Strategies and Technologies for Energy-Efficient Lighting

Posted on April 4, 2008
Filed Under , , , , , Uncategorized, Blogroll |

Until a few years ago, typical lighting in domestic settings comprised a central pendant.
For rooms where entertaining was done, such as the lounge or dining room, there might be
a couple of wall lights, and the switch plate might be replaced with a dimmer. The total
lighting load might typically be 200W, so to make the lighting more energy-efficient, the
bulbs were replaced with lower wattage ones, thus reducing the power consumption but also
the light level!
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These days, many rooms of a similar size have upwards of a dozen 50W downlights installed,
resulting in a total of 600W or more lighting load. Our lighting demands are clearly increasing,
but at the same time, we are also being encouraged, if not compelled, to be more energy efficient.
It’s so tirred.
Downlights have replaced the central pendant.

The parts of the current and impending building regulations and guidelines that most concern
people, are those that cover energy efficiency. These include efficient heating and cooling
systems, building insulation against heat loss or heat gain, and having a percentage of the
lights as energy efficient. Since most of these energy-efficient lamps are not dimmable however,
and are unsuitable for sometimes complex lighting schemes, they tend to be used in places such
as utility rooms, loft conversions, spare/guest bedrooms, toilets and cloakrooms.

A large proportion of building owners, both home and business, would be prepared to embrace new
technology if they could see a return on their investment sooner. Their main concern is the cost
of systems such as LED or compact fluorescent lighting, but rather than focussing on what they
perceive as the drawbacks, they should be looking to new technology as being able to provide
effective solutions to a range of problems.

Improving efficiency

In short, energy-efficient lighting means getting as much light output from as little energy as
possible. One of the best ways of making lighting more efficient is to have the lights on only
when they are needed, especially in areas such as bathrooms, hallways, utility rooms and kitchens.
Do you remember your parents telling you that a light switch has two functions? Well, if you cannot
rely on your home’s occupants to
switch the lights off when not needed, how about installing presence/movement detectors to control
the lights? You need never have lights left on again, unnecessarily for hours.

When a room has multiple uses, for example a lounge that is used as a TV room, reception room or
playroom, there will be different lighting requirements, depending on its current use. It may
seem obvious, but energy can be saved by only switching on the lights that are required, and
possibly at reduced levels if appropriate.

Task lighting in the kitchen.

When using a lighting system to highlight something decorative such as a painting, sculpture, vase
or flower arrangement, traditionally a huge, usually brass, fitting would be installed to contain
the bulb and reflect the light in the desired direction. The heat and ultra-violet produced by the
light would not only be wasteful, but could be extremely detrimental to the item being highlighted.
Today however, there are many alternatives, ranging from halogen lights where the heat exits through
the reflector and away from the item, to ‘cool lights’ such as LEDs and some gas discharge lamps.
Many of these newer lighting solutions have a very small visual footprint, so you see the item being
highlighted and not the lighting system. These newer lighting systems also have the advantages of
not damaging the artwork with heat and UV; having more natural colouring with light that has the
same frequency as daylight; and the colour being able to be tailored to enhance the item being lit.

Spotlight with small footprint.

Architectural lighting

Using architectural lighting, rooms have the colour, feel and even the perceived texture of the
walls changed to suit the use, time of day, or season. This can now be achieved using LED technology,
especially the multicolour and colour-changing systems.

Unlike older systems inherited from the stage industry, that use a mechanical system to move different
coloured filters in front of the lamp and therefore offer a limited set of colours, contemporary multicolour
and colour-changing LED system lamps usually contain elements that individually produce the three primary
colours, and an element that produces white light. Via the control system, the full spectrum of colours
can be produced by combining various combinations of the primary colours at different intensities.
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With the newer LED projection technologies, buildings can be lit from a smaller footprint, hence
discreet lamp housings can be used that can be disguised or hidden from view, and out of reach of
potential tampering. Such systems are on a par with, and often more energy-efficient than, the
older sodium/mercury floodlights. Their lamp life tends to be longer, and they are far more
controllable rather than simply flooding everything with sodium yellow!
Go to have Lunch!
An electro-luminescent panel.
Sorry,I must go.
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