Total energy savingsīy controlling the whole lighting installation, the annual energy use, as well as the maximum demand drawn from the electricity supply grid, is moderated – particularly where a lighting installation includes predominant daytime use and daylighting opportunities are exploited. Increases in productivity of just a few per cent could alone pay back the installation cost of intelligent light control systems. Where occupants are allowed to affect control on their own personal working environment (through, for example, task-oriented lighting) their satisfaction with their working environment and productivity rises and it has been shown that the improved visual environment can reduce absenteeism 4. The use of a controlled lighting environment has been shown to improve employee comfort and health by providing a safe and secure work environment 3. 1 : Average electricity consumption in UK office buildings In all too many buildings, lighting control is restricted to being simply ‘on’ and ‘off’ at the whim of the occupant.įig. Lights in offices are often left on when no one is in the room, or kept at maximum level, even when daylight streams through the windows. Globally, lighting contributes around 20% to office energy use. It clearly shows that lighting plays a significant part in total electrical consumption. The chart 2 in Figure 1 illustrates annual UK electricity use in office buildings. However, they also offer great potential for improvement. The operation of many offices presents a particular environmental challenge due to the demands of the various occupiers, as well as the expectations of the building owner, which sometimes differs to that of the occupier. This article will focus on one particular, and important, area – the methods and benefits of lighting control – and will provide a summary of a recent case study of an office building in Manhattan, New York. The study clearly established what many facilities engineers have recognised, and acted upon: that buildings are a place where improvement can be readily made, at lower costs and higher returns than in other sectors. In a four-year, $15m study on energy efficiency in buildings, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development 1 reconfirmed that, worldwide, buildings account for 40% of global energy consumption (and, of course, the associated carbon footprint) – significantly more than all transportation combined. LIGHTING AND SHADE CONTROL STRATEGIES REGISTRATIONHaving just come to the end of the first registration period of the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC), many large energy users are focusing on opportunities to reduce their consumption to not only reduce costs but also to boost their corporate environmental credentials.
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