n g d e s i g n l a b n e w s
in this issue.
1 Keeping up with changes
2 Lighting Controls for Gyms
3 Daylighting Controls Guide
4 & 5 Fall Classes & Events
6 Registration Form
7 Keeping technology straight
7 Solar/LED in the PNW
8 LDL Contacts
f a l l 2 0 0 5
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Above: Lighting Design Lab services,
including mock-ups, are being
evaluated for prioritizing and
restructuring.
T
he Lighting Design Lab (LDL) has been a
Pacific Northwest resource since its inception in
1989. The LDL mission has been to bring about
long-term change in the regional lighting
marketplace. Through its support of utility partner
programs and through providing market
transformation focused services such as trainings,
consultations and mock-up facility space, the LDL
has been successful in achieving its mission.
Today, the LDL is in the process of
defining its future role in promoting high
quality, energy efficient lighting designs and
systems. Seattle City Light and the Northwest
Energy Efficiency Alliance have contracted
with Energy Market Innovations (eMI) to
assist the LDL in this exercise. Over the
coming weeks, LDL and eMI staff will be
contacting specific stakeholders to engage
them in a dialogue about the services and
support they need to provide their customers
with energy efficient lighting. The end goal of
this effort is to develop a strategic business
plan that will guide LDL programmatic
decisions through 2008.
Please contact Diana Grant, LDL project
manager at 1-800-354-3864, or Dune Ives,
eMI project manager at 206-621-1160 for
more information.
This fall, our regional class offerings include a
daylighting controls practicum developed as
part of the Lighting Research Centers Day-
lighting Dividends program. The Northwest
Energy Efficiency Alliance is a Partner with
the LRC, and we are providing this class as
part of that Partnership. This class is offered
in Seattle and Portland in collaboration with
the BetterBricks Daylighting Lab, the Energy
Studies in Buildings Lab, and the Energy Trust
of Oregon.
We are also delivering a class on emerging
technologies in lighting a new generation
of energy effective lamps, ballasts and lumi-
naires is hitting the marketplace and we want
to bring you the latest information on these
lighting trends.
Our old friend Mike Nelson of the WSU
Northwest Solar Center is presenting the lat-
est on contemporary solar design including
photovoltaic lighting systems.
Lastly, it is that time of year again time
to remind you to mark your calendars for our
annual Open House. This will be the 16th
time we invite you to drop in for a thought
provoking speaker, an exciting trade show
and a look at what is new this year in light-
ing.
keeping
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ylighting Controls Design
ylighting Controls Design
ylighting Controls Design
ylighting Controls Design
and Application Guide A
and Application Guide A
and Application Guide A
and Application Guide A
and Application Guide Available
vailable
vailable
vailable
vailable
Daylighting controls transform a day
lit area into an energy-saving
opportunity. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency estimates that
potential energy savings can exceed
40%. Furthermore, since peak
electrical load patterns tend to
parallel periods of the most plentiful
daylight, daylighting control is a
natural choice for load reduction.
An optimal daylighting control
system saves energy while being
virtually unnoticeable to the building
occupants. Lights dim without
distracting occupants, or switch off
when daylight levels increase so
that the light level change is not
noticeable.
In this guide youll find:
A decision matrix that helps
identify the best daylighting controls
for a specific project
Detailed steps for designing and
implementing a daylighting control
project:
Control system vs. stand-alone
controller
Creating control zones
Selecting a photocell location and
controller location
Establishing target setpoints
Startup, calibration and testing
Application examples for specific
building spaces
This guide is a free download from
www.wattstopper.com
lighting controls
for gyms.
b y E r i c S t r a n d b e r g L C
A
gymnasium is a space that may be used
infrequently throughout the day. I am fre-
quently disappointed when I see that the elec-
tric lights are on at full power and the space is
unoccupied. Leaving the lights on unnecessar-
ily wastes energy (and money), and increases
the maintenance frequency (also costing
money). There are two main types of lighting
that are frequently used in gymnasiums; high
intensity discharge (metal halide), and fluores-
cent (both the long tubes and compact fluores-
cent). Metal halide is difficult and expensive to
control easily whereas fluorescent is much
easier. The remainder of this article will as-
sume that fluorescent is the system that is be-
ing controlled.
Occupancy Sensors
The first level of automatic con-
trol that should be considered is
occupancy, and in a large open
volume like a gym, occupancy
control is fairly straightforward.
When the gym is vacant for a
pre-determined interval say, half
an hour, all or most of the lights
turn off. This saves energy and
keeps the lamps from burning
unnecessarily, thereby reducing
maintenance costs. There are
two main types of occupancy
sensors; infrared or ultrasonic
(there are also dual technology sensors that
combine both). Infrared works by line of sight
and is well suited for big open areas like gyms.
More than one is usually required for a space
the size of a gymnasium. However, if the space
will be occupied continuously on a regular ba-
sis and there is a trained custodial staff to turn
lights off after hours, then an automatic occu-
pancy control system may not save enough
power to pay for the installation and set up.
This question should be addressed early in the
design process.
Daylight Controls
Daylighting controls only make sense in a
space that is fairly well daylit, usually with sky-
lights. Controlling the electric lights based on
changing daylight contributions in the space
can yield considerable energy savings. This is
done by using a photocell to monitor light lev-
els either inside the gym or outside the build-
ing and then adjust the lights accordingly. If
the sensor is looking at light levels inside the
space it is called closed loop. If the sensor is
just looking at outside light levels it is called
open loop. Closed loop is best applied when
fine adjustment of the light levels is important
like in an office or a classroom. Many times fine
adjustments of light levels are not as critical, and
there is a fairly wide range of acceptable light lev-
els, like in a day lit atrium, mall concourse or a
gymnasium. In these cases, an open loop system
can be effectively used. Open loop systems tend to
be a considerably simpler to set up and commis-
sion.
The lamps in the fixtures can be dimmed,
switched off completely, or switched off separately.
Dimming has the advantage that lighting gradually
fades up or down and it is hardly noticeable. This
is important in areas like classrooms, meeting
rooms or offices, where having the lights abruptly
change would be very disruptive. A potential disad-
vantage of dimming is the increased cost of dim-
ming ballasts (although
their cost is coming down
every year). Switching can
be either all on/ all off, or,
stepped. In regions with a
majority of clear bright
days a very simple system
of just turning off all of the
lights in the main daylit
area should be looked at. A
few lights may want to be
left on in corners or in the
least daylit portion(s) to
avoid the perception of too
little light.
Stepped switching can be a cost-effective
choice for gyms. The advantage of stepped switch-
ing is that one does not have the expense of dim-
ming ballasts, but there is frequently the added
cost of more complex wiring to allow for varying
light levels. Careful planning and communication
with the supplier should minimize any rewiring in
the field. Another advantage of switching is that
when a light is switched off its power consumption
is zero, whereas most dimming ballasts still con-
sume a few watts even when dimmed down as far
as they will go. There are methods to switch off the
dimming ballasts when they are dimmed down,
but this adds to the cost & complexity of the sys-
tem.
If the Gym is a multi-purpose room as found
in, say, a grade school, one may also want to adjust
the lighting based on varying activities like sports,
assemblies, or performances. This would be an
added benefit of a multi-level control system, but is
not the focus of this article.
An expanded version of this article is available for a
free download in the Articles section of our
website, www.lightingdesignlab.com
...I am frequently
disappointed to see
the lights in day
lighted spaces on at
full power and the
space unoccupied. f a l l 2 0 0 5 l i g h t i n g d e s i g n l a b n e w s
new solar led lights
invading region.
3
keeping technology
straight.
S
o youve upgraded to T8 lamps and
electronic ballasts, life is good right?
Until one day you find that there are 34
watt T12 lamps in the T8 fixtures and you
wonder, is this a problem? We got that
question not to long ago, unfortunatel