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.

Changing of the Lights/T12s

Department of Energy rules and regulations phase out use of T12 lamps in commercial buildings and commercial building owners are being urged to upgrade their lighting systems. There are incentives available to help offset these costs.

A highly underused program for updating lights from T12s to T8 or T5s through Duke Energy is their prescriptive Smart Saver program. If you are renovating an existing building and looking for ways to save on energy savings in the form of lower energy costs and lower demand charges, look at this program. Other financial incentives include tax and other benefits from the government. Commercial lighting system buyers can receive up to 60 cents per sf by qualifying for the Commercial Building Tax Deduction. For projects completed before January 1, 2014, a CBTD (“INTERIM LIGHTING RULE”) can be claimed that covers up to the entire deductible cost of investing in the installation of energy-efficient commercial building property. For more information on Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings, visit this link http://www.lightingtaxdeduction.org/tax_deduction.html.

Here is some "Gee Whiz" Information:

• According to the U.S. Department of Energy, lighting represents 40% of the average commercial building's electric bill
• July 1st, 2010 marked an important "changing of the light" so to speak, because on that date it became illegal to manufacture or import many popular conventional T12 magnetic replacement ballasts
• T12 lamps were introduced in 1938 (you heard that right!)
• T8s were introduced commercially in 1981
• The greater efficiency of T8 lighting and the smaller amount of mercury per lamp could cut mercury infiltration by 43%
• 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the T5 lamp
• A T5 high-output lamp can replace two conventional T12 lamps

Gabriele Medley-Harry, LEED AP BD&C

Director of Sustainable Construction

HICAPS, Inc.