Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009 - (Page 28)

from the exterior. As long as the building owner has “bought into” the addition of lighting controls as a means of saving him utility operating dollars, he will be fully behind the effect that the automatic light- ing controls have on his facility. However, if the engineer cannot provide the return on investment in terms that the building owner understands, then the project could be in jeopardy because the owner does not Energy-Efficient Lighting Controls stop energy waste see where there is any benefit in his funding the controls addition. The major problems begin when the office occupants do not fully understand the function of the lighting controls and attempt to manually control the lighting with no regard to the day-lighting contributions and the energy conservative aspects. For example, when the lighting is circuited to permit the perimeter fixtures to be turned off when the day-lighting contribution to the office space exceeds the design lighting level, the typical office occupant will turn on both light switches, irrespective of there being no need for the perimeter zone fixtures, so he or she will attempt to energize these fixtures in spite of there being adequate lighting throughout the area. Utility rebates and incentives Several years ago, there were quite a few programs to encourage the use of automatic lighting controls in office spaces that were motivated by various groups for differing reasons, but they all had some type of rebate or other incentive. Now that the use of occupancy sensors has become an acceptable way to meet IECC lighting control requirements, the incentive programs have been discontinued. It should be noted that in rooms that have more than 200 W and are in use less than six hours a day, the occupancy sensor can pay for itself in less than three years in most electrical utility service areas. Inclusion of automatic lighting control systems for both new and existing installations is becoming much more common. While much of this activity is driven by the new codes and laws governing energy conservation, building owners have found that they can benefit from significant savings in their utility costs by retrofitting their buildings with these lighting controls, and the return on their investment is typically within the criteria of virtually any building owner or manager. Lovorn is president and chief engineer with Lovorn Engineering Assoc. Inc. He has more than 30 years of experience designing electrical systems. Lovorn is a member of Consulting-Specifying Engineer’s editorial advisory board. Controls help designers optimize energy performance and earn LEED certification for their projects. Watt Stopper provides design services to help you specify the most appropriate products from our wide range of field-proven controls. Watt Stopper/Legrand makes it easy to layer energy-saving lighting controls for sustainable designs that exceed code requirements. Case studies document energy savings of 30% to more than 40% with daylighting controls. Watt Stopper’s daylighting controls include groundbreaking features, such as a sliding setpoint control algorithm, to ensure occupant comfort and simplify, or even eliminate, commissioning. Watt Stopper/Legrand offers a comprehensive line of occupancy sensors, daylighting controls and scheduled control systems. Let our technical experts and LEED-AP sales force help you find ways to achieve the energy savings and product performance you want for your next project. For more information, and for energy-efficient lighting control solutions, call 800.879.8585 or visit www.wattstopper.com. Input #212 at csemag.com/quickResponse 28 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • FEBRUARY 2009 http://www.wattstopper.com http://www.wattstopper.com http://www.csemag.com/quickResponse

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable Codes & Standards Electrical Modernization: A Tale of Two Hospitals Retrofitting Office Lighting Controls Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009

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