Ways to reduce lighting costs. Though the energy used by a single light is small, if you use energy-efficiency practices with all your lights, the savings can add up. To reduce your lighting costs, consider a few things. First you should evaluating your lighting needs (in case of an overlit facility, delamping might be appropriate) Simply replacing T12 fluorescent lights with more energy efficient T8 lights and electronic ballasts. replacing old exit lights with new energy efficient ones that use fluorescent or LED technology. Installing controls such as timers, time clocks or photocells to ensure that exterior lights are turned off at the appropriate time.
Replacing incandescent lights with ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent lights that can reduce lighting costs by up to 70 percent and last up to eight times longer. If your building has multiple incandescent lights (standard, flood, halogen) or T12 (1 1/2-inch diameter) fluorescent lights, it is probably a good candidate for a lighting retrofit. Call your utility company or exit sign warehouse and ask them to conduct a free energy audit. You may discover a very attractive payback by improving your lighting system. In addition, you will have opportunity to better assess your building lighting needs and adjust them accordingly. For Emergeny lighting needs consider replacing incandescenet fixtures with LED Exit Signs. They can last up 25 years and are usually less then 5 watts to operate. It cost 2 or 3 dollars per year vs 40 or 50 with the ladder. Please call or visit exitsignwarehouse.com for information on rebates.
