Addressable Office Lighting and Control Systems: Technical Considerations and Utility Evaluations

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article provides a technical overview of the applications and cost-effectiveness of addressable office lighting and control systems. It also examines manufacturer claims of 80 percent plus electricity savings with these systems by reviewing a utility's evaluation installation of one such product in its own office building, in comparison to three other typical office lighting systems. The utility's case study confirms the impressive savings. Combining information technology with fixture-integrated controls, office lighting fixtures can now be controlled individually, in groups, or as an entire building-wide system through the local-area network (LAN). This new approach to office lighting is rapidly gaining acceptance throughout the retrofit and new-construction markets. Given the prospect of more than 80 percent savings on what can represent one-third of a building's electricity usage, addressable lighting controls hold the potential of delivering impressive reductions in electricity usage. With addressable lighting, individual workers can adjust the light levels in their own work areas through software that directs messages to specific light fixtures. Energy managers can enable, reconfigure, and even schedule control settings for selected occupancy and daylight sensors—all from a personal computer. To address the growing concerns about available electricity supplies, load-shedding can be implemented on a system-wide basis for a gradual reduction in power levels during periods of peak demand or expensive real-time energy prices. Given the advances in information technology in recent decades, controls for office lighting have now emerged as easy-to-use, effective tools to assist energy managers in reaching today's mandated goals for energy efficiency.