Wednesday, January 16, 2013

lowering utiliy bills/task lighting

Bottom-line benefits for business.
The use of a lighting system which integrates task and overhead lighting can have a direct impact on the bottom line by lowering utility dollars.

Instead of trying to maintain proper lighting levels on desktops from overhead fixtures, task lights can do a better job in providing adequate foot-candles. A task light using an 18-watt compact fluorescent will consu...me far less energy than a typical overhead lighting fixture.

A work environment can maintain lower levels of overhead light by illuminating desktops with energy-efficient task lights. For examples consider an office with 16 workstations illuminated by 16 overhead fixtures each with four T8 32-watt fluorescents. The total wattage when all fixtures are operating is 2,048. If each fixture used two T8 instead of four, and each workstation was equipped with an 18-watt task light, energy consumption would be reduced by 36 percent!

A recent example demonstrates the energy waste that occurs all too frequently. An office manager remarked that, "we don't need those (task lights) to control glare on our computer screens. We installed these filters on the screens to block out glare." This makes no sense in terms of cost reduction and energy conservation. First flood the room with light and then block it out with filters. It is like turning the heat up to 90 degrees in the winter and then opening the window to maintain the right temperature.

Other ways in which the use of task lighting can help control costs are by reducing maintenance costs. Task lights are easy to install, keep clean, and change bulbs. When offices made from wall partition furniture systems are rearranged, task lights are easily moved. Proper lighting is achieved without much worry about the location of overhead fixtures.

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