T12 Fluorescent Bulbs
Energy Prices on the Rise, are You Looking for More Energy Efficient Solutions?
With energy prices on the rise, businesses are looking to find more energy efficient solutions. There are many opportunities for customers to save on energy by upgrading their lighting.
Two common types of fluorescent lights today are the T12 and the T8. The older, less energy efficient T12 runs on electromagnetic ballasts while the newer, energy-saving T8 lights run on electronic ballasts. In the next few years, the T12 lights will be phased out as a result of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which forbids the selling of the older T12 electromagnetic ballasts after July 2010.
Besides complying with the law, businesses are finding benefits to converting their soon-to-be discontinued T12s to T8 lighting. The switch to T8 lighting saves companies a minimum of 33 percent on their energy bills, regardless of the type of ballasts or bulbs used. There are many options for retrofitting, depending on customers’ goals. The retrofit can be set up to maximize either energy savings or light levels. Depending on the amount of hours per year that the lights are used, companies can recoup in energy savings the cost of the T12 toT8 retrofit in less than three years.
Businesses with warehouses that use traditional probe-start metal halide lights should consider converting to either pulse-start metal halide, or T5 fluorescent lights. Depending on the exact fixture type metal halide lights may be “retrofitted” to pulse-start metal halide. Pulse-start metal halide generally has a low initial cost but doesn’t provide as much long-term energy savings as other options. By retrofitting current fixtures to the pulse-start metal halide lights, businesses are able to get an energy savings of approximately 20 percent with a relatively small investment. Pulse-start metal halide lighting also lasts longer than traditional probe-start metal halide lights, so the business saves money in the long run on lighting maintenance.
Fluorescent high bay T5 lighting is becoming a popular alternative to probe-start metal halide. A metal halide light tends to dim over its lifetime, producing more initial light and less light at its end. This is called lumen depreciation. With T5 fluorescent lights the decrease from initial light levels to end of light levels is minor. The T5 lights typically will maintain more than 90 percent of initial lumens at the end of life, while a metal halide will have less than 50 percent.
Changing from probe-start metal halide to T5 requires new fixtures and more initial expense than changing to pulse-start metal halide does. But T5 lighting offers several advantages. The color-rendering index of T5 fluorescent lights are much higher than either probe-start or pulse-start metal halide, providing a much higher quality of light. The energy savings from the T5s is higher than from pulse-start metal halides. The T5 fluorescents can also be more easily used for daylighting applications since the T5s can be dimmed down much easier than can metal halides. The T5 fluorescents also can be used with occupancy sensors for frequent on/off applications.
Many businesses still use incandescent or halogen lights in their facilities. There are still situations where these are the best lights, and the businesses should stick with what they have. However, there are several good compact fluorescent alternatives. People tend to think of the spiral-looking light bulbs when they think of compact florescent lights, or CFLs. But CFLs come in many varieties these days. Most major lighting manufacturers now make a reflector flood version CFL that looks very similar to the R30 and R40 incandescent reflectors.
The energy savings and longer life of the CFLs make them an attractive replacement for incandescent reflectors. For example, a typical incandescent 65-watt BR30 can be replaced with a 15-watt CFLR30. The business can purchase the CFL in several different colors. If the goal is to replicate the color of the incandescent, then a 2700K CFL lamp should be used. The CFL will have approximately three times the life of the incandescent lamp.
Manufacturers also are beginning to offer some very good CFL replacements for the halogen flood lights. These CFL PAR lights look very similar to the halogens and can be used in many applications. While the color-rendering index (light quality) of the halogen is still better, the CFL looks acceptable in many applications. The typical replacement for a 90-watt PAR38 halogen is a 23-watt CFL PAR38. As mentioned above, the CFL will use significantly fewer watts and have a longer life. The CFL produces much less heat than does a halogen lamp. This heat savings also will be reflected in lower air conditioning costs.
For all energy efficient conversions , you should consult your local utility company before you begin the project. Most utility companies offer rebates for all of the above mentioned energy efficient conversions: probe-start metal halide to T5 or pulse-start metal halide, T12 to T8, and incandescent to CFL.
It is important that you consult with the utility company and make sure you use a quality contractor experienced in lighting conversions. Not all of the energy efficient alternatives are eligible for the rebates. Inexperienced contractors sometimes use cheap generic light bulbs and ballasts on lighting conversions. The result: the customer doesn’t get a rebate.
Energy rates are going up quickly. To protect your business against these rising costs, consider upgrading your lighting to a more energy efficient option. Lighting upgrades can not only save your business energy and maintenance costs, but also can add value to your building.
About the Author
Bright Ideas Lighting Company is an electrical contracting firm locally owned an operated in Boise, Idaho. We specialize in lighting maintenance (both indoor and outdoor), lighting repairs, and energy efficient lighting upgrades.
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