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— Property Management Quarterly — February 2015
S
ometimes things that sound
too good to be true really are
great, such as light-emitting
diode lighting upgrades for
your properties. There are
many benefits, trends and options
for LED lighting, as well as issues
you need to consider when choosing
products.
Energy experts will tell you that
LED lighting is the “low-hanging
fruit” to cost-effectively save energy.
There are four major financial ben-
efits of LED lighting:
1. Reduced maintenance costs,
both materials and labor, because of
LED lighting’s long lamp life.
2. Lowered utility bills because
they provide up to 85 percent light-
ing energy savings; reducing heat
output, lowering AC load for addi-
tional savings in air-conditioned
spaces; and reducing demand charg-
es with utilities like Xcel Energy, fur-
ther decreasing costs over time.
3. Longer warranties than with tra-
ditional lighting.
4. Available rebates from many
utilities to further incentivize
improvements.
Upgrading to LED lighting also
demonstrates a commitment to
sustainability, while providing LEED
credits, to attract an increasing
number of tenants who demand
LEED or energy-efficient space. The
U.S. Department of Energy projects
that increased use of LED lighting
will result in 19 percent energy sav-
ings in 2020 and 46 percent in 2030
nationwide.
There are many other benefits to
these durable lighting options. Cus-
tomer satisfaction increases with
the quality and
longevity of LED
lighting, and the
light’s life is not
affected by being
turned on and off.
The lights have no
UV emissions to
damage artwork,
and they have no
mercury, which
reduces disposal
costs and elimi-
nates hazardous
cleanups. They are
instant-on, which
ensures there will
be no issues similar to when the
lights went out at the 2013 Super
Bowl, where they had traditional
lighting. Also, LED lights love cold
temperatures, which is great for
garages, refrigerated spaces and
exteriors, although they are designed
to work in any environment.
LED Options
There are LED lamp, luminaire
and retrofit kit options. Retrofit
kits include a light component and
driver to cost-effectively upgrade
existing fixtures rather than replace
them.
In terms of aesthetics, LED light-
ing is beyond the old, common blue
look. There are attractive options for
interior and exterior applications,
including multiple Kelvin tempera-
tures for warm to cool white options.
Some manufacturers let customers
choose a custom Kelvin temperature
they like (for a price, of course). Cus-
tomer satisfaction with less yellow,
more daylight-like lighting seems to
be increasing.
There are many positive trends
with LED lighting, starting with
lower prices. LED options are now
available for nearly any application.
Most are dimmable and many LED
luminaires incorporate wireless con-
trols.
The lumen-per-watt output (or
efficacy) continues to increase with
over 100-lumens-per-watt products
available.
LED lighting’s Color Rendering
Index, which measures the ability to
show “true colors,” is also increasing.
The CRI of most interior LED lighting
is 80 or higher, with 90+ CRI options
available.
Screw-in lamps were previously
only for dry or damp locations, and
120 input voltage. You can now buy
277v and wet-location listed LED
lamps.
Selection Considerations
Warranty.
Expect a minimum five-
year manufacturer warranty. Some
manufacturers provide 10-year war-
ranties, although that may not apply
to all components.
Lamp life.
A 50,000-hour rated lamp
life is typical, but many LED light-
ing products now have a more than
100,000-hour life. Keep in mind that
the driver life is often shorter than
the lamp life.
Dimmer compatibility.
Dimmable
LED lighting may be incompatible
with your current dimming system.
For example, lamps may flicker at
lower output levels. Dimmable LED
lighting can be designed to dim to 1
percent or only 20 percent. Lighting
manufacturers may list compatible
dimmers on their websites, but you
should test before you buy.
Directional light.
One of the benefits
of LED lighting is that it is direction-
al, so light does not “spew” where it
is not needed. But you must select
the right light distribution for the
job. If you are working with a vendor
or consultant, they should be able
to provide photometric analyses, if
needed.
Energy use.
The wattage listed for
LED lamps and luminaires is the
total energy used. This is not the
case for traditional lighting, includ-
ing fluorescent tubes, compact fluo-
rescent lamps with pin bases, and
metal halide and high-pressure sodi-
um fixtures. The amount of energy
used by the ballasts in traditional
lighting fixtures must be taken into
account. For example, a 175-watt
metal halide lamp fixture uses 210
watts of energy.
Independent testing.
LED products
should be backed up by LM79 and
LM80 testing from independent
laboratories. LED lamps can also
go through the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s Energy Star test-
ing process to be Energy Star listed,
and LED luminaires and retrofit kits
can go through the DesignLights
Consortium process to become DLC
qualified. The Energy Star and DLC
processes provide additional evi-
dence that products meet certain
standards. There are many excellent
products that are not Energy Star or
DLC listed, but such listing may be
tied to rebates.
s
Sustainability
Theresa
Donahue
Executive sales
representative,
SoGoGreen LED
Lighting, Denver
