Best Practice Guide for Warehouses 2008 - (Page 4) WAREHOUSE BUILDINGS Value of Lighting Control for Warehouse Buildings Lighting energy usage in warehouses accounts for approximately 12% of the lighting energy use in commercial buildings. Warehouses are the second largest commercial users of lighting energy after office and professional buildings. The total lighting electricity use for all warehouse buildings in the United States in 2002 was 46.3 TWh (terawatthours, equivalent to a billion kilowatt hours). Each warehouse building averaged 78,565 kWh/yr, and 4.8 kWh/yr/ ft2.1 Using an electricity rate of $0.10/kWh, this equates to approximately $0.48 per year per square foot in lighting electricity costs for a typical warehouse. Lighting is the second largest energy expense for warehouses, after space heating, as illustrated below. 2 O ffice E q u ip m e n t 12% R e frig e ra tio n 4% O th e r 9% S p a c e H e a tin g 41% L ig h tin g 26% W a te r H e a tin g 5% V e n tila tio n 1% C o o lin g 2% Lighting controls can significantly reduce energy costs in warehouses. Albertson’s installed occupancy sensors to turn luminaires on and off in its distribution centers and estimated 40% energy savings.3 Blom Brothers installed occupancy sensors in two warehouses, and saved approximately $500 per year with a 2 year payback.4 Mervyn’s Distribution Center saved $20,000 per year by installing occupancy sensors and hi/lo control modules.5 These savings were realized simply by turning lighting off when the warehouse areas are unoccupied and lighting is not needed. Daylighting controls can further reduce lighting energy use by switching or dimming electric lighting when sufficient daylight is available. Warehouse Building Space Characteristics The majority of the floorspace in a warehouse building is commonly devoted to bulk and rack storage areas, shipping and receiving, pick and pack areas and loading docks. These areas can range from 50% to 95% of the gross floor space of a warehouse. This Best Practice Guide focuses on solutions for these space types because they account for most of the warehouse footprint. A smaller percentage of the floorspace is devoted to administrative spaces, locker rooms and restroom facilities. Lighting control solutions for common administrative areas such as office areas, restrooms, and conference rooms are also presented here. A larger selection of solutions for commercial office spaces can be found in Watt Stopper/Legrand’s Best Practice Guide for Office Buildings (www.wattstopper.com). 1 U.S. Lighting Market Characterization, Volume 1: National Lighting Inventory and Energy Consumption Estimate, U.S. DOE, September 2002 Look at Commercial Buildings in 1995: Characteristics, Energy Consumption, and Energy Expenditures, Energy Information Administration, U.S. DOE, October 1998 3Chain 4Watt 5Watt 2A Store Age, August 2001, “Cutting Energy Consumption,” p.102 Stopper/Legrand Case Study, “Blom Brothers Retail Furniture Store Receives Quick Payback with Watt Stopper Occupancy Sensors” Stopper/Legrand Case Study, “Bi-level HID Control Equals Savings for Mervyn’s Distribution Center” 4 Watt Stopper/Legrand http://www.wattstopper.com
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