Downlight Demonstration Program: Hilton Columbus Downtown

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that there were about 700 million downlight luminaires installed in residential and commercial buildings in the U.S. as of 2012, with light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires representing less than 1% of this installed base. Downlight luminaires using conventional incandescent, halogen, and compact fluorescent lamps have lower efficacies and shorter expected lifetimes than comparable LED systems, but the lower initial cost of the conventional technology and the uncertainties associated with the newer LED technology have restricted widespread adoption of LED downlight luminaires. About 278 tBtu of energy could be saved annually if LED luminaires were to saturate the downlight market, equating to an annual energy cost savings of $2.6 billion. This report summarizes an evaluation of LED recessed downlight luminaires in the guest rooms at the Hilton Columbus Downtown hotel in Columbus, OH. The facility opened in October of 2012, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conducted a post-occupancy assessment of the facility in January–March of 2014. Each of the 484 guest rooms uses seven 15 W LED downlights: four downlights in the entry and bedroom and three downlights in the bathroom. The 48 suites use the seven 15 W LED downlights and additional fixtures depending on the space requirements, so that in total the facility has more than 3,700 LED downlights. The downlights are controlled through wall-mounted switches and dimmers. A ceiling-mounted vacancy sensor ensures that the bathroom luminaires are turned off when the room is not occupied.