Illumination in Focus Spring 2014

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CONTACTS:
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1403IIF_C2 2 3/20/14 2:44 PM
LED lamps poised for steep growth
At the Strategies in Light (SIL) 2014 conference held in Santa Clara, CA over February 25–
27, the Strategies Unlimited analyst team delivered research updates on both LED compo-
nents and segments of the lighting market. Director of research Philip Smallwood focused
on the LED lighting market in general and the replacement lamps market in particular. LED
lamps are in the news constantly these days, and articles on that topic score highly with you
the readers. Still, the lamps market is in the earliest of stages with sharp growth coming but
socket saturation lurking.
LED lamp sales in 2013 totaled $4.8B (billion). That fgure includes A-lamps, refector
lamps such as PAR and BR bulbs, MR-16 lamps, and decorative products. It also includes
LED-based replacements for linear fuorescent tubes. Smallwood projects the total to grow to
$12.2B by 2018, a 21% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
Ironically, it’s the LED-based tubes that accounted for the second largest revenue to-
tal in 2013 despite the fact that the product category in general gets poor marks for replicat-
ing the light distribution of fuorescent tubes. But the tube sector is largely a business sec-
tor, and businesses have moved to LED-based lighting more quickly than consumers. LED
tube revenue was $1.2B in 2013 but Smallwood projects only 9% growth through 2018. I be-
lieve LED-based troffers sold as fxture replacements or in-
tegral upgrade kits will prove more popular, although there
are plenty of manufacturers pursuing the tube strategy. In-
deed, at SIL, startup Luxul Technology launched with plans
to manufacture tubes in the US that can work with existing
electronic ballasts.
In the more conventional lamp space, it was surprising
to learn that MR16 lamps led the A-lamp segment in 2013
with the sectors generating $1.7B and $1B, respectively. The
MR16 revenue was up sharply from well under $500 million
the prior year. Smallwood said that in part the growth was due to a very large sales volume
in Russia, although he also said those lamps were very low-cost products that also deliver
low-quality light and relatively short lifetimes. The growth forecast is 13% through 2018, al-
though the market will peak prior to that year as socket saturation hits.
The A-lamp sector is set for the largest growth curve at 39% CAGR with revenue pro-
jected at $5.2B in 2019. The market won’t surge this year but will hit a steep slope beginning
in 2015 and will still grow by almost $1B from 2017 to 2018.
Much of the A-lamp growth will come from the residential market. Smallwood pegs A-
lamp adoption as not even having reached the early adopter stage at this point. The potential
market is enormous; however, LED lamps will change the market dynamics dramatically.
Using a computational model based on homes and sockets per home, Smallwood said that
the world has been consuming 1.1B A-lamps per year for residential usage. Yet there were
only 14 million A-lamps sold in North America last year.
Lamps manufacturers need to stake out their turf quickly. Smallwood warned that the
available sockets will disappear quickly. And with LED product lifetimes, there won’t be a re-
placement required for years. ⊡
Maury Wright, Editor
[email protected]
Editorial
LED lamps
will see sharp
growth but
socket
saturation lurks
1 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
1403IIF_1 1 3/20/14 2:42 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 2
contents | features
7
5 17
9
15
10
8 | COVER STORY
Tunable LEDs soothe or
energize souls Design frm Tobias
Link created LED lighting installations
in a Zurich luxury residence, including
auto-themed lighting in a garage and a
soothing nature experience in the spa
area. Maury Wright
11 | CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Light+Building exhibits
reveal the latest in lighting
and controls The intersection
of art and light, adaptive controls
technologies, indoor lighting that can
enhance productivity, and better-
controlled outdoor lighting will headline
at Messe Frankfurt. Maury Wright
15 | DC GRIDS
Lighting systems
leverage DC distribution
for maximum effciency
Minimizing power conversions can
save energy in any electrical system,
and LED lighting is a good match
for a DC grid and also renewable
energy such as solar power in green
buildings. Maury Wright
19 | RENOVATION
Commercial LED retroft
justifes project with
market value increase
Consider both long-term energy
and maintenance savings and the
impact of LED lighting projects on
building market value to get a true
look at the cost of major retrofts.
Don McDougall, general manager,
Solid State Capital Services (SSCS)
1403IIF_2 2 3/20/14 2:43 PM
EDITORIAL 1
LED lamps poised for steep growth
MAURY WRIGHT
LIGHTBEAT 4
Soraa brings GaN-on-GaN LEDs
to AR111 lamps, adds high-CCT
MR16s
Cree develops 23,000-lm LED
high-bay luminaire
GE supplies Intrinsx-based planar
LED luminaires to US embassy in
Finland
departments
|
columns
MARCH/APRIL 2014 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1
www.illuminationinfocus.com
cover story | 8
Insta solid-state lighting paints
dynamic colors on foors and
ceilings in active locations
within a home while subtle
tunable lighting encourages rest
and relaxation in other areas.
A PennWel l Publ i cati on
TRENDING
Philips Lighting says that US GSA will
use SpaceWise; Cree and more controls
news The US Green Proving Ground program
will evaluate the SpaceWise LED luminaires
and wireless controls while Xeleum announced
the availability of its controls technology
and Cree entered the controls market.
illuminationinfocus.com/news/5/2/2
Acuity lights Circuit of The Americas
venue including ROAMview controls
New Austin, Texas racetrack and events
venue will get effcient metal halide lighting
including adaptive controls with lights
broken into 10 zones to support the
range of events planned for the facility.
illuminationinfocus.com/news/5/2/1
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Christine Shaw
& PUBLISHING DIRECTOR [email protected]
EDITOR Maury Wright
[email protected]
ASSOCIATE Carrie Meadows
EDITOR [email protected]
CONTRIBUTING Caroline Hayes
EDITOR [email protected]
MARKETING MANAGER Kimberly Ayer
PRESENTATION MANAGER Kelli Mylchreest
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Mari Rodriguez
SENIOR ILLUSTRATOR Christopher Hipp
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Debbie Bouley
EDITORIAL OFFICES PennWell Corporation,
Illumination in Focus
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(KOREA) [email protected]
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CORPORATE OFFICERS
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TECHNOLOGY GROUP
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Copyright © 2014 PennWell Corp (ISSN 2156-633X). All rights
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form without prior written consent of Publishers.
Photography: Tom Gundelwein
1403IIF_3 3 3/20/14 2:43 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 4
Soraa brings GaN-on-GaN LEDs to
AR111 lamps, adds high-CCT MR16s
Expanding beyond its MR16 base, Soraa has announced
the LED AR111 retrofit lamp family based on the com-
pany’s gallium-nitride-on-gallium-nitride (GaN-on-GaN)
LEDs that deliver uniform energy across the human visual
spectrum and a CRI of 95. The lamps debuted in Febru-
ary at the EuroShop retail-oriented trade fair in Düsseldorf,
Germany. The company also added to its Vivid 2 MR16
lamp family with 4000K- and 5000K-CCT lamps intended
to displace ceramic metal halide (CMH) and halogen light-
ing in gemstone and other high-end retail settings.
The AR111 product introduction marks the first time
that Soraa has offered a solid-state lighting (SSL) product
outside of the MR16 form factor, but apparently we can ex-
pect more from the company. “This year, we will expand
our portfolio beyond our award-winning MR16 GU5.3 and
GU10 lamps to create a full line of 4-in. lamps powered by
our GaN-on-GaN LED technology,” said Nick Farraway, se-
nior vice president, international at Soraa.
The new AR111 SSL design brings energy-efficiency
advantages to applications
for the larger lamps, and im-
proved lighting as well. At Eu-
roShop, Soraa demonstrated a
lamp with an 8° beam that delivers
980 lm with center beam candle power
(CBCP) of 27,500 cd. That performance is achieved with a
CRI of 95 and a R9 score of 95 for saturated red colors. At
80 CRI, Soraa will offer CBCP of 34,000 cd, performance it
said is double that of the competition.
Looking to the MR16 space, Soraa has added high-CCT
products after finding success with warm-CCT products
in applications such as hospitality. High-end retail applica-
tions, however, warrant lighting nearer natural sunlight.
Soraa said that the LED MR16s deliver the sunlight-like
quality without the UV emissions or beam striations com-
monly found with CMH and halogen lighting. And of course
the LED lamps deliver significant energy savings. Soraa CEO
Jeff Parker said, “Now with our 4000K and 5000K products,
you can bring the energizing feel of natural light indoors
without sacrificing light quality and compatibility.”
The higher-CCT lamps are initially available in Soraa’s
12V low-voltage product family. The 4000K and 5000K
family still deliver CRI of 95 and an R9 value above 90.
The company said that the products will find usage in a
broad set of retail applications, with jewelry stores being a
prime example of a setting where broad-spectrum white
light and high CRI can drive greater sales volumes. ⊡
MORE: illuminationinfocus.com/news/5/2/4
RETAI L LI GHTI NG
lightbeat
1403IIF_4 4 3/20/14 2:43 PM
HI GH- BAY LI GHTI NG
5 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
GE supplies Intrinsx-based planar LED
luminaires to US embassy in Finland
GE Lighting has announced that the renovated Innovation Center on
the grounds of the US embassy in Helsinki, Finland, installed planar GE
Lumination EP Series LED luminaires suspended from office ceilings.
The products use GE’s Intrinsx light-guide technology to realize a near-
transparent look in the off state while delivering both indirect ambient
light and task light when powered on. The Lumination EP series is
based on the Intrinsx technology that GE developed with intellectual
property licensed from Rambus.
The Innovation Center is home to numerous green and sustain-
able building practices. The embassy has attempted to use products
winning recognition in the Department of Energy’s Next Generation
Luminaires program throughout the facility. The project is registered
with the US Green Building Council with the goal of winning LEED
(Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Platinum status.
The project — including the office lighting — is winning praise,
however, for lighting quality in addition to energy savings. “Looking
at how we use resources more efficiently is not about sacrifice,” said
Bruce J. Oreck, the US Ambassador to Finland. “There is nothing about
this building or others like it that says we’ve had to cut corners, which
makes it less comfortable or less pleasing. We’ve achieved a better qual-
ity of light, the fixtures are more durable and require less service, and
at the same time they require 70–80% less energy — to me that’s about
smart thinking and not about sacrifice.” ⊡
More: illuminationinfocus.com/news/4/12/9
5
PLANAR LI GHTI NG
Cree develops
23,000-lm LED
high-bay luminaire
The recently announced CXB High Bay
LED luminaire is Cree’s first product in
the high-bay sector that is targeted at
warehouse, industrial, retail, gymna-
sium, and convention-center applica-
tions. Cree says that in one-for-one re-
placement scenarios relative to HID or
multi-lamp fluorescent fixtures, the new
solid-state lighting (SSL) high bay will
cut energy usage in half and require little
or no maintenance for 70,000 hours.
Cree chose to enter the high-bay sec-
tor because of the opportunity in retro-
fit projects. The US Department of En-
ergy (DOE) has reported that there are
67 million high-bay luminaires installed
in the US alone. At this time less than
1% of the installed fixtures are SSL prod-
ucts with the majority being metal halide
(MH), and the remainder fluorescent.
Cree believes that its LED-based product
will win out over the incumbents.
“We’re coming into the market with
the highest lumens-per-dollar product
on the market today,” said Greg Dixon,
product portfolio manager at Cree. Cree
expects the 23,000-lm fixture to sell for
less than $400. The luminaire delivers
efficacy of 100 lm/W. The CXB product
looks very much like an MH high-bay
with a 16-in. aluminum reflector. The
product has a 4000K CCT and 70 CRI.
Cree said the product is comparable to
continued on p. 7
1403IIF_5 5 3/20/14 2:43 PM
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1403IIF_6 6 3/20/14 2:43 PM
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400W MH fixtures or six-lamp T5/HO or T8 fluores-
cent fixtures. Dixon said that the LED lamps can even
be spaced at 1.4 times the density of standard 400W
MH fixtures in new construction or in cases where a
building owner wanted to minimize fixture count.
To illustrate the capabilities of the product, Cree
provided two prototypical comparative scenarios each
involving 15 fixtures. In both cases the scenario in-
cluded a 28-ft ceiling, but in one instance the target
was 50–60 fc and in the other the target was 20–30
fc. That resulted in 20×17-ft and 30×30-ft spacing,
respectively. Cree compared the 230W CXB against
400W MH, 400W pulse-start MH, 361W T5/HO,
and 222W T8 fixtures. Note that the actual power
consumption on the MH fixtures with a ballast is in
the 450W to 455W range.
The CXB fixture delivers 56.1 and 24.02 fc in the
two target scenarios. That performance is better than
the standard MH fixtures and within 2–6 fc of the
pulse-start MH and T5 fixtures. The T8 fixture can’t
meet the minimum fc requirements.
Cree followed up the photometric comparison
with a ten-year financial analysis of such a 15-fixture
installation. In the MH case, a building owner would
need to replace 34 lamps over ten years, incurring
$1500 in lamps and labor cost and the inconvenience
of disturbing workflow. The LED fixtures would de-
liver $19,000 in annual energy savings based on
12 hours of use per day and the national average of
$0.11/kWh in electrical cost. Cree says that payback
occurs in three years. A similar comparison against
T5/HO fixtures results in a four-year payback. ⊡
MORE: illuminationinfocus.com/news/5/1/4
1403IIF_7 7 3/20/14 2:43 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 8
Tunable LEDs
soothe or
energize souls
By Maury Wright
Design frm Tobias Link created LED
lighting installations in a Zurich luxury
residence, including auto-themed
lighting in a garage and a soothing
nature experience in the spa area.
We most often discuss LED lighting rel-
ative to energy savings, but solid-state
lighting (SSL) technology enables proj-
ects that couldn’t be realized practically
with legacy sources. Consider the Zu-
rich, Switzerland private residence that
graces our cover. The Tobias Link design
frm utilized color-tunable LED-based
products to enable an ambience and a
theme matched to the uses of both a ga-
rage/entertainment space and a pool/spa
area. In this instance, controls are used
to programmatically deliver the intended
experience as opposed to boosting en-
ergy effciency, although the use of LED
lighting makes such a project feasible in
terms of energy usage.
The two areas of the residence use
very similar lighting technologies, but
the installations deliver dramatically
different experiences. The garage area
delivers an energetic vibe while the spa
area is meant to soothe in all of the pro-
gram choices.
The garage area was designed both to
accommodate the homeowner’s automo-
biles and to serve sporadically as an ex-
hibition space and to host events. Tobias
Link delivered an auto-themed design
in which ceiling light patterns resemble
roadways or even a racetrack. The de-
signer said that the system even directs
autos into the appropriate places similar
to the way taxiways direct airport traffc.
The RGB (red, green, blue) enabled
fxtures were installed on the low ceil-
ing and in coves and deliver uniform
yet dynamic lighting across the ceiling.
The delivered intent was to make the
ceiling appear “paper thin,” according
to the designers.
While the theme was meant to
provide a Formula One vibe, the design
actually mixes past and futuristic ele-
ments. Tobias Link installed some his-
toric luminaires to create synergy with
some of the vintage autos in the home-
owner’s collection of sports cars.
Wellness area
In the wellness area, the challenge was
creating a nature-centric theme with
a variety of programs that deliver spe-
cifc scenarios, all of which are meant
to invoke a soothing atmosphere. The
wellness area includes shower rooms,
changing rooms, and massage rooms.
The open pool area includes a sauna/
Design
1403IIF_8 8 3/20/14 2:43 PM
9 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
Color-tunable
LED-based lighting
enables an auto-
themed design
in which ceiling
patterns resemble
roadways or
racetracks in the
garage, which
is not only used
to house the
homeowners’
vehicles but also to
entertain guests.
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1403IIF_9 9 3/20/14 2:43 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 10
steam bath, a scented fountain, and an
adventure shower that delivers a mix
of water features, programmable scents,
and programmed sound tracks.
The indoor area looks out upon the
Alps and that setting provided the im-
petus for the nature theme. The primary
component of the design concept is the
wave-shaped sculpture located above
the pool that was constructed with
wood beams. RGB lighting installed on
top of the beams delivers the dynamic
light show indirectly with the ceiling as
the canvas.
The designers programmed the sys-
tem to deliver four themes: heat of the
lava stream, cool ocean current, fresh
fowery meadow, and white light. The
concept supports a cooler theme for a
hot summer day or a warmer theme
for a cold March/April night. The de-
sign also uses unobtrusive vertical white
light in niches that was carefully in-
stalled not to infringe on the dynamic
lighting while providing functional am-
bient illumination.
The Zurich project uses LEDLUX
Linear LX fxtures from Insta Elektro
GmbH. The linear fxtures can be con-
fgured into continuous runs ranging
from about 3m to 23m. Insta also of-
fers fexible versions of the fxtures in
lengths to 5m and that capability was
key for the garage design.
Tobias Link implemented the con-
trol system as well as combining a range
of technologies and products. The sys-
tem uses the European Installation Bus
to connect all the various components.
The DMX protocol carries the control
data. And equipment and software from
Traxon’s E:Cue business unit (an Osram
company) was used to control the light-
ing system. ⊡
The wellness area invokes a nature-inspired spa experience by using
programmable RGB lighting that delivers light shows based on lava
stream, ocean current, fower meadow, and white light themes.
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1403IIF_10 10 3/20/14 2:43 PM
11 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
Light+Building exhibits
reveal the latest in
lighting and controls
Preview
The intersection of art and light, innovative adaptive controls technologies, indoor lighting that
delivers superior quality that can enhance productivity, and more-effcient and better-controlled
outdoor lighting will headline in the exhibition space at the mammoth Messe Frankfurt.
By Maury Wright
The Light+Building trade fair is scheduled for March 30
through April 4, 2014 in Frankfurt, Germany. The theme for
the year is “Explore technology for life — the best energy is
the energy that is not consumed.” Indeed, energy effciency is
a prevalent requirement in the building industry and lighting
is one of the largest consumers of energy in fnished commer-
cial spaces. Sub-themes for the mega event include intelligent
sustainability, smart powered buildings, and people and light.
Upwards of 2500 exhibitors will show their latest wares
at Light+Building. Some of the stands will feel like the size
of a small village. And making your way around the halls
will feel more like rush hour in New York City than a visit
to a trade show. But the exhibit will reveal the very latest in
lighting technology.
Given the effciency theme, you can assume that LED-
based lighting will be almost universal in the lighting exhib-
its. But solid-state lighting (SSL) alone will not deliver the sav-
ings needed by a growing world. Expect that the exhibitors
will show the very latest in control technologies that can truly
maximize the energy savings in lighting systems. Controls
and LEDs will also deliver better lighting. The advantages
range from better focused light and the right CCT for opti-
mum worker productivity to tunable colors and white color
temperatures to increase our wellbeing. Also expect the dra-
matic as art and light meet. The products featured in the
following pages deliver a preview of what can be expected
at Messe Frankfurt.
Cini&Nils ceiling-mounted FormLa
confgurable elements
FormLa looks like art, but Cini&Nils says that the
confgurable ceiling version of the product is designed to
contribute to human wellbeing. The health benefts come
from confgurable forms that can span an entire ceiling,
creating a relaxed environment with diffused indirect
light. The company realized the product using individual
geometric elements with the LED lighting installed as
fexible strips that enable the artistic shapes.
1403IIF_11 11 3/20/14 2:43 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 12
Zumtobel Sequence LED luminaire
Targeting offce lighting, the Zumtobel Sequence
linear product family can be pendant or surface
mounted and is designed with an LED lighting
distribution that the company says will empower
employees’ productivity. Zumtobel offers the
products in 1.2m and 2.1m versions with the light
provided by rectangular modular LED arrays.
Optics applied to each 6×3 array determine the
light-distribution characteristics. Generally the
outer modules on either end of a fxture are used
to provide diffuse indirect-like ambient light while
the inner modules deliver direct task light. The
fxture also includes a DALI (digital addressable
lighting interface) capable driver.
Cree Edge High Output
outdoor SSL family
Cree is using its Light+Building presence
to launch the Cree Edge High Output
(HO) LED outdoor luminaire family to the
European market. The 5000K CCT products
are available with CRI as high as 90 and
in outputs to 75,000 lm. The product was
announced in North America last October and
has been installed in color-critical applications
such as auto dealer lots (illuminationinfocus.
com/news/4/10/12). The Cree lighting
products will share the exhibit area with LED
and other enabling technologies. In particular,
Cree will feature its LMH2 SSL module with
Sunset Dimming.
GlacialLight AR111 Square gimbal housing kit
Designed to host the company’s AR111 LED retroft lamps, the square housing includes
a double-gimbal mechanical design that can enable downlight installations with the
adjustments possible on two axes. The 190×190×130-mm housing is built from steel
with aluminum trim and weighs 470g. GlacialLight said the housing is designed for use in
hotel, restaurant, and residential applications, and is designed to replace halogen lighting.
The Vega Series AR111 LED lamps come in a variety of beam patterns and GlacialLight
designed the housing for those bulbs, although the housing could be used with most any
AR111 retroft lamp.
1403IIF_12 12 3/20/14 2:43 PM

13 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
GE Lighting Evolve LED scalable area light
In area lighting, it’s become increasingly important to both
provide outstanding vertical illuminance to support people
or object recognition while also delivering uniform horizontal
illuminance on the ground or parking surface. The GE
Lighting Evolve LED scalable area light is designed for just
such performance while also minimizing glare based on an
architecture that combines lens and refector optics with LED
sources. In a parking area scenario, the design supports 5:1
pole spacing with light output packages ranging to 35,000 lm.
The refector based design, however, eliminates light spill behind
the pole when required.
Lutron Quantum and
EcoSystem controls
Lutron’s Light+Building exhibit will be focused
on the company’s adaptive control technologies
built around the EcoSystem wired network and
the Quantum Total Light Management System.
EcoSystem is an enhanced version of DALI that
Lutron supports with drivers, luminaires, sensors,
and control systems; and compatible luminaires
are offered by lighting vendors such as Cree and
GE Lighting.
Verbatim Natural Vision
LED candle lamps
Candelabra-style LED retroft lamps have been
problematic in general due to space constraints, and
even such products that have used legacy sources
have lacked the charm of real candles. Verbatim is
addressing that issue with a new multi-emitter RGB LED
integrated into the company’s Natural Vision VxRGB LED
lamps. The LED combination allows the lamps to deliver
the 1900K CCT common to a candle fame. The 2.5W
candelabra products are designed for use in chandeliers
or even table settings. Verbatim will also demonstrate the
technology in MR16 retroft lamps. The RGB emitters will
allow such products to deliver CRI as high as 97.
Megaman wireless controls and
LED lighting
The Light+Building Megaman exhibit will be
focused on rolling out smart lighting and
controls technology to support its broad
range of LED retroft lamps and fxtures that
use those lamps. Leading up to the event,
the company wouldn’t detail the control
offering but said it would support installations
ranging from Bluetooth control of lamps with
a smartphone to comprehensive wireless
networks that enable building-level controls.
Specifcally, the company said it supports
installations such as the conference room
pictured nearby. The featured luminaires in the
exhibit will be the Solid LED pendants from
New Zealand designer David Trubridge with
Megaman dimmable 6W PAR16 GU1O lamps
in the sockets.
1403IIF_13 13 3/20/14 2:43 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 14
Targetti in-grade Keplero
outdoor LED fxture
Designed to deliver dramatic uplight for architectural
features such as in the striking residence pictured,
the Targetti Keplero in-grade fxtures are available in
Zoom and Gimbal models. The Zoom version includes
a mechanical adjustment in the fxture that allows the
luminaire to produce four different beam distributions
from one LED source. Indeed, the luminaire can produce
soft, food, medium-wide food, and wide food patterns
using a mechanical design that delivers three degrees
of freedom. Ultimately the Zoom can deliver patterns as
wide as 20° as well as the ability to adjust the direction
of the beam virtually parallel to the grade in which the
fxture is mounted. The Gimbal unit can be specifed
with different LED light engines with four LEDs that can
deliver spot, super-spot, food, and even rectangular
beam patterns.
ETAP LED luminaires and
emergency lighting
ETAP Lighting will demonstrate a variety of product
types at Light+Building including the slim linear LEDA
pendant fxtures that can be confgured in a variety
of patterns including crisscross. But the emergency
SSL-based products are sure to garner interest. For
example, the company will introduce the new tiny Mini
LED module pictured that measures 20 mm in diameter.
The LED module is meant to be recessed in the ceiling,
virtually disappearing among other ceiling lighting
products. Yet the module can deliver the functional light
needed in an offce during an emergency. ETAP will also
demonstrate new K4 emergency lighting panels based
on OLED technology. Lighting controls and tunable LED
technology for human-centric lighting will round out the
demonstrations.
Osram ARKTIKA-P LED linear
pendant luminaire
The ARKTIKA-P pendant luminaire uses low-power Duris E3
LEDs from Osram Opto Semiconductors to achieve glare-free
offce lighting intended to optimize productivity for workers using computers
for extended periods. The unique design places the LEDs into hexagonal refective
cavities that control the wide beam distribution from the emitters. The tiny LEDs also enable
an aesthetically-pleasing look with the fxture less than 8 mm deep. At Light+Building, Osram will also
demonstrate an LED A-lamp that appears to have a flament and looks nearly identical to an incandescent
bulb. The LED Superstar lamp could virtually pass for an incandescent even with a clear diffuser globe. OLED
panels and PrevaLED fexible LED strips will also be featured in the exhibit.
1403IIF_14 14 3/20/14 2:43 PM
FIG. 1. LED lighting powered
directly from a DC grid run
through a drop-ceiling frame
helps boost effciency at the
room or building level.
15 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
Minimizing
power
conversions can
save energy in
any electrical
system, and
LED lighting is a
good match for
a DC grid and
also renewable
energy such as
solar power in
green buildings.
By Maury Wright
Lighting systems
leverage DC
distribution for
maximum effciency
Driven by energy cost, the lighting in-
dustry sector has been on an energy-ef-
fciency mission, going back more than
half a century to the broad deployment
of fuorescent lighting in commercial
settings, and gaining in earnest in the
1980s with the development of the com-
pact fuorescent lamp (CFL). Increas-
ingly, however, it’s become clear that
minimizing energy usage goes far be-
yond the light source. Indeed, we have
regularly covered controls that can
compound savings through occupancy
sensing and dimming. The opportu-
nity for better effciency also extends to
the power grid both inside and outside
of buildings and to renewable sources
such as solar. Let’s discuss how DC-grid
technology can deliver signifcant en-
ergy savings, especially when combined
with inherently effcient LED sources.
The broad topic of DC versus AC
grids is beyond our scope here, but if
we look inside a commercial building
DC grid
1403IIF_15 15 3/20/14 2:43 PM
AC branch power
DC ceiling
grid
Occupancy and
daylight sensors
HVAC
actuator
AV devices
and security
IT wireless
access device
Power supply
Lights
Room
controls
Optional on-site DC power
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 16
the opportunities for DC distribution
become clear (Fig. 1). There are two pri-
mary reasons that now may be the time
for DC power distribution in buildings.
First, we can minimize the number of
lossy power conversions with a DC grid.
Second, renewable sources such as solar
panels produce DC power. And despite
the relatively low conversion effciency
of solar panels, they can power effcient
LED fxtures.
Energy losses
Power conversions inherently result in
power lost as heat. Conversions happen
in AC/DC power supplies that also may
convert voltage level, and in DC/DC
power supplies that only convert volt-
age level. Note that the so-called driver
used in LED lighting is simply a con-
stant-current power supply. Generally
more conversions equate to greater en-
ergy lost, and larger level changes are
less effcient than smaller level changes.
Today, the bulk of our devices that
require power in homes and businesses
need DC power. Nicole Bopp, direc-
tor of marketing at Nextek Power Sys-
tems, said that ultimately 80% of the
watts used in the home power DC
loads. Indeed, mobile phones to PCs
to fat-panel TVs could be powered di-
rectly by DC. In commercial buildings,
you can add the power-hogging IT data
centers to the list. All of these DC de-
vices require power-wasting converters
to operate.
Legacy lighting, however, has been
able to operate directly from the AC
line. But that lighting has been itself
ineffcient and the reason that light-
ing consumes somewhere around 30%
of the total energy used in the United
States. LEDs promise to slash the en-
ergy use attributable to lighting in gen-
eral and DC power distribution can en-
hance overall effciency.
EMerge Alliance
There is an organization promoting DC
power distribution in the US called the
EMerge Alliance (www.emerge
alliance.org) that is sup-
ported by large companies rang-
ing from lighting manufacturers to
major players in the IT sector. The or-
ganization has been primarily focused
on DC distribution for data centers and
lighting in commercial buildings. Brian
Patterson of Armstrong World Indus-
tries and chair of the EMerge Alliance
said that those applications would de-
liver the most in energy savings with
a transition to DC distribution. More
recently, the EMerge Alliance also an-
nounced that it will push adoption of
DC distribution for homes and small
businesses to support applications such
as rooftop solar, LED lighting, and elec-
tric vehicle charging.
The EMerge Alliance
has gained signifcant
momentum in the lighting
industry and has had a
major presence at Lightfair
International (LFI)
for several years. This
past spring at LFI, the
organization announced
that it had reached 100
member companies
(http://bit.ly/1hafUPG).
There are compliant
products available from
industry leaders such as
Acuity Brands, Osram
Sylvania, Philips, and
many more. You can
fnd a complete list of
registered products on the
FIG. 2. The EMerge Alliance
has developed standards for
DC power technology for both
lighting systems and IT data
centers.
1403IIF_16 16 3/20/14 2:43 PM
17 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
FIG. 3. A growing number of
fxtures offer EMerge compliance,
including this Acuity Brands
troffer fxture.
alliance website (http://bit.ly/1fS7EHj).
In a typical scenario based on
EMerge standards, a single power sup-
ply might power as many as 100 LED-
based fxtures via a 24V DC bus (Fig.
2). The power supply can accept an AC
input in a typical commercial space
that is already wired for AC, or a DC
input when there is an enterprise DC
grid or power from a solar system.
Nextek has a product with dual inputs
that can operate from solar when that
power is available and seamlessly swap
to AC when the sun goes down.
In this article we won’t dig deeper
into the details of how a DC grid oper-
ates, but you can fnd more of that in-
formation in a feature article that ran
last summer in LEDs Magazine (http://
bit.ly/1mlBLom). Here we will concen-
trate on the advantages of DC, the po-
tential of solar power, and some actual
product and deployment examples.
DC advantages
The advantages of a DC grid certainly
start with the aforementioned effciency
gained through fewer power conver-
sions, although there are also signif-
cant logistic advantages. The Class-2
low-voltage wiring that connects fx-
tures is far simpler in installations rela-
tive to AC systems where conduit must
be run to each fxture. Indeed, in a DC
scenario, a building owner could mod-
ify room lighting without the need for
an electrician.
The 24V bus can even be run di-
rectly in a drop-ceiling grid frame. For
example, Armstrong offers the DC
FlexZone system in both the Suprafne
T-bar and Silhouette product lines. The
main beams carry the DC bus power
and are used with standard cross tees
and other drop-ceiling accessories. A
simple connector and short cable at-
tach to the main beam then connect to
the lighting fxture. In such an installa-
tion, fxtures can be easily moved and
rearranged to match changes in an of-
fce space.
Luminaires can be
mounted directly on the
FlexZone frame. For ex-
ample, spotlights can be
mounted to the grid almost
as if it were a track fx-
ture (Fig. 4). JLC-Tech of-
fers a series of different T-
bar LED products that are
linear in nature and essen-
tially become part of the
grid. Fig. 1 depicts such an
installation at the offces of
AWeber Communications
in Chalfont, Pennsylvania
(http://bit.ly/1aFackK).
The system also supports
standard recessed trof-
fer fxtures including both
LED-based products and
fuorescent fxtures. Fig. 3 depicts an
Acuity troffer that is compatible with
EMerge standards and FlexZone ceil-
ings. The effciency advantages of a DC
grid also apply to fuorescent instal-
lations, but fewer fuorescent fxtures
can be powered by an EMerge power
channel because generally fuorescent
fxtures require more power than do
LED fxtures.
Renewable energy
Proponents argue that DC grid tech-
nology offers suffcient advantages
that a transition to DC is warranted at
some level purely based on the previ-
ously discussed elimination of lossy
power conversions and the logis-
tics advantages. Ultimately, however,
the good match between renewable
sources and a DC grid might be the
piece of the puzzle that leads to broad
deployment. When it comes to light-
ing, LED technology is a key piece of
that puzzle as well.
While it’s commonplace across the
US and in many places around the
globe to see solar panels on roofs and
wind turbines in both urban and rural
areas, renewable sources are far from
a perfect solution to energy issues. En-
ergy sources such as wind and solar
are diffuse, and therefore we need large
FIG. 4. The Armstrong FlexZone DC grid
ceiling allows direct attachment of luminaires.
1403IIF_17 17 3/20/14 2:43 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 18
areas to capture suffcient energy. Cap-
turing and storing such energy remains
more expensive than using fossil fuels.
There is a very good article on the chal-
lenges on The Energy Collective website
(http://bit.ly/1mvW99a).
Still, as prices for products such as
solar panels drop, it becomes increas-
ingly more realistic to use roof-top solar
locally to power a home or commercial
building. In the case of solar, the chal-
lenge remains effciency. Panels today
are still limited to effciency ratings be-
low 15%.
But it’s the mating of a renewable
source with energy-effcient technolo-
gies that can pay off at the building level.
Terry Walsh, president and CEO of
lighting manufacturer Tempo Industries,
refers to “LED lighting technology as
symbiotic and enabling when used with
other ‘clean tech’ technologies.”
At The LED Show in August 2013,
Walsh said, “LEDs breathe life into so-
lar.” His point was that LED lighting
is effcient enough to be powered by
localized solar energy, especially when
combined with controls. In such cases
with controls, Walsh more recently
said a solid-state lighting (SSL) instal-
lation can deliver 80–90% energy sav-
ings compared to legacy lighting sys-
tems. He added, “It is reasonable and
achievable to potentially see a park-
ing garage, for instance, drop its power
requirements enough to go off grid.”
The DC grid adds to the renewable
potential.
LEED platinum example
Given the advantages we’ve discussed,
it’s a fair question to ask why there
aren’t readily-available examples of
real-life installations, and why broad
deployment hasn’t begun. In the case
of EMerge-compliant products, 2013
marked the frst time there were truly
suffcient numbers of lighting, power
supply, and accessory products to sup-
port a commercial-scale project with
diverse lighting needs.
Still, at least one major project came
on line in 2013 that uses a DC grid
and solar technology along with a host
of other green practices. In early 2013,
PNC Bank opened a new branch of-
fce in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that the
company said exceeds LEED (Lead-
ership in Energy and Environmental
FIG. 5. A PNC Bank branch achieved net-zero energy usage by combining
energy-saving technologies including LED fxtures, adaptive controls, solar
power, and a DC grid.
FIG. 6. The PNC branch includes 211 solar panels mounted on the main
building and other structures.
continued on page 23
1403IIF_18 18 3/20/14 2:43 PM
19 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
Consider both
long-term
energy and
maintenance
savings and the
impact of LED
lighting projects
on building
market value to
get a true look
at the cost of
major retrofts.
Commercial LED
retroft justifes
project with market
value increase
Don McDougall, general manager,
Solid State Capital Services (SSCS)
The prime barrier to broader deploy-
ment of LED-based lighting remains
high upfront costs despite the energy
and maintenance savings that a retro-
ft can deliver over many years. There
are a growing number of fnancing
options for lighting projects, but still
building owners struggle to justify ma-
jor renovations. Lighting manufactur-
ers, designers/specifers, and build-
ing owners, however, must understand
that solid-state lighting (SSL) retrofts
are not akin to legacy lighting projects.
High-quality LED lighting can deliver
real capital improvement, measurable
in building market value that can jus-
tify many projects.
Solid State Capital services (SSCS)
completed a project for one of the larg-
est property owners in Los Angeles
County. The lighting retroft that they
completed cost them $60,000. The en-
ergy savings and other benefts gave
this project a 30-month payback or re-
turn on investment (ROI). This client
arranged to pay for the lighting and in-
stallation over time and so the proj-
ect was effectively cash-fow positive
the frst year. The savings exceeded the
amortized costs.
The above story is becoming rela-
tively commonplace in the lighting in-
dustry as LED-based products improve
in quality and drop in price. The most
important beneft to this client was the
increase in market value to the prop-
erty. The savings in energy usage were
so pronounced that the property’s mar-
ket value was increased by $426,000.
The capital improvement view
All too often an LED lighting retroft
is seen as an expenditure or a mainte-
nance issue. In fact, such a project is
a capital improvement that increases
the market value of the property. Like
with any capital project, building own-
ers should use quality products to en-
sure that they realize the highest return
on investment (ROI). Ironically, spend-
ing more money upfront can be a good
thing. Cheap products equal poor ROI.
Consider the previous example: The
energy usage for the lighting has been
cut by almost 80%. That energy re-
duction equates to $40,000 per year
Renovation
1403IIF_19 19 3/20/14 2:43 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 20
in reduced operating costs. What is
$40,000 per year worth when you cal-
culate the discounted cash fow of the
property? Everyone calculates market
values in their own way, based on their
own concerns about risk and reward
and the never-ending debate about cap
and discount rates. This client calcu-
lated the increase in value at $426,000.
In any such projects, the building
owner will have to consider local is-
sues such as utility rates and local reg-
ulatory concerns. For example, in Cal-
ifornia, the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC) recently approved
an increase in utility rates and that data
must be factored into longer-term sav-
ings. California is also faced with look-
ing at higher than average energy costs
to meet mandated green energy usage.
Add this to the fact that the State is de-
commissioning one if not two major
nuclear plants and you can see the rea-
sons for the increased utility rates and
the reason for sizeable increases in
market value for renovated property.
Restaurant example
Let’s contemplate some other real exam-
ples that SSCS has worked on. A chain
of 40 family-style restaurants completed
a similar LED retroft. While each store
gained only a little more than $120,000
in value, the increase in value to the
chain as a whole was in excess of $4.8
million. Fig. 1 depicts the breakdown in
savings for the restaurant chain attribut-
able to the lighting retroft.
Single-property owners and lessees
can also beneft. A warehouse distri-
bution company in Hawaii installed a
cutting-edge LED fxture from Tempo
Industries that is a linear replacement
for fuorescent lighting. The annual
savings was $79,000 per year. Remem-
ber Hawaii has an energy rate of $0.37/
kWh. But the increase in benefts had
to be discounted as the lease only has
another 10 years to go. That said, the
initial beneft to this client is $650,000
in market value for the company, and
an enhancement to the property to be
used to barter when the lease comes up
for renewal.
This last example is interesting in
that the company assisting in set-
ting up and selecting the new light-
ing chose the Tempo C7 CliP (Confgu-
rable Lighting Platform) system (Fig. 2).
Parking garage retrofts, such as
this project using luminaires from
Acuity’s Tersen brand, can increase
the capital value of real estate and
help justify the expense of an LED
lighting project.
1403IIF_20 20 3/20/14 2:43 PM
Energy
HVAC
Material Labor
Chain restaurant
The raceway housing
includes multiple
industry standard
mounting options
Raceway
housing
Light engine with
integrated driver -
Hangers simplify
maintenance
21 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
FIG. 1. A breakdown of the savings
for a restaurant chain attributable
to an LED lighting retroft.
Tempo just announced new products
in the CliP family that are designed to
deliver L90 lifetime (90% of initial lu-
mens) of 86,000 hours. That equates to
ten years of continuous usage. Tempo
said that the intent with product life is
to match and even deliver longer-than-
typical-interval building retrofts with
normal usage patterns.
The point about the 86,000-hour
rated life is how maintenance savings
also impact building value. The ability
to reduce the lighting maintenance cost
effectively to zero for the next 20 years
in an active work environment was one
of the selling points in the Hawaii proj-
ect and factored heavily into the build-
ing value.
Calculating market value
So how do you calculate the increase in
value to a property due to the increase
in cash fow from an LED lighting ret-
roft? There are two methods — one
of them easy, the other more complex.
SSCS prefers to run a DCF (Discounted
Cash Flow) model on the increased in-
come stream. This takes some work
and some knowledge of the property
owner’s plans for the property and
aversion to risk.
The easy method is to simply take
the annual savings and multiply it by a
rate of return. There are a lot of fancy
names for how you do this, but let’s
just keep it simple. The number is gen-
erally between a factor of 6 and 10. So
$10,000 in savings per year can mean
$60,000 to $100,000 in increased mar-
ket value.
You can argue that this is too simple
an explanation or that the range is too
broad. The fact is that most property
owners have a number in their heads
that they expect to use. We feel the
DCF is more accurate, but sometimes
you just need a place to start. Our
thought is that anything that is a 10X
multiple is probably too big an increase,
but everyone calculates the value dif-
ferently; when you remember that util-
ity costs are not likely to drop anytime
soon, the decision can be more com-
plex than it frst seems.
There are many other elements that
can help justify an SSL retroft and
that can impact market value. For ex-
ample, SSCS provides EPAct (Energy
Policy Act) certifcations, 1245/1250
depreciation calculations, abandon-
ment cost tax accounting, and ROI as-
sistance. We also work with clients’
utility providers to maximize the utility
rebate. Maximizing such rebates can be
more challenging that you might think.
Characterizing savings
We should also address determination
of the savings in a project. Knowing that
savings can create an increase in mar-
ket value is great, but how do you proj-
ect your savings? The savings come from
several sources as we have discussed ca-
sually throughout the article, including
the inclusion of the example charts for
different business types.
Energy savings is sometimes the only
calculation that is considered. Energy
usage can be very important. But fo-
cusing solely on energy is a mistake. In
some cases energy is not even the pri-
mary source of savings.
Nevertheless, let’s consider projec-
tion of energy savings. You simply take
the usages of your current fxtures and
compare those to the proposed new sys-
tem. That comparison provides a real-
istic look at a one-year projection. Then
FIG. 2. Tempo Industries’ CliP lighting products are designed to deliver L90
lifetime (90% of initial lumens) of 86,000 hours, with the possibility to deliver
longer-than-typical-interval building retrofts with normal usage patterns.
1403IIF_21 21 3/20/14 2:44 PM
Energy
HVAC
Material
Labor
Gaming foor
Energy
HVAC
Material
Labor
Auto dealer
MARCH/APRIL 2014 www.illuminationinfocus.com Illumination In Focus 22
we look historically at the increase in the
cost of power for the location at hand.
The historical look requires both a na-
tional and regional evaluation. For ex-
ample, we have used a 4% infation
rate in cases. But the move away from
coal and the mandated switch to green
sources will move this number up —
in some states to double digits. Where
we can show support for a different in-
fation rate, we use those numbers.
Building owners should also con-
sider controls. But you may not know
what ya got or don’t have, and what
you are going to get in the future. LEDs
don’t suffer degradation from the inte-
gration of controls like fuorescents do
where dimmed light levels don’t deliver
commensurate energy savings. Build-
ing or facility owners must calculate
their own numbers and double-check
the savings touted by lighting vendors
under consideration.
Moreover, the impact on controls
varies greatly by application. For a
parking garage with 24/7 usage, the
percentage of savings can exceed 90%
of the initial energy cost, relative to a
non-LED system without controls.
The impact of LEDs on the HVAC
system should also be fgured in. Fluo-
rescent lights give off more heat than
you may recognize. Remove the fuo-
rescents and you lose that extra heat.
How much can LEDs impact an
HVAC bill? Optimally a building will
realize 33% of the energy savings as a
beneft. That is, for every watt you save
in lighting you save an additional one-
third of a watt in reduced HVAC draw.
The best candidates for this full bonus
are facilities that use a lot of energy for
their AC. Some facilities may not have
HVAC — for instance, a parking garage
or open warehouse. In these cases there
would be zero HVAC bonus savings.
Still, building owners can calculate the
HVAC energy bonus, and it is real and
tangible. Don’t forget to include it in
your calculation.
Maintenance savings
Last, we will address the complex
topic of maintenance savings. LED
lighting systems last longer than
fuorescents and so owners save in
two areas: the cost of the replacement
lamps and the labor cost of replacing
the bulbs and ballasts.
There is more to the cost of replac-
ing bulbs than just these two compo-
nents. Consider a casino where chang-
ing out a single lamp can cost $5,000
or more. The casino must add in the
cost of bringing in a lift, cording off the
area, readjusting security, and the loss
of revenue as people stop playing slots
to watch the exciting bulb replacement.
Casinos track the revenue of each slot
and game over time. The costs of re-
placing lamps are well documented.
Fig. 3 depicts the casino savings break-
down. Some casinos will consider the
$5,000 cost to be conservative. Many
other businesses also suffer unexpect-
edly high maintenance costs.
Some businesses proactively manage
the maintenance process. An upscale
automotive dealership will use group re-
lamping to control the costs. Dozens of
cars need to be removed from the show-
room and then brought back in, so the
cost can be signifcant. A $3,000 charge
per re-lamping is not unexpected and
you may see this done more than twice
per year with the lighting playing a criti-
cal role in highlighting the vehicles for
customers. Fig. 4 depicts the savings
breakdown for auto dealers.
Labor costs are also almost always
an issue. Some companies will swear
to you that they just use existing staff
and that there are no real additional
costs incurred except the lamps. One
facilities director for a set of restaurants
made this claim loudly in front of man-
agement, that there was no added cost
for lighting maintenance, but he still
absorbed thousands of dollars in over-
time every single month. The director
pointed out that the overtime was not
lighting related. He pointed out that
the crew handled the re-lamping dur-
ing the day. That work, however, left
FIG. 3. A breakdown of the savings
for a casino attributable to an LED
lighting retroft.
FIG. 4. A breakdown of the savings
for an automotive dealership
attributable to an LED lighting
retroft.
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23 Illumination In Focus www.illuminationinfocus.com MARCH/APRIL 2014
cleanup tasks for which the restaurants
paid overtime to cover.
Calculating the labor cost for a lamp
replacement often involves asking ques-
tions about how labor is used and how
management calculates their cost. One
of our clients used contract union la-
bor at $120 an hour to do their lamp
replacements. For this client even rou-
tine lamp replacements were expensive.
One site manager we worked with used
the maintenance budget to cover atten-
dance at conventions.
So for this portion of the savings
there is no simple calculation that you
can use; you need to understand how
labor is used and how it works. You
also have to spend the time with the
property owner and facilities manager
to get honest answers that you can use
to prepare your calculations.
SSCS has reviewed multiple projects
where the energy savings are only 50%
of the total savings and less than that
on a few rare exceptions — one being
a paint booth for ships’ superstructures.
The additive benefts of savings are im-
pressive when you know where to look
and how to add them up.
Still, remember that savings are
more than a factor in determining ROI.
The primary factor in justifying ret-
rofts will remain the market value of
buildings and other facilities. Each in-
crease in savings adds to the market
value of the property, and the total net
worth of a project. ⊡
Design) Platinum requirements (Fig.
5). The branch was designed as a net-
zero building, meaning that it generates
more electricity than it uses.
The PNC branch uses many of the
technologies we’ve discussed in this ar-
ticle and in other recent Illumination in
Focus features. The company has said
that the solar panels visible in Fig. 6
feed a DC ceiling grid to power the in-
door lighting. The bank has not men-
tioned the EMerge Alliance but Paul
Savage, CEO of Nextek, said the branch
uses the DC FlexZone powered by
Nextek EMerge-compliant Power Serve
Modules (PSMs) and that other fxtures
connect directly over low-voltage wir-
ing to the PSMs.
Daylight harvesting also plays a key
role in the energy effciency achieved
by PNC. As we covered in a feature last
April, daylighting can reduce the reli-
ance on artifcial lighting during day-
time hours (http://bit.ly/1igGhXN). In
the PNC case, sensors dim or extinguish
lights when daylight is plentiful.
Other building systems
The bank building design also plays a
part in the daylighting and in minimiz-
ing energy used by the HVAC system. A
solar shade that’s evident in Fig. 5 re-
fects some sunlight during the hottest
time of the day to reduce the energy
used for cooling. Still, the shade allows
suffcient daylight to pass, minimizing
the need for artifcial lighting.
PNC also used adaptive controls for
occupancy. Sensors that detect vacant
spaces can trigger both lights and com-
puter monitors to shut off. The bank
branch has many other green features
including a ventilation system that re-
covers energy and a vertical plant wall
that helps cool the building.
PNC has yet to reveal any details about
how much the individual elements such
as the DC grid add to energy effciency.
But the bank has revealed projections for
the 4900-ft
2
building. PNC expects the
design to produce 84,000 kWh each year
while consuming 70,000 kWh. The dif-
ference is enough to power a 1600-ft
2

home according to PNC. PNC said the
branch uses 50% less energy than a typi-
cal bank branch of comparable size.
DC proponents can make the case
that we would be better off with a DC
grid as the basis of our entire electrical
system. But that horse has proverbially
left the barn. Still, new buildings will
be able to adopt DC as the primary grid
going forward. The key to broad accep-
tance, however, is the ability for build-
ings to use a hybrid approach, and that
has guided the efforts of the EMerge Al-
liance since inception. The standards
have been crafted such that DC tech-
nology can be adopted at the room to
building level, and that makes it per-
fectly suitable for retroft scenarios. We
expect to see much broader DC usage in
2014 and will bring you coverage of case
studies as they emerge. ⊡
Calculating the labor cost for
lamp replacement involves how labor
is used and how management
calculates their cost.
continued from page 18
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