<< Take 5 home

Click here for more information from Lutron.

Saving Energy with Total Light Management

Glenn D. Hughes, President Glenn Hughes Consulting Associates Director of Construction, The New York Times Company, during design, installation and commissioning of the New York Times Building

What is Total Light Management? Why is Total Light Management important for facility managers and building operators?

Managing both electric light and daylight, to not only save energy and simplify operations but also improve the comfort and productivity of the people in your building.

Lighting represents the largest user of electricity in commercial buildings (nearly 40%)

“Light management represents the single greatest opportunity for energy savings in commercial buildings, whether retrofit or new construction projects.”

Now that the building has been occupied for two years, can you provide us with some actual energy performance statistics?

First of all the Total Light Management System includes a database and data is collected continuously

Using Quantum Total Light Management, The New York Times Company is saving over 70% in lighting energy; this equates to savings of $1 per square foot, year after year.

Actual results show that the New York Times Building is running at an average of 0.33 w/ft² of lighting power in the summer, up to 0.38 w/ft² in the winter. Current code in New York City allows for 1.1 w/ft².

How did you achieve these fantastic results? What were the strategies?

Start with digitally addressable dimming ballasts then add control strategies

Key layers of control include: daylighting, occupancy sensing and light level tuning

How are the people responding to the lighting in their space?

The occupants love the space – lots of natural light and the right level of electric light when needed has been well received

Employees love the space – improved morale, can sense the changes in the time of day, seasonal changes…

1% productivity increase (conservative) allows pay back in less than a year

Why did you choose the Lutron Quantum system?

Lutron excelled in the pre-bid mock up phase of the NYT project where Lutron provided a highly reliable integrated lighting control and automated shade control system, i.e. Total Light Management System. The reliability of the system was 99% plus as measured by LBNL NYT was also very impressed by Lutron's strong software development team that created Quantum, the masterful program for the controls at The New York Times and for the marketplace in general.