HICAPS - Lighting the Way

 Creatures of habit are we.  The first one in the office flips the light switch, and we see well enough to avoid the furniture, and make our way to our desk.  At the end of the day, the last one to leave turns off the lights and locks the door.  What a difference a new light bulb or even new fixtures can make in our office!  HICAPS recently updated our office lights, replacing old fixtures with energy inefficient bulbs with new fixtures, bulbs and ballasts.  The results in the central portion of the office are striking.  Gone are the shadows on the ceiling, and dark areas on the work surfaces.  Individual offices had motion sensors that light the office as soon as the occupant arrives, and turn off 10 minutes after the occupant leaves (or falls asleep—image, we don’t even have to turn off the light switch when we fall asleep at our desk!)
In addition to providing a pleasing and more productive work environment, the new fixtures, bulbs, and automatic switches save energy every day which make them cost efficient and the upgrade will qualify for a federal tax deduction capped at between $0.30 and $0.60/sq ft on a sliding scale based on a 25-40% reduction below the maximum allowable lighting power density W/sq/ft. ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2001. Duke Energy is offering rebates under their Prescriptive Incentive program making upgrading lights a smart idea.