ENERGY EFFICIENCY Green building
Energy Efficiency has become a guiding force in Lighting Design
Today’s innovative buildings are designed to be sustainable, flexible, and energy efficient. How we can achieve these goals comes from incorporating, Lighting controls , daylight and shading systems as well as alternative forms of artificial Light such as LED, CFL ( compact fluorescent), HID and halogen IR lamps. With all the advances in lighting elements, going green does not mean sacrificing the amount of light or the quality of it .
LEED Green Building Rating System. - Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design – is a rating system sanctioned by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) that provides
a national standard for what constitutes a green building. It offers a set of scientifically-based performance
criteria and a point system for LEED project certification.
The standard incandescent light bulb will be a thing of the past in a very short time.
The leading edge technology available right now is LED (Light Emitting Diodes), the energy savings is substantial and pricing is coming down. The color of the light emitted from L:ED is far more pleasing today. LED efficacy ( quality and energy as measured in Lumens per watt ) is getting so good that Fluorescent and HID are being replaced with LED. Lighting designers are now concerned with the lighting quality LED and then overall performance. It is worthwhile to discuss the pros and cons of LED lighting with the lighting designer as it grows in popularity, we can guide you to the correct product for your application.
A note concerning Fluorescent light . Many people have an aversion to fluorescent light and have been bothered by the traditional style of fluorescent lighting mostly seen in schools , hallways and older office buildings
the traditional form used a magnetic ballast that caused the light to flicker causing irritation , the color of the light also seemed harsh . These attributes are no longer true when using the newer forms of high output CFL color corrected bulbs and electronic ballasts. It is also false that you cannot dim fluorescent light , we now have affordable dimming ballasts that will dim by using a standard wall dimmer, while there still is a bit of a disposal problem with the bulbs ( they contain mercury) Fluorescent light gives the lighting designer another tool to use to accomplish an energy efficient lighting design
