CLEVELAND_When it comes to lighting, different lamps mean different looks, and different technologies will serve different needs. But consumers and commercial customers need to select the right technology to get the best results and save the most energy.
New designs of Light Emitting Diode system bulbs are offering efficient and flexible illumination options. (Photo By: Bill Wisser/ PR Newswire)
"Twenty percent of all energy use in the United States is for lighting, " said Mary Beth Gotti, manager of General Electric's Lighting and Electrical Institute. "We should be able to reduce that figure by about 40 percent, and still have plenty of light to meet people's needs. "
Beginning in 2012, federal regulations are mandating the phase-out of several popular lighting delivery systems that have been around for generations. They include several sizes of incandescent bulbs, T-12 class fluorescent light systems, incandescent reflector lamps and sodium halide bulbs.
"The good news is that there are replacements for those. They are more energy-efficient and will give you the same amount of light for fewer watts, " said Gotti, a panelist at the Cooperative Research Network's 2011 CRN Summit in Cleveland.
Besides compact fluorescent light bulbs, light-emitting diode lighting systems and ceramic metal halide systems, panelists said a new generation of halogen lamps is already available.
High performance fluorescent lamps are expected to debut in the next few months. The new fluorescents will be equipped with more efficient lamp ballast combinations, offering a more consistent quality of light during the life of the bulbs.
Researchers are confronting various effects including ambient light pollution caused by street lighting and security lighting; overly lit interior spaces, common in warehouses and retail showrooms; and lighting of unoccupied office and commercial space.
"The other part of the picture is only having light where you need it, when you need it and in the quantity that you need it, " said Ira Krepchin, associate research director at E Source. "There are billions of square feet of commercial space out there, in millions and millions of buildings. "
As a strategic business partner of NRECA's Cooperative Research Network, E Source has studied commercial and residential lighting for projects commissioned on behalf of electric cooperatives. Krepchin said some of the most promising technology involves wireless lighting control systems.
Controls will enable consumers and building operators to schedule lighting effects to take advantage of day-lighting, occupancy and personal preferences, Krepchin said. "There is the potential to save as much as 20 to 40 percent of the energy with lighting controls. "
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