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Section 9: ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING

This Section of the Energy Efficiency Manual organizes and explains virtually all the methods of improving lighting efficiency that are practical with available equipment. These energy conservation measures apply to commercial and residential buildings and to industrial facilities. They include improvements in the design of new buildings and factories, and improvements and retrofits of existing lighting.

Lighting energy conservation offers major savings in almost any facility. In commercial buildings, lighting typically accounts for 20% to 50% of total energy consumption. In residential buildings, the figure typically is 10% or less. In many industrial operations, lighting accounts for a large amount of energy in absolute terms. Lamps act as electric space heaters, so lighting energy conservation may substantially reduce air conditioning cost.

A separate group of energy conservation measures is devoted to each of these three major types of lighting, which are incandescent, fluorescent, and high-intensity discharge (HID).

Efficient control of lighting is subdivided into manual control and automatic control, each requiring different equipment and techniques. The two methods of lighting control are covered by separate groups of efficiency improvements.

Establishing an efficient light path is essential to keep light from being lost on the way from the light source to the activity. Efficient lighting layout is covered by a group of efficiency improvements.

Lighting maintenance is an important aspect of lighting efficiency. It is covered in a separate group of energy conservation measures.

Ideal lighting provides the appropriate level of illumination at each activity with the minimum input of energy, while providing optimum visual quality. This is achieved by combining four aspects of lighting: efficient lamps, efficient light fixtures (called “luminaires” by some lighting professionals), efficient control of lighting operation and output, and efficient lighting layout. This Section of the Energy Efficiency Manual makes you an expert in each of these aspects of lighting design.