 billion market by 2014, according to a study, “Enterprise LED Lighting Research Report,” by Groom Energy and Greentech Media. The study targets the market for commercial and industrial LED lighting. Similar growth is occurring in the lighting controls market. Pike Research sees global revenue for lighting controls rising from $1.3 billion to $2.6 billion by 2016. Businesses, not households, are driving this growth.
Many factors account for the lighting industry’s enviable boom. But one, I think, is that it enjoys a feature most green energy products do not. Efficient and well-planned lighting provides immediate and concrete satisfaction. In contrast, I may really like the idea of my employer installing solar panels, but my senses won’t register a difference in the building’s electricity. In that regard, efficient lighting may be the “cell phone” of energy that the industry has sought for so many years – a product that can attract the mass market and turn conventional technology on its ear.
Written by Elisa Wood; who is a long-time energy business writer. To read more of her articles on energy visit www.RealEnergyWriters.com
Why A New York Law Requires A Building Performance Analysis
Sep 13th
Allie Walker, CEO of The Lighting Quotent, discusses the impact of a new New York law that requires buildings with a footprint of 50,000 sq.ft. to calculate their energy use with the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Energy efficiency is so in right now part II: The delight factor (and more energy puns)
Sep 12th
Last week, we looked at how the energy efficiency industry is working on its cool factor (Dare I say sex appeal?), to make clean energy more accessible to the masses.
Perhaps a bikini charger doesn’t make much difference when the grid is under great strain as it was this summer; but it does get people thinking about alternatives that could lead to – or add up to – more important changes.
Time to shed some light on lighting. An energy efficient approach to lighting has gained traction in the commercial world – with wireless controls, dimmers and a clear ROI for building owners. But so far, consumer touch points have largely revolved around bulb efficiency standards – which are dull, governmental and even intrusive.
There are very cool things on the horizon, like Professor Haas’ LED-light-based data transmission, which could feed our hunger for greater capacity for cell phones and all things Wi-Fi. Here are some other lighting innovations that might generate excitement at home (or rather, at your slick downtown condo):
Mood lighting made simple. No, please – don’t get up. This LED lightbulb from Sharpcomes with a tiny remote that allows you to turn the bulb on and off, increase or decrease the brightness and even adjust the color temp (for mood lighting, perhaps?) all without lifting a finger (er, ok, barely lifting a finger). Its life is long, its efficiency impressive, but perhaps more importantly – it has novelty potential we haven’t seen since the clap-on, clap-off lamp control. The bulbs start around $40 – not cheap for the average consumer – but then again, what are a couple of Jacksons compared to how smooth you’ll look on date night?
Party on the patio. The Oasys from Sol is a complete unit that houses their aiSUN controller, batteries, and LED fixture. When darkness falls, the party doesn’t have to end: reliable light (and again, spiffy dimming capabilities) can be yours. Although we must say, their website needs a few tips on more accessible language if they’re going to get through to us.
Energy on display while you’re away. These days, being cool is not always about how much money you can spend – you also get bragging rights for snagging great deals (hence the Groupon boom) and saving money. The PowerCost Monitor is an inexpensive, DIY system that reads home electricity usage and transmits it to your iPhone or iPad – so you can see how much energy your pad (your house, that is) is gobbling while you’re away. You can slice and dice your data and track usage in kilowatt-hours (zzzzz) and in dollars and cents (even better).
Blue Line Innovations and People Power have also done a great job of connecting with the consumer market – they not only use mobile apps to drive their technology; they’re also all over social media, and recently moved their technology to the cloud through a partnership with PlotWatt for real time updates. They even use video to explain their product activation to users.
These are a few of my favorite, cool energy gadgets. Do you know others? Let’s encourage the trend; post in the comments section here any you’ve come across.
Written by Cara Miale. Cara Miale is a freelance writer in Denver, Colorado and a frequent contributor to Energy Efficiency Markets.
Turn off the Lights. Turn on the Savings.
Sep 6th
Did you know lighting consumes up to 40% of a commercial facility’s electricity? The heat output from lights also impacts cooling loads. The following four options can help reduce lighting costs.
Turn Off the Lights
This sounds very basic but “turning off the lights” is an easy, energy-saving practice that can produce substantial cost savings benefits. And remember; switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) will save about 75 percent of your lighting costs, and even more when you remember to turn them off.
Use Occupancy Sensors
Occupancy Sensors are an effective method of reducing lighting costs in almost every space where people move in and out in unpredictable patterns (e.g. offices, restrooms, warehouses and conference rooms). In fact, a study conducted by the Lighting Research Center, “An Analysis of the Energy and Cost Savings Potential of Occupancy Sensors for Commercial Lighting,” showed 43% energy savings when occupancy sensors were installed in private offices.
Take Advantage of Natural Daylight
The concept of “Daylight Harvesting” is simple: when sufficient daylight is available, an easy to install daylight sensor will automatically dim or turn off the lights. A daylight sensor will continually monitor the lighting level and make adjustments to the electric lighting based on a pre-set target. Not only can you save energy by dimming or turning lights off, studies such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Greening the Building and the Bottom Line: Increasing Productivity Through Energy-Efficient Design”, showed increased productivity when employees have access to natural daylight or views outside.
Integrate Lighting Control into Your Facility
Lighting control panels can be installed next to a building’s electrical panel or near the lighting load the panel is controlling. The lighting control panel controls a group of light fixtures by sending a signal to turn the lights on/off at pre-programmed times. You can program the panels remotely or have the factory program them prior to shipment. Another benefit to using control panels is that they can be used in conjunction with the “daylight harvesting” and occupancy sensor techniques outlined above. Lighting control panels are easily adaptable into existing facilities and can provide you with automated lighting controls for a minimal cost while providing substantial energy savings. Many lighting control projects qualify for incentives under the Custom Incentive Program. An energy assessment is needed to fully provide the right course of action.
Written by Courtney C. Capshaw of Lockheed Martin; member of the Con Edison Green Team. Con Edison offers cash rebates and incentives for the installation of lighting and lighting control upgrades to commercial and industrial customers in New York City and Westchester County through their Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Energy Efficiency Programs. For more information call an energy efficiency representative at 1-877-797-6347.
Less Lumens = More Light?
May 27th
Why is a LED bulb able to produce more light using less lumens than its traditional counterpart? Although a LED bulb creates less lumens than a traditional bulb; is it possible to get the same or even more light to shine on my bookshelf using it? The answer is yes. How is that possible you ask??
The answer is simple and yet as an LED fixture sales person I am constantly being asked how we can replace a traditional 1,000 lumen light product with a 500 lumen LED product. People tell me it is impossible, here is why it is possible!
In a traditional bulb, light comes out of the bulb in a 360º angle. Typically, when using a bulb you are trying to illuminate a particular area such as a street or a painting in your home. In these instances you want the light to shine on your subject but not necessarily in the surrounding area. Now the light needs to be culminated to put the most amount of light possible on your painting. To do this you add a reflector to your fixture and voila you have the light where you want it. The problem is that almost half of the light is trapped inside of the fixture and you are left with only about half of the actual light output, since 30-60% of the light never finds its way out of the fixture. This is due to the fact that the 360º bulb is quite inefficient in making light usable.
A LED is built much differently than a traditional bulb. The base of a LED is called a substrate; on top of that the chip (which produces the light) is placed on a sub-mount. Around the chip lies a reflector and on top of that is the lens. Typically a LED releases light out of its lens in a 90º to 120º angle; less than half the beam angle of a traditional bulb. Secondary optics are used to modify the output beam of the LED such that the output beam of the finished lamp will efficiently meet the desired beam angle. There are two primary categories of secondary optics used; one spread the light (diverging optics). The second gather the incoming light into a collimated beam (collimating optics). The combination of the smaller initial LED beam angle and the ability to use secondary optics to refine the beam to a larger extent allows fixture designers to place more light where you want it, using less light than traditional lighting products.
The answer then is that, LEDs are simply more successful at putting light where you want it. LEDs eliminate the wasted lumens that are an unfortunate byproduct of traditional lighting.
Written by Amy Falzone of LED Light Technology.
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