Sustainable Design Blog & Information

Energy Efficiency, Commercial Architecture

How to Get Your Energy Efficient building With new Light bulbs

Wed, Jul 27, 2016

I want to help you achieve energy efficiency for your commercial building - try new bulbs!

Reinventing the first BRIGHT idea:

Thomas Edison’s 19th century invention of the incandescent light, which has an electric current running through a wire filament and heating it until it starts to glow, has been phased out by federal legislation.

So, what's the right answer for YOUR business? Is it CFLs? LEDs?

You want an energy efficient building - Let these bulbs light the way!

Although they are cheap to produce, incandescent bulbs aren't very energy efficient. Many businesses saw this as being a problem years before government intervention, and initially replaced them with the compact fluorescent lamp (CFLs), which has an electric current driven through a tube containing argon and a small amount of mercury vapor.

Now, the trend in lighting is focusing on the use of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that are illuminated solely by the movement of electrons in a semiconductor material.

1. WHY LED

LEDs provide light nearly equivalent in quality and color to the old incandescent bulbs, while offering both efficiency and lifetime improvements over CFLs. For example:

CFLs usually take some time after switching them on for them to become fully bright
Disposing of CFLs is cumbersome due to the environmentally harmful mercury they contain
While some people see the fact that LEDs only emit light in a specific direction and may not spread as evenly CFLs, this directness allows for more efficient light and energy use
They also are completely programmable and will allow for smarter management of lighting in your building

2. Why Not LED

The drawback to LED lighting, for the moment, is sticker shock. A typical LED bulb can cost more than $20. CFLs are certainly cheaper, but the good news is that the rapidly evolving LED technology is coming down in price.

MORE LIKE THIS: Green Building Materials You Probably Don't Know About

3. How Energy Efficient Are They?

Although once known mainly for indicator and traffic lights, LEDs in white light, general illumination applications are one of today's most energy-efficient and rapidly-developing technologies.

According to ENERGY STAR, CFLs use 25-35% less energy than incandescent bulbs, but if you really want to make the biggest environmental impact, choosing LEDs is the way to go. Some LEDs, especially those rated by ENERGY STAR, use 75% less energy than incandescent lighting.

But energy efficiency isn't just about how much electricity it takes for them to be effective... what about lifespan? The less we have to manufacture, the less energy we use there too!

The average life span of a LED bulb is 50,000 hours and the CFL bulb lasts an average of 8,000 hours. Your incandescent bulbs? 1,200 hours.

4. Big Picture Implications

According to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lighting in industrial and commercial buildings accounts for close to 71 percent of overall lighting electricity use in the U.S. and consumes nearly 35 percent of the electricity used in the nation's commercial buildings - and still much of this lighting is comprised of those inefficient linear fluorescents

Among all energy efficient measures available to a commercial facility, lighting is one of the biggest energy hogs, so making changes here offers the shortest payback and strongest return on investment over any other change you could make with your existing structure (followed closely by HVAC measures).

5. Other ways it's awesome

They're cool:

LEDs emit very little heat. In contrast, CFLs release about 80% of their energy as heat, according to Energy.gov. Incandescent bulbs can reach temperatures of over 330 degrees Fahrenheit! But LEDs operate at a cool 87 degrees. Savings here can be seen in the amount of A/C your business uses in order keep the work environment cool.

They create value:

Converting an existing building to LED lighting or installing LED lighting in a new building creates a compelling value proposition for the building owner. Along with reduced electricity consumption and lower cooling costs, the economics of LED lights can result in recovery of the cost of the investment in less than one year in some cases. LED fixtures can now generate more lumens per watt, meaning more bang for your buck.

Maintenance is cheaper:

There are hidden savings in maintenance costs. Many LED fixtures are rated for lifetimes upward of 100,000 hours, without any need for maintenance.

You hate paying taxes:

And did I mention Tax Rebates? Yes, there are deductions for Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings through a program called 179D. The IRS needs a certification that a licensed engineer or contractor can provide to you by using a software program that is approved by the IRS for making the 179D energy savings calculation.

This tax deduction is based upon your building’s square footage, so the bigger the building, the bigger the potential savings.

6. How to get started

There are many factors to consider when you plan a conversion of an existing facility. A conversion can range from simple lamp replacement to complete fixture retrofit and is highly dependent on your overall goals.

If you feel the need, there are lighting design companies available to help you once you make a decision to convert your building LED lighting. There are also calculators online to assist you with determining your ROI. In many cases, LED solid-state lighting (SSL) will work with conventional wiring and dimmers.

You should make sure the LED lighting is compatible with your emergency lighting requirements, and you may want to phase its installation in your building. LEDs are more efficient at directing light where it is needed and often do not require a one-to-one trade-off. That said, a slower conversion may be best in order to ensure that your end result meets your expectations regarding user experiences.

CONCLUSION:

It’s hard to beat the value offered by modern LEDs. Not only are their prices getting more affordable every day, they also last up to decades longer than the competition.

Speaking of competition, our firm can help you become a competitive differentiator by having a LEED certified building. According to the USGBC, US Green Building Council, LEED-certified buildings that have lower operating costs and better indoor environmental quality are more attractive to a growing group of corporate, public and individual clients.

Owners of green buildings reported that their ROI improved by 19.2% on average for existing building green projects and 9.9% on average for new projects. LEED-certified buildings are also demonstrating increased recruitment and retention rates and increased productivity benefits for employers.

Schedule a free consultation today!

Green Design, Commercial Architecture

How to Pitch a Green Commercial Building Design to Your Board

Wed, Mar 30, 2016

What important components should one use to sell Their BOD on a green Commercial building design ?

So, you find yourself in an organization that needs to build facilities, and you have heard about green buildings or you already understand the benefits a green facility can provide, but you need to convince those higher up in your organization to consider the idea.

What do you do?

Let's assess:

The only reason NOT to do a green building is if your organization wants to build the absolute cheapest first cost building it possibly can, and the organization does not want to own it for very long after it is built.

It is best to call a spade a spade and get on with your life. I don’t have a case I can make for you that will move that mountain. I don't mean to sound skeptical, but I've seen this conversation before, and it doesn't usually end well.

Don't go it alone

If this is not the case, my first suggestion is PASS THE BUCK! Get in touch with an architect who knows what they are doing, has been designing green buildings for decade or 2, and have them help with the pitch. Trust me- they have heard it all before, and they want you to win the battle!

Or do... if you insist!

It is important to find out what motivates the decision makers.

Are they a bottom line type, and care about saving or making money as their first priority?
Do they see the value in happy and productive employees (People)?
Do they care about their children’s future and their community, locally and/or globally (Planet)?

Some may be motivated by more than one aspect, but one is typically dominate in the decision-making process. Once you understand where they are coming from you are half-way home.

Cater to what motivates them

Profit (making and saving money) is probably the easiest one to address.Green buildings by design use a lot less energy and water than with typical code-minimum designed buildings. After all, saving energy and water saves money.

One may even want to spend a little bit extra in the construction cost to save even more money in the long run. This return on investment (ROI) is straightforward and easy to calculate. For example, if it takes 5 years to pay back the extra cost to create more energy savings, which is a 20% annual ROI. Not bad, huh? It's very likely to be MUCH better than any other investment the organization is making in the market, so why not?

Other ways of saving or making money include using materials that are easy to maintain and are long lasting (lowering operating costs), and increasing productivity of your employees (more on this below).

Resale is also a consideration. Green certified buildings are typically worth about 5% more than non-certified buildings.

“People” is likely the next best way to make the pitch. Do the decision-makers understand productivity, job satisfaction, attracting and retaining employees?

Do you know that 95% of the cost of a typical office building over its lifetime is the cost of the employees that work in the facility based on their salaries? Increases in productivity are huge, and LEED certified buildings have been proven to increase productivity.

This will make the profit motivated people really happy too! As noted by the International Well Building Institute, even a small increase in productivity makes a big difference in the bottom line. Healthy, non-toxic, naturally day-lit interior spaces (the things that increase productivity) also make people happy and healthy, which improves job satisfaction and reduces absenteeism.

IE - Everybody wins!

The best companies compete for the best employees and need an advantage over other company’s recruiting efforts, and sustainable design is perfect for this, and a very attractive quality to Millennials.

And finally, the “Planet." The planet is stressed, and we have to stop ignoring that.

To be clear, when I say "planet" I really mean how people will be impacted by the things that we're doing to the planet. The Earth will be fine with or without us. It will make self-corrections and move on. It's already doing that, actually, in response to our abusive behaviors.

Does your BOD wish the organization to exist for many generations? Do they want to make the world a better place for their children? Do they want to lessen their impact on the environment?Can they see their role in the big picture?

I think many organizations can and want to say yes to these questions, but they might need to be reminded of the bigger picture from time to time.

Tie it to the cause

Everything about green design and LEED certification assists with these goals. In addition to the qualities of green design listed in the Profit and People categories above, an organization can do its share to make the planet better when by doing things like reducing construction waste, using materials that have a low carbon footprint, buying materials with recycled content and low chemical content, buying local and regional materials (LEED says that is within 500 miles), and using less materials- such as not building any more space than one needs.

CONCLUSION:

Think globally, act locally; be the change you desire.

Find out what motivates the decision-makers, and understand that green design has a way to make them happy. Once you know what your organization is thinking, and why, connect the dots back to the strengths of green building design that fortifies their existing beliefs.

Want help pitching your green design idea to the powers that be? Schedule a free consultation with Carlson Studio Architecture today!