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An important element of achieving and maintaining a sustainable building is to ensure energy efficiency at every level of the building’s services.Maxine Turczak of Megaman explains how compact fluorescent lamps can now be used in a much wider range of applications than ever before.
Anyone who takes an interest in the energy performance of a building will be aware of the need for efficient lighting.
In fact,it’s been estimated that some 25 percent of an average commercial building’s electrical consumption results from the lighting.
Beyond this consideration,the choice of lighting also has a bearing on total cost of ownership,as longer life light sources will help to extend relamping cycles and reduce maintenance overheads.
At the same time,all of this needs to be achieved without compromising on the quality of the lighting.
Good lighting leads to a comfortable working environment,higher staff morale,improved productivity and reduced churn.
At the heart of every lighting system is the light source, or lamp. While luminaire design and efficiency of control gear also have a role to play,neither of these factors can significantly improve efficiency and sustainability without an efficient light source.In recent years,those lamps that have become synonymous with energy efficiency have continued to evolve, bringing even higher efficiencies
and a broader choice of opportunities for applying these benefits.
A case in point is the compact fluorescent lamp (CFL),a now well- established lamp that has become an old and familiar friend.
However,that familiarity can lead to the major advances that have been made in this area being overlooked. Plus, although they were recognised as a major breakthrough, early CFLs were quite limited in their range of light outputs and colour temperatures.And the perception they gained then has been retained by some today -which is a far from accurate perception of today’s CFL.
Many of the changes we see in modern CFLs have only been made possible by relatively recent breakthroughs in engineering and manufacturing techniques – and these have created the opportunity to exploit the CFL to full advantage.Floodlighting,accent lighting and even high bay and low bay lighting are just some examples of applications where CFLs can now replace other,less efficient,light sources.
The general principle of a CFL,namely taking a linear fluorescent tube, bending it and packing it into a smaller space, remains the same. The developments that have made the big difference are those that allow light output to be maximised,while minimising heat gains. New formulations of the phosphors that coat the tube have also helped to improve colour rendering and the range of colour temperatures available.
These changes have allowed CFLs to diversify into new applications, often as straight retrofits for less efficient lamps,so that existing lighting systems can be upgraded with minimal capital outlay and disruption.That’s why it’s worth taking a fresh look at CFLs – and looking at them from a holistic,total cost of ownership perspective rather than being blinkered by considerations of energy efficiency alone.
For example,when considering the overall cost of a lighting installation it’s important to take account of the significance of longer life.Longer life lamps lead to longer re-lamping cycles – so maintenance costs are slashed by buying and stocking fewer lamps and
reducing labour times for operatives.In addition,and many people overlook this,there are health and safety benefits through minimising work that requires access equipment,reducing the statistical chance of an accident as well as avoiding a lot of safety-related paperwork.
With greatly improved colour rendering,CFL technology can now be introduced to many applications where good colour rendering is essential.These include retail areas where goods are displayed, assembly areas where components are colour coded and a host of commercial applications where more and more documents are now produced in colour.
New designs of CFL include lamps with an integral reflector to provide better directional light for accent or feature lighting. The most advanced versions of these even use the same GU10 lamp base as
halogen spotlights so they can be directly retrofitted to existing spotlight installations.
Such an upgrade will make the whole system more efficient and less maintenance intensive,with up to 80 percent energy savings and a life of 15 times that of a GU10 halogen lamp.For example,a 9W compact reflector lamp will provide a direct replacement for a 40W halogen lamp,but with higher luminous efficacy and lower heat outputs. This is particularly important in areas using high numbers of spotlights, where the heat output can have a significant knock-on effect on air conditioning costs.
Light output has also been significantly increased in CFLs,with some going as high as 300W to give a light output of 24,000 lumens. These high output versions include models that use four plug-in CFLs in a single unit, so they can replace less efficient lamps that are traditionally used for many applications requiring a high light output.For example,one of these ‘Jumbo’lamps incorporating 4 x 18W CFLs can provide a direct replacement for a 200W mercury lamp in a low bay or high bay application. This provides a saving of 128W for each lamp with no compromise on performance,and with a life of 30,000 hours there are big savings on maintenance.
Similarly, high output CFLs can be incorporated into floodlights that would usually use incandescent or high intensity discharge lamps. These provide a much more efficient solution for applications such as security lighting,lighting of construction sites, car parking areas and many other outdoor applications.
For decorative lighting applications where standard GLS light bulbs might be used traditionally, there are now CFLs using a decorative envelope to eliminate glare so it doesn’t matter if the lamp is visible.These include glass domes and candle shapes for areas where decorative lighting complements the overall aesthetics.
The examples discussed here just touch the surface of the potential for compact fluorescent light sources in a diverse range of applications.
There are no other styles of light source that offer the same versatility with high energy efficiency and long life so now is the time to take a closer look at how CFLs can improve the performance of your lighting.
