Plant Services - May 2008 - (Page 53) LIGHT INNOVATION BY N I CK B L EEK ER USE THESE ADVANCES IN LAMPS AND LUMINAIRES TO UPGRADE YOUR LIGHTING EFFICIENCY I t’s well documented that lighting electric loads can represent 20% to 25% of the total electricity used in industry, and that energy-efficient equipment can have a positive effect on any facility’s operations. Improvements in fluorescent technology (lamps, ballasts and luminaires) have led to opportunities for facility managers to leverage lighting as an energy-management tool. And that tool addresses operational and cost issues, as well as improvement in productivity, comfort and image. e lighting industry continues to introduce products and technologies focusing on efficiency improvements from both a quantitative and qualitative standpoint. ese innovations include advances in the fluorescent lamp/ ballast technology, new generations of T8 and T5 lamps, and properly matched electronic ballasting. ese enhancements are greatly influenced by the lamp/ballast combinations and their performance in a specific luminaire. Energy-saving T8 lamps e introduction of T8 technology in the early 1990s led to practical replacement of the less efficient T12 lamp system. Now energy-saving 25 W to 30 W lamps can replace standard T8 lamps and provide energy savings from 5% to 20% without a T8 ballast change. is provides an inexpensive retrofit alternative while keeping the good color rendition, high efficacy and long life advantages of T8 lighting. Technology improvements in fluorescent lighting New generation of T8 systems: • Energy-saving 25W to 30W F32T8 systems • T8 improvements (such as lamp lifetimes above 24,000 hours to 36,000 hours and >10% light output) • Leading to smaller and more compact luminaire housings • Availability of high-output versions (fewer luminaires required in the space to deliver the same light output) • Increased offerings (more options) • Varied levels of performance in terms of light output and energy consumption (low/standard/high) • Advantages of optically enhanced lighting (less glare, better uniformity in work-plane) • High efficacy (>90%) versus typical troffer performances at 70% to 85%. Temperature sensitivity Lumen output vs. temperature T8/T5 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Relative light output Introduction of new T5 systems Fluorescent electronic ballasts T5 T8 New recessed luminaire housings 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Ambient temperature °C 45 50 55 Figure 1. Lamp output as a function of temperature M .PLANTSERVICES. 53 http://www.plantservices.com
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