Depending on the type of business you operate, lighting can account for 20 to 50 percent of electricity consumption. This means significant cost savings can be achieved with energy-efficiency upgrades, and due to continually improving equipment, lighting usually provides the highest return on investment of major updates.

Energy-efficient fluorescent lighting systems offer improved efficiency, higher intensity and potentially longer life than their standard fluorescent counterparts. These lighting systems are constantly increasing in flexibility and are now applicable to a variety of task and accent lighting applications as well as general lighting of larger spaces.

Successful lighting design begins with assessing how occupants use the space. A lighting system should deliver the quantity and quality of light according to those needs. Ask your lighting professional or supplier to bring to your business a sample of the fixture and bulb you are considering so you can see how the lighting looks in your space. There is no substitute for visual evaluation.

Fixture efficiency accounts for how much light actually gets out of the fixture, and it impacts a lighting system’s overall efficiency. A fixture that’s 90 percent efficient delivers 50 percent more light than one that’s only 60 percent efficient.

Avoid waste by installing automatic controls that can switch or dim lighting based on time, occupancy, light levels or a combination of factors.

Upgrading older light fixtures to a recessed, indirect/direct light fixture paired with an updated 2×2 ceiling system is one of the most effective office building improvements a landlord can install, according to Chris Loberg, a project manager for Welsh Construction. By investing $4 to $6 per foot for lighting and ceiling improvements, you can drastically change the look of your building, attracting better tenants and increasing your building’s value.

Save money by harvesting the free light of the sun! Daylight can be harvested by simply not blocking windows and by dimming/turning off the lights based on available daylight throughout your facility.

SOURCES: Colliers International, Energy Trust of Oregon, U.S. Small Business Administration, Welsh

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