Streamline - Fall 2013 - (Page 19)

BY FRANK NADEAU, WASTEWATER TECHNICIAN I For exterior use, there are sodium and mercury vapor lamps, as well as LED fixtures which have the advantage of long life expectancy. Can Changing Your Plant Lighting Save You Money? facilities punches a substantial hole in our operating budgets. Are there any money-saving types of lighting that will reduce this punch into a “love tap”? LIGHTING OF OUR Incandescent lighting is expensive and the light bulbs are don’t live long. The tungsten electrodes generate light by heating to a white hot temperature which gives off light. The main difficulty of this is the electrode eventually burns away and becomes so thin that it breaks. Another drawback is that incandescent light bulbs convert only about 5 percent of the input energy to light; the rest is converted to heat which is wasted. They are also relatively short lived, especially since so many are now being manufactured overseas without the quality control used by domestic manufacturers. Incandescent light bulbs have a typical life expectancy of around 1000 hours. To answer the lead paragraph question, yes! For exterior use, there are sodium and mercury vapor lamps, as well as LED fixtures which have the advantage of long life expectancy. For instance the Mercury Vapor lamp in my back yard has had three bulbs in 25 years. For interior use, there are fluorescent, compact fluorescent and LED (light emitting diode) light bulbs (Although the term bulb is a misnomer in these usages.) These devices have several advantages; with the LED having the greatest advantage. 1. Lower Electric power consumption 2. Higher light producing efficiency 3. Much longer life expectancy LED’s have further advantages: 1. LED’s are “instant on,” unlike HPSV and MV lamps 2. Operate down to -50o C 3. Operate with both dimmers and motion sensors They also have one major drawback: They are not inexpensive. Two examples: • Henkel, a manufacturer of adhesives, sealants and surface treatments, installed Dialight SafeSite LED lighting at its wastewater treatment plant in Puerto Rico. Installation of a dozen 100-watt LED fixtures to replace sixteen 250watt High Pressure Sodium lights reduced plant energy needs by 75 percent and achieved annual energy savings of $3500 while vastly improving illumination. • The 17MGD City of Santa Cruz, California, wastewater treatment plant upgraded its lighting from High Pressure Sodium and Mercury Vapor fixtures to Dialites DuroSite LED fixtures. The plant reduced lighting energy usage by more than 50 percent, significantly lowered carbon dioxide emissions and realized a dramatic improvement in visibility that enhanced security throughout the facility. LED lighting is typically a bright white color light whereas high pressure sodium vapor lamps are orange and mercury vapor lamps are blue-white, both of which cause human sight to be slightly distorted. Think of looking for a blue car in your local shopping center parking lot which typically has orange HPSV lighting. The car looks black. LED light fixtures can be more sharply focused, reducing lighting spillover and neighbor complaints. Most LED area light fixtures are “Dark Sky Association” compatible. Installation of LED fixtures to replace HPSV and MV lights to LED fixtures take less than an hour per fixture. Manufacturers provide conversion kits and most use existing wiring further simplifying the upgrade process. What does this mean to us? We could improve our lighting, reduce our energy costs, and have a payback of the initial investment in two to three years, and at the same time have lights that operate for 10 to 20 years, thus reducing the maintenance cost even further. www.vrwa.org 19 http://www.vrwa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Streamline - Fall 2013

From the President
From the Executive Director
Acronyms – Today’s Language
Drought or Flood?
Can Changing Your Plant Lighting Save You Money?
Source Water Protection Notes
Aging and Failing Infrastructure
Time for Some R&R
EXPO Coverage and Recap
Ergs, Joules and Other Stuff
Wastewater Math
Throwing My Loop
eLearning Benefi ts
Membership Application
Do You Know What Your VRWA Benefi ts Are
Welcome New Members
VRWA Mailbag
Board of Directors
VRWA Committees
Index to Advertisers/Ad.com

Streamline - Fall 2013