trends tracker
Intelligent Lighting Trends Finding the Crossroads of Energy Efficiency and Functionality By Cheryl English and Karyn Gayle LIGHTING SOLUTION DECISIONS have become even more critical in recent years as more and more buildings undergo energyefficient renovations and green certifications. New technologies and intelligent lighting approaches promise both energy savings and increased functionality for building occupants and owners.
Solid State Lighting and LEDs The emergence of solid state, semiconductor-based lightemitting diodes (LEDs) shows all the signs of changing the way people light their spaces. Over the last several years, white highbrightness LEDs have realized exponential growth in useful life and light output, making it possible to develop lighting fixtures that consume one-third of the energy of an incandescent version, with 10 to 20 times the life. At present, the cost of LEDs is higher than traditional sources; however, consumers can sometimes offset the higher initial costs through energy and maintenance savings in certain applications. Looking towards the future, the price/performance gap is closing rapidly as LED technology continues to advance.
RT5TM Volumetric Recessed Luminaires from Lithonia Lighting shine down on the offices of CHG Healthcare in Salt Lake City.
Office Lighting Renovations There are several hundreds of millions of office lighting fixtures installed in the United States, most of which are 10 to 25 years old. Nearly all are extremely costly to operate when compared to newer, more energy-efficient alternatives. In the past, lighting renovation decisions required a tradeoff between energy reduction and aesthetic enhancements. This is no longer the case. New retrofit lighting and control solutions address both requirements and are more cost effective than ever.
Warehouse Renovations Traditional technologies, such as linear fluorescent and highintensity discharge (HID) lamps, have also benefitted from a focus on greater energy management. For indoor applications, fluorescent and newer HID technologies are still among the most efficient sources around, and integrating lighting controls (such Continued on page 38
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