Office buildings require quite a bit of electricity. Between lighting and air conditioning, bills can add up, especially during the summer when temperatures are nearly unbearable in many parts of the country. Companies can save considerable energy costs by replacing their lamps with LEDs. Office buildings can install lighting that exceeds the quality of the current lighting, which consumes 50-80% less power. On top of energy savings, building owners will be happy to save money on maintenance and recycling costs.
The following two case studies will show different applications of LED lighting in office buildings and how the change affected each organization. In Belgium, the third largest insurance company in the country, GENERALI Group, recently installed 350 Philips MASTER LED 7-watt GU10 lamps in corridors, lift areas, and hallways in the offices. They were impressed that the LED lamps burned 45,000 hours, while their previous halogen lamps only lasted 3,000 – 5,000 hours. Didier Gason, real estate manager, even said the lighting “makes employees and visitors feel like they are at home.” According to the case study, if the lamps burn 18 hours per day, the GENERALI Group will see a return on investment in one year.
Another case study was conducted in Oakland, California, on the 9th floor at the University of California Office of the President. They were looking to replace task-ambient halogen lamps with LEDs. According to the case study, if office buildings replaced their task-ambient lighting statewide, there is a potential energy savings of 2,000 – 3,000 GWh per year. What’s even more exciting is that there is also a potential energy savings of 15 – 25 cents per square foot of building space, which translates to $300 – $400 million of annual savings for California. Now that’s a lot of money that can be spent elsewhere! The university replaced its 32-watt linear fluorescent lamps with LED task lighting equipped with occupancy sensors. They also replaced overhead troffers with LED task lights. They are expecting to save 44% annually on energy bills with a 3.8-year simple payback.
With savings seen in the University of California President’s Office and GENERALI, companies can’t afford to continue to use old lamps. We offer our customers the most efficient and best valued products to lower energy costs and nearly eliminate maintenance expenses, all while reducing their carbon footprint.
