LED lighting offers clear advantages over conventional incandescent, metal halide, and High Pressure Sodium or HPS bulbs. They’re more efficient, last longer, and generate much less heat. How does this translate into saving you money?

According to Natural Resources Canada, LED bulbs use about 70% less energy than conventional bulbs. The exceptionally long lifespan of LED bulbs — at least 25 times as long as incandescent bulbs — makes your savings even greater. Thus, even if they may cost a little more to purchase, that cost is more than offset by their longer lifespan.

Your building lighting is critical to your operations. From allowing people to be able to work to keeping the property safe. After a while your lighting isn’t what it used to be or is out of date compared to modern technology. At these points, instead of replacing all of your lighting, you can get a lighting retrofit instead.

Why might your building need a lighting retrofit?

Your Electrical Bill Is Too High

When you are paying to power a whole building’s lighting, you are going to be paying an awful lot of money. Retrofitting your lighting system allows you to replace the mechanical portions with energy efficient upgrades.

A lighting retrofit will especially help your electric bill go down if you own an older building.

Newer lighting technology is energy efficient. That means that it carries with it a rating approved by the government that says it uses less energy than standard equipment. If you perform a retrofit, you might be eligible for rebates on your electric bill.

Enhanced Control

Many buildings out there still have controls that are not compatible with dimming. This is just one example of the level of control you can add to your existing lighting system with a retrofit. Smart home features can also provide you with the ability to time your lighting and control sections remotely. Another feature you can add is motion sensors so that lights are only active when someone is in the area.

Enhanced levels of control will also allow you to reduce your lighting bill. You can turn off lights that you don’t need or schedule lights to turn off when areas aren’t used.

Reduced Maintenance Costs

Maintenance on lighting systems involves a lot of work. Changing light bulbs and replacing ballasts are just a couple of costs you might have. Newer systems are more reliable and require less work. Bulbs also last longer.

Less Heat Pollution

One major issue with older lighting systems is that the produce heat. Heat that has trouble dissipating when inside a building. This can drive up your air conditioning bills and discomfort employees.

Instead, new lighting systems produce less heat than older models. The temperature of your building will start to normalize and the comfortability will go up.

Keep Fixtures

A lot of buildings love their lighting fixtures and want to keep them. It discourages them from upgrading to new lighting systems. When you retrofit your lighting you are often able to keep your fixtures so that the appearance of your building stays the same.

This is especially beneficial for older buildings that have pieces that you can no longer match. An onsite inspection from a electrician or lighting professional can help you to determine if your existing fixtures can be kept.

Coverage Is Spotty

When you have older light bulbs and equipment you might have spotty coverage of areas such as parking lots. This can be dangerous, people are at risk when they can’t see potential threats. A lighting retrofit can ensure that all areas are lighted for safety and security.

A parking lot can be near as bright as daylight after a retrofit.

Environmental Benefits

Your older lighting systems have a lot of problems when it comes to being friendly to the environment. The heat change they provide is bad for the environment. The bulbs themselves when thrown out can also cause issues for the environment.

One example is traditional style bulbs that contain mercury and don’t last for as long. That means you will need to replace them more often and thus there will be more bulbs in the trash.

Overall, your building will be more environmentally conscious when you upgrade your lighting system.

Retrofitting Can Save You Money Over Replacing

Replacing your lighting system outright can be quite expensive. There is a lot of work that goes into that. You have to tear out existing fixtures and equipment, sometimes run new wires, and even patch holes.

At first, a lighting retrofit might look expensive but when you compare the cost of a retrofit versus a complete replacement.

A retrofit of your lighting system can do wonders for your property. It comes with a lot of benefits that you will start noticing quite quickly. From a safer property to less money spent on electric bills. The retrofit will also give your property the lighting that you want.

Energy wastage in a building especially a big commercial buildings can go unnoticed because it happens in a variety of places with the residents going on business as usual with little or no energy usage tracking. But big savings on the power bill can be realized by identifying areas where energy loss is happening. Which are these areas that can be targeted for energy optimization?

Elevators

Not many people will stop to think about an elevator’s energy consumption when riding on one. But elevators take up 3-7% of the energy consumption of average commercial buildings. Elevators vary in energy consumption depending on their height and carrying capacity.

The typical mall elevator rises about 15 feet powered by a 7.5 Hp motor. Assuming a 24/7 all week operating mall, this elevator will take up about 8,000 kilowatts-hours in a month. A 24/7 20 foot high unit will typically have a 20 Hp motor and take up about 32,000 kilowatt-hours in a month.

The largest energy wastage happens in the drive systemswhich runcontinuously. In addition to the energy wasted when the elevator is idle, there is also the heat it produces which further needs running energy consuming HVACs to cool the air.

Lighting

The type and configuration of lighting in a building is a big factor in energy consumption. The older system of lighting used incandescent or fluorescent bulbs operated by on/off switches.  Incandescent bulbs are the most wasteful as they use filament heat to light up.

People will often forget to switch off the lights when going out of a room. This translates to wastage energy. High voltage bulbs also give off considerable heat which in turn requires turning on the AC to cool.

Incorrect voltage matching is also an avenue for energy wastage. This happens when bulbs that are brighter than needed are installed.

Heat loss

Loss of heat in a building necessitates higher operation level of the heating level, which adds on to the power bill. There are three main ways in which heat is lost in a building;

• By infiltration- This happens when windows and doors are opened, leading to an air shift where heated air flows out of the building.
• By ventilation – This is where unheated air comes in through the ventilation system.
• Plane heat loss – This is when heat is lost by conduction through the building elements; floors, walls, ceiling, and roof.

There are a variety of solutions to make abuilding more energy efficient.These measures include better technology in elevators and lighting, and better insulation techniques.

 

The total cost to upgrade a residential high rise building to energy efficient lighting is typically below $50,000. Annual savings in energy and maintenance costs is averaging around $20,000. This translates into a payback period of only 2.5 years and represents a unique opportunity for strata councils to drastically reduce their buildings’ escalating BC Hydro bills for years to come.

To fund retrofit projects, strata corporations have the following main options available to them:

1. Contingency fund (50%)

2. Special Assessment (30%)

3. Bank loan (0%)

4. Lease to own / Pay as you save (20%)

1. Contingency funds are increasingly being used to pay for LED lighting upgrade projects which was not the case a few years ago. Increasingly, strata councils are better informed today and appreciate the benefits of investing in capital projects with significant long term cost saving potential. The most significant factor in favour of this option is the avoidance of costly financing charges.

2. Special assessment is a popular option when the strata does not have access to contingency funds. The average cost to individual strata unit owners in a typical high rise would be a one time assessment of $285 ($50,000/175 units) or the equivalent of one month’s strata fees. (Dinner for two in Vancouver costs more !)

3. Bank loan are avoided like the plague and rarely give serious consideration. Definitely the most expensive and onerous financing option. Enough said.

4. Lease to own (Pay As You Save) is gaining in popularity which is a noticeable recent trend. Increasingly, vendors are offering this financing option in their proposal packages on the proposition that monthly leasing payments will be paid from energy cost savings . Third party leasing is also available from a wide variety of leasing companies and should be considered as well. However, I would recommend obtaining help from a trusted advisor to review and recommend the best leasing option for you strata, and avoid costly mistakes and unintended consequences.

Anil Mehra, CA,CPA  Managing Director, Titan Enersave. www.titanenersave.com 

Whether you are a landlord or a homeowner, it is important to understand how your building loses money by wasting energy. As recurring expenses, energy bills can add up heavily especially in a big building like an office block or warehouse. It means less rental income for you as a landlord. Homeowners can realize savings as well by plugging energy waste. There are several ways in which buildings waste energy which can also be looked at as loss of money:

Air leakage

Heating costs take up the biggest percentage of the energy bill. A building with leakage allows heated air to escape and cold air to get in, which necessitates constant heating hence higher energy bills.

Leakages will be found in gaps around the edges of doors and windows. This is especially in older buildings where strict building codes and precision measurement of building materials was absent. Gaps in the ceiling fixtures also allow infiltration of cold air which can have a “stacking effect.” This is where colder air which is denser pushes warmer air down and out of the building through gaps and cracks in the foundation.

Lighting energy wastage

Lighting wastage occurs in three ways. The first is the usage of lighting bulbs that waste energy. These are the older bulbs that relied on heating filaments to produce light. Lighting energy can also be wasted by using bulbs of the wrong wattage rating, where there is more light than needed. Energy is also wasted when lighting is left on unnecessary, for example, security lights during the day.

Appliance energy wastage

Devices that rely on electricity in a home or office will waste energy when they are left powered up when not in use. They will also draw a residual charge when they are in standby mode.

How to fix energy wastage

• Proper insulation – Insulation plugs the gaps that allow air leakage. Proper attic, wall and basement insulation can significantly reduce heating costs.
• High-tech thermostats – Programmable thermostats ensure that heating is done only when necessary. Modern systems will have sensors to heat rooms only when there are people in them.
• Better lighting bulbs – Sodium bulbs are being phased away in favor of the more energy efficient LED bulbs that are dimmable.
• Automated lighting – Automation lighting systems are programmable to light areas at specific times or when they sense a presence.
• Energy rated appliances – Energy rating shows how efficiently a device uses energy. Many appliances use the ENERGY STAR rating. Pick only appliances that have been rated favorably.
• Intelligent power adapters – These adapters control appliance energy use and switch off when they sense a standby mode or powering off.

Remember that making a home green involves more than conserving energy. Save much more by also conserving water and implementing the 3R’s; reduce, reuse, recycle.