Revolutionary Lighting Solution for Office Workers
April 3, 2001
Lighting accounts for as much as 35 per cent of a typical commercial building's total energy costs. With lighting being such a large expense, building owners and operators try to minimize energy consumption to save on their bottom line. This can put the lighting needs of the office worker and the energy management requirements of the building owners and operators at odds. The solution: Ergolight, an innovative development in lighting fixtures.
Created by Ledalite of Langley, B.C. the new Ergolight fixture may set the trend in office lighting. Ergolight offers many advantages over other lighting systems, such as high quality ergonomic lighting, on-board electronic controls with motion and daylight sensors, and energy management software, in a single integrated package interfaced with the office computer network. These luminaires are primarily used in open office areas, private offices and conference rooms. Depending on the energy costs of a geographical area, the payback period for installation of an Ergolight system is three to five years.
Roy Hughes, BC Hydro's energy management engineer, evaluated the quality and cost benefits of the Erogolight for installation at BC Hydro's Burnaby office. Roy reports it is the first such installation in Canada.
"The advantages of this technology is its use of direct/indirect lighting to create a visually healthy, glare-free environment for office workers," says Roy. "It also gives employees the choice to adjust the lighting right above their personal computer to suit their individual needs and preferences."
The Ergolight reduces energy costs in many ways. The luminaire uses energy efficient electronic dimming ballasts, the more efficient T8 lamp, integral occupancy and daylight sensors, and advanced direct/indirect optics with the concept of workspace-specific lighting. These features result in an immediate lighting load reduction of 50 per cent or more.
Cristian Suvagau, lighting engineer at BC Hydro who designed the luminaire layout adds that the Ergolight system is very competitive with more conventional lighting arrangements. "At our new Burnaby office we saw significant savings in the number of luminaires purchased and installed," adds Cristian. "Each Ergolight replaced two to three conventional recessed luminaires, greatly reducing our installation costs."
The installation of Ergolights at BC Hydro's new Marketing and Sales headquarters reflects Hydro's commitment to energy efficiencies while increasing the comfort of its employees. The technology will be promoted to our customers through Power Smart Solutions that help our business customers maximize the performance of their lighting system.
