Light Management

Energy Saved is Energy Earned

Lutron’s light management is bringing building owners huge savings, as is the case with this iconic building owned by The New York Times, no less an icon itself 

The grandiosity of the New York Times Building in New York, USA sets it apart from all the other skyscrapers that sit besides it in this concrete jungle. Yet what is unique about this building is the manner in which it is managing to use only a third of the artificial light that buildings of its size normally use. This is all thanks to Quantum, the intelligent light management system that dimming control specialist Lutron has supplied.

What NY Times Achieved
The media giant occupied 26 floors(2nd-27th) and 6,00,000sft in this building when it opened business in 2007. No wonder energy management was a key economic issue which needed to be addressed well before the premises was occupied.

At the heart of the light management system supplied by Lutron are some 18,000 digitally addressable EcoSystem ballasts, which enable the attached light fixtures to respond to commands based on change in natural light levels and occupancy.

Using this system, the company manages to maintain an illumination level of 30 footcandles instead of the standard 50 (1 footcandle = 10.764 lumen/sft), which has cut energy usage by 40%. 

By rolling up window shades on the side faced by the Sun, and turning off or dimming the lights when sufficient natural light is coming in, lighting saving amounts to 20%.

Switching off lights in areas where there’s no occupancy cuts the company’s light usage by 35%.

By letting a daylight sensor decide how many lights need to stay on in each space and thereby tuning the light level, the company is saving 45% on light usage.

While codes permit power usage of 1.28 watt/sft, light management system ensured the company used a mere 0.396 watt/sft all through 2009.

Money saved was US$ 1 per sft per year, which for the entire office space amounted to an impressive US$ 6,00,000.

In Retro Mode

Existing buildings too can becomelight intelligent

“It’s not just new buildings, even existing ones can be fitted with light management systems,” says Manjul Trehan (mtrehan@lutron.com), country manager of the Gurgaon-based Lutron GL Sales & Services Pvt Ltd, Indian subsidiary of the global light management major. Lutron’s wireless Pico controllers, he informs, are equally effective in managing the entire light system of a building and bringing the required savings.    

Pico is Lutron’s newest control system that can manage lights without wires, and is compatible with a variety of Lutron lighting and automated window treatment solutions. The controllers can be configured for use as a handheld remote, car visor control, wall-mounted control, or a table top control.

“The actual amount of saving depends upon the strategy adopted to get the results.” Trehan explains that high-end dimming can result in a 20% saving in lighting, while occupancy and vacancy sensing can save 15%. Daylight harvesting can add to 10% savings,personal lighting control can save 15% lighting, and controllable window shades can save 10% of HVAC cost. “This may vary with the environment. For instance, the savings in a restroom may go as high as 60% with the use of occupancy and vacancy sensing.”

Trehan asserts that dimming not only saves energy and adds to the ambience, but also increases the life of bulbs. “Besides, a combination of dimmers, timers, sensors and motorised window shades can produce savings in lighting energy from 10% - 60% in both residential and commercial applications. Our lighting and shading controls can contribute to achievement of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) points for certifying a building green.”