Saturday, 30 May 2009 01:43
The Basics of Fluorescent Lights
Fluorescent lamps (lights) are constructed of a glass tube with a chemical phosphor coating on the inside of the tube. This coating is a mixture of elements including phosphorus and mercury. There is also a metal filament inside the tube to cause the electrical chemical action that produces light. The light output and color can be controlled by the chemical mixture. Lamp names such as T12 and T8 refer to diameters of lamp tubes in eighths of an inch. Thus a T12 lamp has a diameter of twelve eighths of an inch, or 1-1/2 inches. Typically, a smaller diameter lamp is one factor that makes a lamp more energy-efficient. Since the T8 is eight eighths of an inch, or one inch in diameter, it is a more energy-efficient than the T12. T8 lamps are available a variety of lengths, and configurations such as U Lamps.
Mercury Concerns
Top-quality T8 lamps function with reduced mercury, a potentially harmful substance used in many lighting fixtures. Although recycling is still recommended after these lamps are spent, these lamps are generally more sustainable than T12s. For lighting with no mercury content whatsoever, we offer LED lighting.
Cost Factors
Lighting accounts for approximately 70 percent of all the electrical energy used in US businesses, and much of this energy is totally wasted. If you are already using the older T12 fluorescent lights in your establishment, making the switch to T8 fluorescent lighting will save the most in energy and money.
The Benefits of Retrofitting from T12 to T8
- Save Money
- Quiet Operation
- No Flicker
- Less Heat Reducing HVAC Costs
- Better Color Rendering
- Less Damage To The Environment
- Less Strain On Available Resources
- Less Money Leaving The US Via Outsourcing
- And The List Can Go On And On...
T12 to T8 Lamp & Ballast Retrofits
Retrofitting your light fixtures can save you a significant amount of cash. The retrofit process involves removing the existing low output T12 lamps and power hungry magnetic ballasts, then replacing them with high output T8 lamps and energy efficient electronic ballasts. This process alone will usually cut your lighting energy usage in half. But since the T8 lamps typically put out twice as much light, a process called delamping brings the light output back to what you originally had. In addition, you get better quality lighting which, based on a 40 hour week, will retain 95% of its light output for over 10 years (24,000 hours). This process reduces the energy consumption and cost to between 60 and 80 percent of what you are now paying.
In addition, magnetic ballasts waste so much energy, in the form of heat, that our installers often need to wear gloves to remove them. This heat ends up in your facility, and your air-conditioning must work harder to get rid of this heat caused by the inefficient magnetic ballasts. This also wastes much of the energy used by your air-conditioning.
Since the old T12 lamps typically need to be replaced every few months to retain the light output, and the new technology T8 lamps last 24,000 hours, there is little or no maintenance costs.
Lighting Retrofit Example:
Existing System:
4-Lamp F40T12 Lamps and magnetic ballast
Power consumption: 160 Watts
Replacement System:
2-Lamp F32T8 Lamp with High Efficiency ballast
Power consumption: 64 Watts = 96 Watt savings (60% reduction in watts saved)
Energy Savings To Dollars:
Watts consumed divided by 1000 x Lighting Hours Per Year times Average Utility Rate Charge = Energy Cost Per Year
For a business operating on a 40 hour week, 52 weeks per year (2080 hrs), and with a utility rate of 16 cents per kilowatt hour the savings would be:
Existing System: 160 / 1000 x 2080 x .16 = $53.25 per fixture per year
Replacement System: 64 / 1000 x 2080 x .16 = $21.30 per fixture per year
Savings: $31.95 per fixture (60% reduction in operating cost)
Notes:
These savings are an actual watt for watt savings, and do not even take into consideration the wasted energy coming from the ballast in the form of heat. That waste is typically another 15%. In addition there is energy lost from the air-conditioning unit trying to get rid of the heat generated by the ballasts. In the example above, if you factor in these savings you are actually saving a total of approx 80% of the electricity consumed, which makes the dollar savings much larger.
Lighting level and color can also be altered to give varying levels and color of light simply by using T8 lamps with different CRI outputs.
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