Comprehensive lighting design can maximize energy savings

Comprehensive lighting design is critical to the design of new buildings and major  renovations, and it is increasingly used during lighting retrofits because it goes beyond simply replacing lamps or fixtures. Comprehensive lighting design looks holistically at the lighting in your building.

A lighting designer prepares a lighting layout and a technology and controls approach that factors in aesthetics, how lighting integrates with other building systems, light levels suitable to each application and location, uniformity of light, available daylight, glare, safety, total operating cost of the lighting system, the appropriate integration of lighting controls and more.

Comprehensive lighting design can maximize energy savings, at home or your office, and provide better comfort, health and productivity for occupants.

Think beyond first cost. With rising energy costs, the decisions you make today will affect operating costs for years. Because lighting is so visible, quality lighting influences the aesthetics of your business as well as comfort, productivity, health and safety, and profit. Today’s lighting technologies are extremely long lasting and can lower maintenance costs by drastically reducing the need to replace lamps.

Successful lighting design begins with assessing how occupants use a space and their resulting lighting needs. The lighting system should deliver the quantity and quality of  light according to those needs.

The quantity of light needed, measured in foot-candles, varies by task. For example,  lighting professionals recommend a lobby have 10 foot-candles, a classroom 40 and a  retail space 50.

Good lighting quality requires an experienced lighting professional who takes steps to maximize daylight, minimize glare, provide appropriate color quality and address other factors. The most energy-efficient light sources mounted in the best fixtures will not offer value if they are not applied correctly.

This information is provided by the Energy Trust Of Oregon. Aztec Electrical is a Trade Ally Contractor with the Energy Trust. We can help you receive rebates and incentives on your lighting and electrical projects.

Lighting Technologies For Your Business - Part I

In the typical U.S. commercial building, lighting accounts for close to 35 percent of electricity use, taking a bite out of profits.

Fortunately, recent technological  advances have launched a new era of energy-efficient lighting products. When you take advantage of the most advanced light sources, fixtures and controls, you could save up to 50 percent on lighting energy, while benefiting from the best in lighting quality.

With good design, energy-efficient lighting typically pays for itself in energy savings within a few years.

Opting for energy-efficient lighting offers additional benefits, including reducing the load lighting puts on air conditioning, ventilation, refrigeration and your overall electrical system. Today’s options come in a variety of styles and functionalities, offering flexibility for your design and business.

At Aztec Electrical, we will help you design the right solution for your business lighting. We have been helping businesses in Rogue valley receive rebates and incentives to help their ROI, call today at 245-8560.

KNOW YOUR TERMS

Think lumens not watts. The total quantity of light produced by a lamp is measured in lumens.

Lumens per watt, also called lumen efficacy, measures light delivered per watt. Today’s technologies deliver more lumens per watt than incandescent bulbs.

A foot-candle is the amount of light that falls on a surface and is equal to one lumen per square foot as measured by a light meter.

Lumen maintenance is the standard lighting term for the percentage of initial lumens that a
light source maintains over time.  Lumen maintenance is often specified as L70, L80 or L90.  In eachcase, “L” stands for lumen maintenance and the number is the percentage of light output remaining.

Lighting power density  is calculated as watts per square foot and varies by how a space is used and its occupancy.

Fixture efficiency  accounts for how much of a lamp’s light gets out of the fixture. A fixture that’s 90 percent efficient delivers 50 percent more light than one that’s 60 percent efficient.

This information is provided by the Energy Trust Of Oregon. Aztec Electrical is a Trade Ally Contractor with the Energy Trust. We can help you receive rebates and incentives on your lighting and electrical projects.

#lightingdesign

Need Electrical Services? Call A Trusted Electrical Contractor

For all your electrical needs, count on an experienced, professional electrician at Aztec Electrical.

Our skilled electrical contractors are second to none, and you'll also find our rates to be surprisingly affordable. No project is too large or too small for Prestige Electric. Trust a seasoned electrical contractor and master electricians (EC0002452 and EC13003699) with all your electrical service work.

For years Aztec Electrical has been serving its' customers' electrical needs with the highest quality products and service. We specialize in residential electrical services, and we are dedicated to setting the standard for quality and service in electrical work.

From single family homes to condominium complexes, we are one of the Rogue Valley's trusted electricians. Our experience includes new construction (home or business), existing homes and businesses - along with upgrades.

• New Construction, Residential Remodels and Additions 
• Complete Solar Electric System Installation
• Electrical Panel Upgrades 
• Upgrades on Switches, Outlets 
• Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Alarms 2-Stage 
• Whole House Surge Protection  
• Generator Installations  
• Ceiling Fan Installations 
• Complete Home High-Efficiency Bulb Installation

Call us today, 245-8560, to discuss your question or project.

Upgrade your home or office energy usage- we'll help you find the rebates and cash incentives

Aztec Electric is a Trade Ally with the Energy Trust of Oregon. This specialized training means we are current on all available cash rebates and incentives available to homeowners this fall to make energy-efficiency upgrades.

Here are some of the available energy saving programs - offering rebates and incentives ranging from $300 - $1,000:

- Gas fireplace FE 70.0-74.9
- Windows U-Value 0.25 or less
- Heat pump upgrade  HSPF 9.5+
- Heat pump replacing electric resistance heat HSPF 9.5+

There are too many programs to list here. Send us an email - click here - to receive more specific information.

LED: energy efficiency - saves energy and expense - get on board

New research at Rutgers University has shown how to slash the cost of highly efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs) and significantly reduce lighting’s energy requirements. The energy savings, however, will likely be eroded as people find new uses for the inexpensive lights.

It’s a classic example of how a solution to a problem may cause more problems, or at least nullify the solution.

"I am doubtful that we will save any energy by going to LED lights," said Thomas Theis, director of the Institute for Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

LED lights use just 10 percent of the energy of incandescent lights and less than half the energy of today’s compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs.  An LED that uses 6 watts of electricity, for example, produces the same amount of light as a 14-watt CFL bulb or a 60-watt incandescent bulb.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electricity used for artificial lighting in the U.S. could be cut nearly in half by 2030 through the adoption of high efficiency LEDs.

Aztec Electrical will help you with #lightingdesign and all your electrical needs. Give us a call today at (541) 245-8560.

LEDs help grocery stores save money reduce energy use

Lighting Design

Supermarkets use lighted refrigerator and freezer cases to display a variety of foods and beverages.

These cases account for nearly half of a supermarket’s annual electricity costs, with interior lighting systems using a quarter of the electricity required to operate the case.

Nearly all commercial refrigerators and freezers use linear fluorescent lamps. Although fluorescent lamps provide superior energy efficiency in many lighting applications, their use in commercial refrigeration is not ideal. Fluorescent lamps in this application exhibit a reduced light output of up to 25% and uneven lighting on the products. These problems are a result of ineffective lamp operation at cold temperatures, the lack of optics to direct the light, and poor configuration and mounting location within the freezers.

Average illuminances across the freezer shelves at the time of the installation.
Measurements were taken on the face of the products inside the freezers.

	LEDs at 100% light output	LEDs dimmed	Fluorescent
Average illuminance	2470 lx	2148 lx	2871 lx

 

(Shppoer Surveys)

LEDs may provide a better solution.

• LEDs do not suffer the same drop in light output under cold temperatures that fluorescent lamps do. 
• The current luminous efficacy (the amount of light per watt of energy used) of LEDs—45 lumens per watt (lm/W) in 2006—is similar to the application efficacy of fluorescent lamps in commercial refrigeration. 
• LEDs also can be customized to provide several distributions of light to provide more even lighting across freezer shelves. 

These differences mean that LEDs potentially can provide more efficient lighting.

Residential Electrical: Four Key Services In Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass

Aztec Electrical we can help you design, install, and maintain your lighting to reduce your energy expenses.  Because we are a Trade Ally with the Oregon Energy Trust, we can also help you receive cash rebates and/or incentives for your home or business lighting project. 

Call us today at 541.245-8560.  #homeimprovement

Residential Wiring

Need help adding a light fixture in your home? Need new transfer switches? At Aztec Electrical  LLC, we offer residential customers in the Rogue Valley area a wide variety of residential wiring and electrical services. We also specialize in trouble shooting any problems you may be having with your electricity!

Generators

Tired of losing power during power outages? Let the experts at Aztec Electrical  LLC in Medford, Ashland, and Grants Pass install a standby generator for your home or business so you will never have to worry about power outages again! Call today for more information.

Circuit Panels

Does your house still work with fuses? Do your circuit breakers keep tripping? The experienced team at Aztec Electrical  LLC can help troubleshoot or install a better system to correct an overload problem. Call today for a free quote!

Home Remodels

Are you remodeling your home and need electrical work? Call Aztec Electrical  LLC today. We are experienced in working on home remodeling projects including moving switches, light fixtures, installing new switches, fans and much more!