COMMERCIAL LIGHTING

OVERVIEW

Unlike American homes, commercial spaces—grocery stores, offices, factories, hospitals and parking lots—often leave their lights on day and night. Even though these settings account for only 2% of the light bulbs in the U.S., they account for 17% of lighting energy use.¹ These kinds of spaces consumed 525,000 GWh of electricity on lighting alone in 2010.² Recent technological advances could save the U.S. tens or hundreds of thousands of GWh annually from this sector alone.³

ANALYSIS

Commercial lighting uses more efficient technologies than its residential counterpart. But because these bulbs are used for so many hours each day,⁴ there are still opportunities for improvements to further reduce energy costs and energy usage. Among the most promising of these are solid-state lighting, lighting controls, and daylighting.

With solid-state lighting, generally light emitting diodes (LEDs), energy can be saved without sacrificing either quantity or quality of light. Potentially two times more efficient than fluorescent lighting, and 50% more efficient than many streetlights,⁵ LEDs are still developing and unfortunately too expensive for many businesses.⁶

Lighting controls automatically adjust to actual use and conditions, saving up to 38% of the lighting energy usage for a facility,⁷ often with relatively low upfront investment.⁸ With only 31% of commercial facilities using controls,⁹ the energy savings potential from retrofits is significant,¹⁰ but the payback period often discourages investment.¹¹

While not an option for existing buildings, new construction can use daylighting—extensive use of skylights, windows, light pipes,¹² and other building features that bring sunlight inside—to replace a significant amount of lighting needs. Use of daylighting can reduce total building energy consumption by up to 20%,¹³ and it also has proven effects on productivity and morale.¹⁴ Unfortunately, building codes do little to encourage the practice, instead leading to the cheapest construction costs rather than the most efficient operation.¹⁵

IMPLEMENTATION

To encourage technology development, investment, and better building practices, several policies should be implemented.

Clear Regulatory Hurdles to Efficiency Bonds

Both solid-state lighting and lighting control adoption could benefit from commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans for retrofitting existing facilities. While roughly half the states have adopted commercial PACE enabling legislation,¹⁶ cohesive national legislation would ensure that this type of financing is available to all qualifying projects, estimated at nearly $200 billion.¹⁷ Because these bonds are issued by municipalities, there is little cost federally and states and localities retain control over impact.¹⁸

Set a National Standard for Efficient Commercial Lighting

DOE should adopt and implement national standards for efficient commercial lighting. Although there are many green building standards¹⁹ and certification programs for high-output LED lights,²⁰ these often vary on a state-by-state or utility-by-utility level. A consistent federal standard would enable utilities to more easily administer rebate programs. These utility rebates encourage reductions from large energy users and help lighting manufacturers develop energy-saving products that will qualify for rebates²¹.

Adopt Building Standards and Improvement Program

Daylighting should be included in the building code improvement and standardization covered in the Commercial Building Materials Component.

Create R&D Prizes for Cost Reduction

Covered in the Residential Lighting Component, incentivized development of solid state lighting would bring down costs and improve efficacy, making the most efficient lighting an easier choice for the commercial sector.