Fluorescent T5 Conversion Retrofit Kit 2

 

The economic advantages of switching from T12 Lamp systems to T8 Lamps or T5 Lamp Systems have long been touted by the EPA, Energy Star and every lighting manufacturer on the planet. I will not review these figures in detail but generally one can expect energy savings of as much as 48% with 2-yr to 3-yr simple paybacks, longer lamp life and reduced maintenance costs. Further benefits are now available if the lighting upgrades qualify for the federal tax incentives available through the Commercial Building Tax Deduction (CBTD) established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In addition, some states offer incentive programs and, in many areas of the nation, utility incentive programs are also available.

 

However, amazingly enough industry sales data reveal that the less-efficient T12s still account for three out of every 10 4-ft fluorescent lamps sold in the United States! At Superior Lighting we have also found that many of our smaller customers are reluctant to make the switch to more efficient systems. The most common explanation given besides the upfront cost is the time, cost and headache associated with hiring an electrician to do the retrofit work.

 

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com

Fluorescent T5 Conversion Retrofit Kit 1

 

In this series of articles we will continue to highlight some of the easier and more cost effective lighting retrofits that business and facilities managers can implement. We feel very strongly about the fact that installing energy efficient lighting is one of the best things a building owner can do for the environment, and for their business. Energy efficient lighting reduces not only energy consumption – it reduces emissions from power plants and it improves the business owner’s bottom line.  

 

Fluorescent lighting is the most common technology for lighting spaces such as offices and classrooms, and is up to four times more efficient than the incandescent lamp. However, older, obsolete fluorescent lighting systems can result in poor light quality and flicker. Advancements in fluorescent lighting systems have resulted in the introduction of new systems that provide improved energy efficiency, lighting quality, and design flexibility. These technological advances have improved the energy efficiency of fluorescent lighting systems by 28-48% compared to older T12 lamps on magnetic ballasts and these often overlooked improvements can have a major positive impact on operating expenses.

 

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-935-4448 / 813-932-1547

8139354448 / 8139321547 CommercialLightingTampa.com

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-935-4448 / 813-932-1547

8139354448 / 8139321547 CommercialLightingTampa.com

Fluorescent T5 Conversion Retrofit Kit

 

As a nation we spend about one-quarter of our electricity on lighting, at a cost of more than $37 billion annually, according to the US Department of Energy. For commercial users lighting accounts for the single largest portion of their electric bills (30%) which means that lighting can be a big contributor to reducing energy costs.

Much of this expense is unnecessary. Lamp and ballast manufacturers have, over the past decade, brought products to market that can help cut lighting costs by 30% to 60% while enhancing lighting quality, maintaining appropriate light levels in the workplace, and reducing environmental impacts. 

 

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com

DOE Announces Round 4 Funding Opportunity for Solid-State Lighting U.S. Manufacturing Support LIGHTimes News Staff

 

December 4, 2012…The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a solid-state lighting (SSL) funding opportunity on November 29, 2012. The DOE is offering up to $11 million in funding directed toward the existing DOE SSL R&D program area of Manufacturing Research and Development, to establish the U.S. as a global manufacturing leader.

The DOE is seeking applications for SSL manufacturing R&D projects under this funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0000792). Specifically the DOE is seeking project that will achieve significant cost reductions through improvements in manufacturing equipment, processes, or monitoring techniques. These projects should address the technical challenges that must be overcome before prices fall to a level where SSL will become competitive with existing lighting on a first-cost basis. The goal of the program is to accelerate progress toward creating a U.S.-led market for high-efficiency light sources that save more energy, reduce costs, and have less environmental impact than conventional light sources. Applications for this funding opportunity are due by February 21, 2013. For more information on the new funding opportunity, visit . https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/

 

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com

GE LIGHTING ACQUIRES ALBEO TECHNOLOGIES

 

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio—GE Lighting—inventor of many of the major lighting technologies at work today, including the first visible LED 50 years ago—has signed an agreement to acquire Boulder, Colorado-based Albeo Technologies Inc., a privately held LED fixture manufacturer established in 2004.

“The addition of Albeo Technologies’ immensely talented team and its award-winning LED fixture portfolio enhances GE Lighting’s ability to serve as a trusted advisor to enterprise customers around the world,” says Maryrose Sylvester, president and CEO, GE Lighting. “This acquisition is a big boost for GE customers moving aggressively toward an all-LED building envelope in new construction and retrofits, including retail, commercial and industrial high-bay applications.”

GE’s professional solutions business today offers commercial, industrial and municipal customers a range of legacy lighting solutions and LED systems for architectural, indoor, outdoor, signage, retail and transportation applications.

Albeo Technologies’ LED systems—high-bay, low-bay, linear, surface mount and under cabinet fixtures—are at work in commercial, warehouse, industrial, cold storage, office, data center, food processing, parking garage, school, sporting and correctional settings. Its solutions have helped to illuminate a range of “all-LED” facilities, including one of the world’s 10 largest data centers. Albeo Technologies’ products have been recognized with 16 independently judged awards, including 6 from the US Department of Energy.

“Today’s news is significant for what it enables customers to do with lighting,” says Jeff Bisberg, Albeo Technologies’ co-founder and CEO. “Joining GE vastly expands the universe of customers with access to our breakthrough LED solutions and it profoundly empowers our research and product development capability. Our team takes great pride in the fact that we’re now part of the company behind the invention of the LED.”

Through the acquisition, GE accelerates its ability to offer customers a more complete and integrated LED solution.

“Some of our biggest customers told us they wanted a GE-quality solution for high bay,” notes Sylvester. “This acquisition accelerates our development of cutting-edge technologies that brings customers the energy-efficient solutions they need. That’s what customers get at the end of the day—a refined, highly modular and scalable platform that delivers the GE quality they’ve come to expect.”

Albeo Technologies’ products are available through existing distribution channels and now through GE’s global distribution network.

About GE Lighting

GE Lighting invents with the vigor of its founder Thomas Edison to develop energy-efficient solutions that change the way people light their world in commercial, industrial, municipal and residential settings. The business employs about 15,000 people in more than 100 countries, and sells products under the Reveal^® and Energy Smart^® consumer brands, and Evolve™, GTx™, Immersion ™, Infusion ™, Lumination^™ and Tetra^® commercial brands, all trademarks of GE. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information, visit www.gelighting.com.

 

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com

T5 Tubes

In the 1990s, longer T5 tubes were designed in Europe (making it to North America in the 2000s), in addition to the shorter ones already in use worldwide. The lengths of these tubes are designed to fit within 300 mm (one-foot) modular units (such as modular ceilings, modular cupboards, etc.), each being a multiple of 300 mm, less a constant fixed amount for end-caps and the construction of the unit end. The use of T5 tubes rather than T8 or T12 allows the tubes to be fitted into smaller spaces, or more tubes for more light, and the smaller light source also enables more accurate control of beam direction by means of optics (reflectors and lenses in the luminaire). Each tube length is available in both a lower-power high-efficiency (HE) version, and a higher-power (but lower-efficiency) high-output (HO) version. The loading (watts per unit length) of the T5 HE tubes is similar to the original 4/6/8/13 W T5 tubes, and some manufacturers produce a range of fittings spanning both these ranges of tubes. When originally developed in Europe, operation from both switchstart series ballasts and electronic ballasts was specified, but electronic ballasts were rapidly taking over at the time, particularly in the commercial lighting space where these tubes are most commonly used, and switchstart series ballast operation is no longer specified by manufacturers, only electronic ballasts.

T5 fluorescent is the first linear lamp type to be served only by electronic ballasts.^[9] It is smaller than T8 and T12 lamps, with a miniature bi-pin base. It is notable for its lumens-per-watt efficiency, due to its peak light output occurring at 35 °C (95 °F) air temperature.^[10] There are three types of ballasts available for T5 lamps: instant start, rapid start, and programmed start electronic ballasts. T5 lamps operate at frequencies greater than 20 kilohertz. Most manufacturers claim that their T5 ballasts have a total harmonic distortion (THD) of less than 15%. Most T5 ballasts are very quiet and carry class “A” sound ratings. Dimmable ballasts exist for T5 lamps.^[11]

 

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

  

 

 

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com

Commercial Building Basics

Federal, state, and local governments as well as private companies, own, operate and use commercial buildings, which include all non-residential structures, as well as residential buildings of three stories or more. Commercial buildings are divers in how they look and are used — they include everything from the corner dry cleaner to hospitals and college campuses to huge data centers and skyscrapers. There is more than 81 billion square feet of commercial floor space in the U.S. Laid out on one level, these buildings would cover Rhode Island two and a half times. Commercial buildings account for 36% of all U.S. electricity consumption and cost more than $190 billion in energy every year. They are also responsible for 18% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, a primary greenhouse gas, and they consume more than 18%, or 18 quads, of U.S. primary energy—more than all of Canada's energy consumption. Reducing energy use in commercial buildings would have tremendous positive impact in our environment, energy security and would save money that can be used to help grow U.S. businesses. In addition, energy efficiency in commercial buildings creates good jobs in construction and technology, such as engineers, commissioning agents, energy managers and building operators.

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com

Philips Hue: Lighting people want Tom Griffiths – Publisher

November 8, 2012…Spurred by a recent announcement of some new "network-connected" light bulbs, last time around we posed the question, "How should we interact with our lights?" Overall, we gave that company's approach good marks for innovation as a test bed for the utilities, and a portent of our lighting-connected future, but held back on our endorsement of the current usefulness. In a somewhat analogous announcement at the end of October, Philips rolled out its new Hue lighting system, and much to my surprise, they hit a key mark: LED lighting people will want it. That's big.

Now there is plenty of LED lighting that people need, whether they yet understand that or not. There are a number of high quality PAR-type LED replacement lamps available today, from reputable, quality manufacturers, that work well, produce great quality light, and will last 25,000 to 50,000 hours. In the commercial market, where you have a minimum 8 hour/day usage, there is literally no reasonable excuse not to replace a 50 to 150 watt halogen PAR with one of these units. The energy savings moving from 15 lumens/watt to 60+ lumens/watt, without sacrificing quality of light, makes the case. Period. The only reason we don't have mass adoption is either doubts about whether one's selection is really high enough quality to match the lifetime claim or the lack of a mechanism to "finance" the capital expenditure in order to realize the operational expense savings that delivers the ROI.

In the A-lamp format (classic "Edison" type light bulbs), due to their non-directional nature, and their more frequent presence in the residential space where far few hours per day or month are involved, LED light bulbs don't have a strong case. Good quality CFLs do a pretty decent job of providing a sufficient quality of light, they last a long time, and they are equally efficient to most LED A-lamp solutions. LED replacement lamps do keep getting better, and the cost continues to come down, so we're nearing a time when the do become clearly superior, but not just yet. There is another option, however, and that's what Philips has done here. They added value.

If you read the specs on the Hue, you'd find them not to be all that remarkable in terms of pure efficacy or lifetime. Having seen good looking 100 lm/watt "100 watt" replacement lamps in the labs, the 70 lumens/watt of the Hue is good, but not stunning. Similarly, a 25,000 hour lifetime isn't the best one can find, although that's still 20+ years with 3-4 hours per night average use. And at the current $60 for the "per lamp" price ($200 for 3 lamps and the connectivity) it's far from nailing the "one in every socket" price point that most agree is sub-$10. So what did Philips do that makes this a winner? They made lighting fun. Is that sufficient to make it a market winner as well? If you ask the typical iPad, iPhone, Droid-phone or video game user, I tend to think they'd say, "Heck yes". $200 for something cool and entertaining? People spend that in a typical weekend of just "being out"… so how about 10+ years of amusement for that price?

In a pretty good piece of forethought, Philips has chosen to introduce the Hue exclusively through Apple's retail stores, where people are already shopping for "practical fun" in droves. I was fortunate enough to have a birthday happening the same day as the product introduction, so when I saw the announcement, I mentioned it to my son as a possible gift consideration. Being of good creative genetic stock, the kid dragged Mom out there a day early to see if he could check it out, despite it not yet being on the shelves. I'm still not exactly sure how it worked, but they ended up walking out with the store's one and only set, a day before they were set to go on sale. (Yes, they paid for it, and it was quite a surprise for me the next day, because they hadn't gone out on the day the Hue went on sale, so I knew that wasn't happening as present). They report that no fewer than 3 of the Apple employees spotted them with the Hue set in hand after the purchase, and asked if they could look at it. When the Apple employees are excited about it, you know you've got something cool in hand. So this isn't all a speculative analysis. We own a set, and when we plugged it in, we were impressed.

Pleasant surprise #1, we didn't need a remote control to get light. As I'd mentioned in the last commentary, one worry I personally had for connected lighting was the necessity to provide the housesitter with instructions for how to turn the lights on and off. I've owned too many cars that needed a preflight briefing before someone else could successfully make full and nondestructive use of it, so I know how this works out. When we screwed in one of the Hue lamps, and turned on the table lamp, the bulb lit and smoothly and quickly scaled up to full brightness with something pretty close to a 3000K standard incandescent type CCT. The ramp-up approach was much cooler than the normal, pause-blam that we've seen in many other LED bulbs. I remember being impressed by the first car I owned which dimmed the interior lights once I closed the door. Same feeling here. The only opportunity for improvement I see in that is to shorten the delay to get to that first glimmer of light, as it is just about the amount of time it takes to spin the lamp's switch, and in a 3-way fixture, where click 1 and 4 are effectively "off" for a non-3-way bulb, it takes patience. Click "nope" click "nope" click "nope"…. slow down just a tad, or speed the bulb-on just a tad, and click 2 or 3 will show the result before you register "no light" and click again. (Or pick up power from that extra prong in the socket, so that every click produces a result).

Once all 3 were screwed in and on, we plugged in the communication hub which supports the ZigBee network the lamps use, Wi-Fi to talk to connected devices (iWhatevers or Droid whatevers), and connects to the ethernet to allow remote networking control. Download the App (iPad in our case) and push the equivalent of the Sync button on the hub and we were connected. So then we did the next logical thing, and pushed one of the scene icons to see what happens. Lots happened, as the bulbs adjusted to the individual presets generated from the "scene" and there was now a different light in the room. The bulbs were plenty bright enough to comfortably read by, especially on the "reading" setting, so minimum functionality was met. Yes, a few more lumens would cover 99% of the bases, but this is just Gen 1, so practical "enough" and cool are really the only two ingredients required. I want more of them…

The Apps were also great, in that they didn't need instructions or user manuals. The settings button was quick to be found, and naming the lamps was iEasy. Plink one of the scenes, and the ubiquitous "edit" pencil is clearly visible, so plink on that and you can change anything in a scene very intuitively, by selecting one of the lamps, and moving dragging it to different color spaces, or sliding the dimmer to create any collective color effect desired. Coooool…. During the course of evening 1, we'd modified a few scenes, and created one of our own called "TV Dinner" which provided an ultra-warm, deep-dim orange on each side of the couch, and slightly less warm but deeper-dim over at the living room/dining room border in a hanging fixture to provide some fill across the ceiling. The effect was very much like the eat-in theaters — comfortable to see your food, but not distracting from the screen. And it was easy. And it was cooool…

The idea of the scenes is pretty interesting. When you create a new one, you can start from a photo in your album on the device, and then use that as the color palette to "paint" the scene. Take a photo of the Monet on your wall, then set the lighting in the formal area to coordinate. Bright yellow and whites in the kitchen? Take a photo and start sliding the icons. Or you can work from a blank palette and select color families and then specific colors, which is especially handy in conjunction with the "wake up" setting that can be applied to any of the scenes. Lots of people are wired to wake up in conjunction with a sunrise, which presents a challenge in the darker seasons of the year. To help with that, one of the app features is to set a target light, and time, and then tell the system to fade up to that light over a choice of intervals from a few to a few-more minutes. Sunrise in the bedroom. Philips is also making developer kits available for the Hue App family, so while the morning scheme you concoct may not yet be tuned to specific wavelengths that properly tweak the body's hormonal processes for waking up, the structure fully supports the approach and we'll just be a little research and a few Apps away from this kind of integration of light and healthy living that we've been discussing for a while.

For those on the go, and with time on their hands while gone, you can register the system for online access, so you can control schedules and scenes remotely (now that will mess with the housesitter…). Obviously, if it's not there yet, it's easy to see how it will be able to integrate with other home automation, to make it bright if a motion sensor triggers, or highlight a smoke detection by illuminating the area in flashing red. Overall, the system is easy to use, and fun, with enough practical built in to even be justifiable. At the end of a night, we can just pop open the iPad or Droid-driven phone, and click the "all off" button. Or if we don't feel like finding or opening them, we can just, get this, turn off the light switch as we always have, confident that when we turn it back on, it will light up just like good old Mr. Incandescent did, so we can find our car keys, or reading glasses.

Thank you to Philips for the consumer savvy that is emphasizing the capabilities of LED lighting to an audience that is still a ways from being swayed on the economics alone. LED lighting is now actually cool. Coooool….

 

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com

About the Commercial Building Initiative

The Building Technologies Program (BTP) works to identify and develop strategies and technologies to dramatically reduce commercial building energy consumption. BTP's commercial building efforts focus on highly innovative, cost-effective, energy saving measures—ones that promise large energy savings at cost-effective levels, but are underutilized by the market. These efforts are carried out in collaboration with researchers at national laboratories and partners within industry with the goal of dramatically reducing new and existing commercial building energy consumption.

Commercial Lighting Tampa FL, 813-868-7509 813-868-7594 813-868-7595

8138687509 8138687594 8138687595 CommercialLightingTampa.com