Smart Tips for Energy Efficiency

Smart Tips For Energy Efficiency - Lighting Systems

Lighting may take up the largest share of your electricity cost, but with effective measures, you can also find much room for energy savings.

Smart Choice of Equipment

• Halogen lamps
  For accent lighting applications, halogen lamps are preferred to incandescent lamps for its characteristics of less energy consumption, longer life and more light reflection with greater sharpness.
  
  
• T5 or T8 high frequency fluorescent lamps and electronic ballasts
  T5 or T8 high frequency fluorescent lamps belong to newer generation of efficient fluorescent lamps. When used together with electronic ballasts, customers can save energy up to 50% as compared with conventional T12 fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts. They also lower maintenance costs, extend life of a lighting system and improve quality of light.
  
  
• Light emitting diodes (LEDs)
  LED exit signs or retrofit kits consume only 1-3 watts of electricity, which is only a fraction of the energy used by incandescent-based signs, and can last for 100,000 hours. LEDs can also be inserted in the same sockets of incandescent lamps.
  
  
• Compact fluorescent lamps
  These lamps use about 80% less energy and they are 10 times longer in life than incandescent lamps, which can considerably reduce maintenance costs. Many models of compact fluorescent lamps come with a compact self-ballasted unit and finish in screw-in base, which are ideal for easy replacement of incandescent light bulbs in commercial applications. Moreover, compact fluorescent lamps registered under "Recognition Type" of Energy Efficient Labelling Scheme (EELS) are recognized to be complying with the minimum prescribed performance standard of satisfactory energy efficiency.
  
  

Energy Efficient Practices

• Lighting control sensors
  Occupancy detectors, photocell sensors or digital timers can be used to control the lightings in infrequently used areas such as storerooms. These devices ensure that lights are turned off when rooms are vacated and therefore save energy. For rooms that are naturally lit by sunlight, you may use daylight sensors to reduce lighting automatically on bright sunny days.
   
  
• Sectionalized lighting system
  By controlling lights separately with a bank of switches, you can turn off up to half of the lights and save considerable energy whenever there is enough natural light. Even if you have to rewire the lighting system to allow partial lighting, the payback from energy savings and lengthened lamp life will often make the investment worthwhile.
   
  
• Light up occupied areas only
  Try to light up occupied areas of your office only. Do not light up the entire office unnecessarily. Remember to attach 'Save Energy' labels adjacent to switches to remind staff of switching off unnecessary lighting.
   
  
• Improve interior surfaces' reflectance
  Consider painting walls, floors, and ceilings with lighter colours to improve the reflectance values and lighting efficiency. This helps to reduce the electrical load due to lighting.
   
  
• Lighting reflectors
  If aluminum or silver reflectors are installed in overhead light fixtures, only half of the number of lamps is necessary to maintain the same level of brightness. In addition, the reduced number of lamps will reduce internal heating effect from lighting and helps to lower the air-conditioning costs.