NATIONAL REPORT—It is odd that the most-recognized graphic symbol for a good idea is a lit incandescent bulb, but that’s been the case for at least a century. It’s getting to be common knowledge, however, that the incandescent is likely to go the way of its immediate successors in commercial lighting, the High-Intensity Discharge (HID) and conventional fluorescent varieties, which are also likely to rapidly disappear soon.
Part of this change has been underway in the hospitality industry for some time now, of course, thanks to the screw-in compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) that now seem to be the rule rather than the exception in guestrooms. These bulbs are of the relatively new type of lighting, solid-state High-Intensity Fluorescent, or HIF, which will replace commercial and industrial incandescent and HID lighting soon.
The CFL’s relative, linear HIF lighting—which looks like a thinner, brighter version of the old fluorescent type, but with nicer light and no buzzing or flickering—is apt to make itself felt in the hospitality field as well. In many cases room rates have about reached their max, and ways to cut costs are not as plentiful or as easy to get as one might think. As a pretty reliable rule of thumb, HIDs (Metal Halide, High-Pressure Sodium and Mercury Vapor lighting types) are twice as expensive to operate as the incoming HIF technology.
Numerous Lodging Applications
Although it is more commonly found in industrial settings, where it has been proven out, linear HIF is nonetheless quite suitable for convention centers, auditoriums, meeting rooms, corridors, fitness centers, pools and coffee shops, as well as kitchens, laundries, loading docks and storage areas, whether retrofitted or in new construction.
A basic retrofit of HID lighting to HIF saves at least 50 percent of operating costs while giving 50 percent more light. Greater savings than this, however, are possible if lighting controls with a degree of sophistication are incorporated, and greater yet when these controls are teamed with light pipes. These are passive solar fixtures somewhat reminiscent of a skylight that route collected and organized sunlight downward through a roof; when the controls sense that a predetermined light level has been met, the interior lighting is proportionately reduced—in many cases using natural light entirely for a time. Lighting energy savings in this case can exceed 70 percent compared to HID lighting.
If the control system is sophisticated enough, it may be possible to use it to verify power reductions. This verification is essential in obtaining energy credits—for which there is a market on the Chicago Climate Exchange—for pollutant gas reduction as well as being able to reduce load if asked and sell unused capacity back to the utility if it offers peak-load buybacks. These would, in essence be two new revenue streams coming out of what used to be a pure expense.
Grants, Rebates Further Reduce Costs
Even a 50 percent lighting energy savings would be incentive enough to cut heavily into the popularity of these types of lighting on its own, but there is an added reason to switch: you can probably get paid to do it. There are many grants and/or rebates available that will help cover the cost of an energy-efficient lighting project. These can come from a variety of sources.
Just one example: many states have organizations comparable to Wisconsin Focus on Energy. Focus is a public-private sector partnership that offers energy information and services to residential, business, and industrial customers throughout that state, including grants for energy-saving projects such as retrofitting from HID lighting to HIF. In addition, many individual utilities offer substantial rebates for energy-saving projects such as this, and it is not unusual to see 25 percent—or even more—of the project cost covered this way.
On a higher governmental level, the U.S. Department of Energy awards many grants through its State Energy Program (www.eere.energy.gov./) If you’re looking at a smaller city or rural area, it is worth looking into the U.S. Department of Energy’s Rural Development Grants website at www.rurdev.usda.gov/.
Having someone help finance a project that ultimately saves you money is just one reason to consider upgrading your lighting; with a 50 percent saving as a minimum it’s worth doing anyway, with or without outside help. People like HIF light. Most describe it as “excellent,” “clean” or “crisp” and like being in it. One person even said that going into an area lit by HIFs seemed to give him a “Vitamin D rush.”
So, take a close look at energy-efficient HIFs, controls and light pipes, as well as grants that may be available in your area. Your staff and your guests will be just as pleased with it as your bean-counters.
That’s because it is truly a good idea.
David Cary is a communication specialist from Orion Energy Systems, Inc., a leading power technology enterprise that designs, manufactures and implements energy management systems, consisting primarily of high-performance, energy-efficient lighting systems, controls and direct renewable products for commercial and industrial customers. Orion has deployed its energy management systems in 3,762 facilities across North America. Since 2001, Orion technology has displaced more than 357 megawatts, saving customers more than $401 million and reducing indirect carbon dioxide emissions by 3.6 million tons.
