How to Drastically Reduce Your Business's Energy Costs With Smart Lighting

Businesses use a significant amount of energy to power their facilities. Lighting alone can account for up to 40% of a company's electricity bill. By implementing smart lighting solutions, companies can dramatically reduce their energy usage and costs. Here's how:

Conduct An Audit of Your Current Lighting

The first step is to understand your current lighting situation. Walk through your facility and take notes on:

• The type of lights in use - incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, LED, etc.
• The quantity of lights.
• The wattage of the bulb types.
• Which lights are controlled by occupancy sensors or timers.
• Areas with excessive or insufficient lighting.

This lighting audit will identify opportunities to upgrade ineffective lighting. It provides the baseline to calculate potential energy and cost savings.

Switch to LED Lighting

LED lights should be the core of your energy efficient lighting strategy. Compared to traditional incandescent and fluorescent lighting, LEDs consume 50-80% less power to deliver the same brightness. They also last 25 times longer, dramatically cutting maintenance costs.

Some key LED benefits:

• Long lifespan - Lasts approx 50,000 hours
• Energy efficient - Use 50-80% less energy
• Low heat - Emit much less heat than other bulbs
• Mercury free - Contain no hazardous materials

Replacing all of your outdated bulb types with LED equivalents will likely deliver the fastest energy reductions.

Install Occupancy Sensors

Occupancy sensors automatically turn lights on and off based on detecting motion in the space. They ensure lights are only on when needed.

Installing occupancy sensors in spaces with intermittent occupancy like:

• Bathrooms
• Storage rooms
• Meeting rooms
• Hallways

Can reduce a facility's lighting energy usage by 20-40%. The sensors pay for themselves in energy savings in 1-2 years.

Automate Lighting With Scheduling and Controls

Automated lighting control systems allow you to centrally control lighting across a facility on set schedules and conditions. This removes the need to manually turn lights on/off.

Some examples include:

• Automated schedules - Turn lights on/off at set times based on employee working hours.
• Daylight harvesting - Dim interior lights when ample natural light is available.
• Smart occupancy - Detect the number of people present and tailor the needed lighting.
• Zoned lighting - Control lighting based on space usage with room-level or zone-level control.

Smart lighting controls can reduce lighting energy use by 70% or more. The advanced automation pays for itself through dramatic reductions in electricity consumption.

Change Bulb Types to Lower-Wattage Options

If LED lighting upgrades are not feasible, simply switching to lower wattage traditional bulb types can also save energy:

• Use lower wattage fluorescent tubes - Switch T8 or T12 tubes to 28W or 25W T8s.
• Use lower wattage CFLs - Replace 60W bulbs with equivalent 13W-20W CFLs.
• Use lower wattage halogens - Go from 50W to 35W halogen bulbs.

Choosing lower wattage options provides linear energy reductions relative to the wattage decrease. This is a simple solution when budget is a constraint.

Take Advantage of Natural Lighting

Proper use of natural lighting from windows and skylights can minimize the need for artificial lighting during daytime hours. Here are some tips:

• Clean windows and skylights regularly to maximize light throughput.
• Keep window areas clear by moving shelves/dividers away.
• Paint walls and ceilings light colors to maximize reflection.
• Install mirrored panels to amplify incoming natural light.

Using natural lighting is free and can reduce your daytime lighting loads by 30-50%. Combined with automated controls, you can keep artificial lighting off when sufficient natural light is available.

In Summary

Intelligently upgrading your current lighting solutions can reduce your business's energy costs by 50% or more. Conduct an audit, then implement higher efficiency LED bulbs, occupancy controls, and smart automation systems. Supplement with lower wattage bulbs and ample natural lighting. The savings in electricity expenditure usually pays for the improvements within 2-3 years. Your facilities will become much more energy efficient while maintaining excellent lighting quality.