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This Category Review for Light Fittings provides guidance for procurement practitioners and information on targets and standards.

Introduction

Lighting accounts for one-third of the energy used in commercial spaces. About half of the lighting is wasted either through inefficient bulbs, poor design or improper maintenance.²⁰

Substantial savings can be made in this area by designing and installing the right units and controls, and ensuring they are adequately maintained. Substantial energy savings can also be made through use of the most efficient equipment. Substituting of standard units with high efficiency lighting units can typically generate energy savings of between 20 and 70 per cent.

A key requirement of achieving a carbon neutral Public Service is to reduce emissions through energy efficiency measures. There is significant technical potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from lighting. In the majority of lighting installations, efficient lighting technologies are readily available which, if adopted, would significantly reduce energy consumption. Other measures may include conducting energy use audits and educating staff to use less electricity.

The behaviour of individuals has a part to play in reducing energy consumption and cost, as lights are often left on when not needed. Equally, people working in a room or building will often turn on all the lights when they are only occupying a small section of it. Good lighting control systems ensure that lights are only on when needed. Whilst technically it is straightforward to fit products or lighting systems to existing buildings to help significantly reduce the amount of energy being used, it is often difficult to achieve a reasonable payback. It is best to ensure that lighting is considered in the building design stage or is upgraded during refurbishments.

End-of-life considerations are included in this section as there are potential environmental and human health impacts in the recycling and disposal of different lighting products; these are covered in each sub-category (see also MfE's factsheet on "The Safe Use and Disposal of Household Lamps")

Scope and aim of review

For the purpose of this review, "light fittings" includes lamps and tubes for building interior use, lighting control equipment and luminaires (fittings). To support this review, a Light Fittings Category Review Team has been established that will on an ongoing basis:

• Work with relevant government departments to build on the work already done and identify minimum standards and targets (improving sustainability) for the category, based on sustainability attributes or impacts. These standards and targets become the minimum requirement for all future procurements²¹ for the Light Fittings Category Review
• Develop reference material (including guidance, tools and templates) to assist procurement practitioners in meeting these standards and targets, and to assist their departments in developing and achieving their carbon neutrality plan²² and meeting Govt3 commitments
• Encourage procurement practitioners to take a more holistic approach to procurement within this category, including working with their departments to develop the required measurement and reporting regimes
• Provide a continuous improvement programme, to review, validate and improve existing standards and develop related additional standards and targets together with associated reference material that will be introduced over time.

General considerations

There are a number of considerations when procuring light fittings:

• Utilising eco-labelling standards (eg, Energy Star) as, and when, they become available to set minimum energy performance standards (MEPS)
• To specify and source appropriate product for the purpose, being mindful of the lighting design
• End-of-life considerations (disposal/recycling).

Guidance

The following guidance notes have been developed to help government departments meet the targets for eco-labelling and minimum energy performance standards (MEPS); lighting design and fit for purpose; and end-of-life considerations:

Eco-labelling and minimum energy performance standards (MEPS)

1. EECA has undertaken to create MEPS for lighting, and continues to work on product standards and labelling of lamps technology for industry and consumers in New Zealand. EECA is working with the US on adopting the voluntary ‘Energy Star' standards and have an agreement for the use of the brand which is already widely used in New Zealand for domestic appliances. Before being adopted for light fittings in New Zealand, Energy Star standards will have to be adapted to suit local conditions, eg, voltage requirements.
2. Work on trans-Tasman standards to introduce energy efficiency standards for lighting is in the early stage of development. In partnership with industry, EECA intends to adopt similar measures to those outlined in the Australian Greenlight Strategy. Chapter 7 of the Australian strategy discusses measures to reduce energy consumption from lighting. It has MEPS and energy efficiency labelling and information disclosure as mandatory measures.
3. The standards and targets contained in this Category Review paper will be updated with the New Zealand and trans-Tasman standards, as, and when, they are finalised. The reference material and guidance included in this paper is based on European product standards that exist. They may be used as a guide and are already used on goods imported into New Zealand.

Lighting Design and Fit for Purpose²³

Poor lighting installation design can negate many of the gains of using more efficient lighting equipment. For example, using more fittings than needed, or locating light switches in places that are inconvenient or impractical for occupants to use in isolated areas.

Installation efficiencies, as well as lamp and luminaire efficiencies, must be addressed in new building design and major refurbishments.

When considering the purchase of lighting for specific areas (including refurbishments), ensure lighting needs and systems are taken into account with a view to making energy and financial savings and reducing environmental impact, whilst at the same time being mindful of design for the ‘visual environment'.

1. EECA has produced a useful factsheet for improving industrial lighting in the design and product specification stages, examining no/low cost and higher cost options.

Examples include:

• Use of daylight: Arrangement of work areas near to windows so people can use daylight, but ensure that they are not dazzled or distracted by direct sunlight through windows or reflections on the screen. Ideally, light for manual tasks should come from the "non-writing" side of the desk. Switching should also be arranged so people who have daylight available can also switch off the lighting near their workstation.
• Use of task lighting for specific applications.
• Removal of unnecessary lamps: Sometimes office rearrangement can mean areas used as passageways have more lighting than they need. In other areas, over-lighting can result from a design that provides too many fittings and lamps. Energy savings of 5 to 15 per cent can often be made by selectively removing lamps from these areas. Empty holders should also be marked to avoid accidental re-lamping by maintenance personnel (suitable stickers are available from EECA).
• Bright lamps should be replaced with low-power lamps in over-lit areas (refer to the ‘Replacement Opportunities' chart later in this section).

2. Before making any changes, ensure that Occupational Safety and Health requirements have been met.

End-of-life considerations

In conducting tender exercises for light fittings, practitioners should:

• Require that all hazardous lamps, luminaires and fittings are recycled and/or disposed of in a safe and appropriate manner
• Request suppliers to provide information on end-of-life product handling and disposal
• Ensure recycling and/or safe disposal of hazardous lamps, tubes and fittings is included as part of a government department's organisation-wide waste management strategy.

Lamps and tubes

Guidance

The following guidance notes have been developed to help government departments meet the target for lamps and tubes:

1. In conducting tender exercises for lamps and tubes, practitioners should specify lamps and luminaires that are fit for the purpose for which they are required, (eg, cogniscent of the user's requirements)
2. Lamps and luminaires must be maintained regularly and promptly replaced when required, to retain efficiencies.

Replacement opportunities²⁴

The following table helps to identify different types of bulbs and whether there might be a more efficient alternative.

Eco-labelling

Currently there are no specific New Zealand eco-labels for light fittings, therefore European energy rating labels have been included here as a guide only. This paper will be updated with New Zealand eco-labels as and when they become available.

Maintenance of lamps and tubes

As lighting systems age, light levels on desks and other working surfaces can drop by over 50 per cent. This reduction may be due to loss of output from the lamps and dirt on room surfaces. This can be reduced by bulk-replacing lamps and cleaning or repainting room surfaces in light colours to raise illumination levels.

Failed fluorescent tubes must be removed or replaced promptly, as they can sometimes continue to use power even when the tube has failed. For a mains frequency tube this could be around 25 per cent of rated tube power. High frequency fittings could use around 10 per cent of the tube rating. Electronic ballasts produced more recently have automatic end-of-life switch-offs that electrically deactivate ‘dead' tubes.

End-of-life

MfE is currently working on a set of recycling guidelines based on the European Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) recycling standards. The MfE guidelines will form the basis for performance standards that will be a requirement for product stewardship schemes for waste electronic and electrical equipment²⁶ due to be issued in early 2008.

Older installations may contain toxic chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). As it is no longer legal to use equipment containing PCBs, checks of older installations should be performed by an electrical contractor, and PCB containing equipment replaced as soon as possible.

The Stockholm Convention and fluorescent tube ballasts

New Zealand has signed up to the Stockholm Convention which commits countries to stop manufacturing and using persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and to minimise the release of these chemicals into the environment. POPs are toxic chemicals that persist in the environment. Their toxic impacts become stronger as they move through the food chain and increase in quantity in the fatty tissues of birds, mammals and humans.

Twelve chemicals are presently listed as POPs under the Stockholm Convention. The chemicals are a group of pesticides (aldrin, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, hexachlorobenzene, mirex, toxaphene), industrial chemicals (PCBs), and dioxins and furans that are unintentional by-products of combustion or of the manufacture of some chlorine-containing chemicals.

PCBs were used in New Zealand's electricity industry and most stocks have already been collected and disposed of. Arrangements will be made by MfE to safely dispose of remaining stocks that are collected, including the small PCB ballasts associated with fluorescent tubes made before 1980.

Lighting Council New Zealand is working with the Ministry for the Environment to publicise appropriate methods of handling PCBs and their disposal. Please contact Howard Ellis at MfE for more information on the disposal of fluorescent ballasts over 20 years old. Email: howard.ellis@mfe.govt.nz or phone: (04) 439 7437.

Disposing of lamps safely²⁷

Incandescent lamps may be disposed of with domestic-type rubbish. Wrap any broken glass in newspaper to prevent injury during handling of the rubbish bags.

Energy saving and other mercury-containing lamps such as fluorescent tubes should be recycled to ensure that the mercury is collected and recycled in an environmentally safe manner. Where there is a requirement for a bulk disposal of lamps and tubes (for example a larger building or facility that is carrying out a bulk upgrade of its lighting), it should be opened up to competition using the standards and guidance for disposal detailed in this paper in the specification and evaluation phases. For smaller departments or where there are low volumes, departments may wish to 'pool' this service with others nearby to reduce costs.

If a fluorescent lamp breaks, the greatest risk is being cut by broken glass. As a precaution, gloves should be worn when handling the broken lamp and doors and windows should be opened to ventilate the room. Wipe the area with a damp paper towel to pick up any smaller shards of glass, powder or liquid. An eye dropper or syringe can also be used to collect up any droplets of liquid. Do not vacuum the site as this can disperse the particles. Dispose of the paper towels, gloves and any cloths used to clean the area by placing in a plastic bag with domestic rubbish.

Lighting control equipment

Guidance

In conducting tender exercises for lighting control equipment, practitioners should specify one of the following types:

• Lighting equipment that is switched on only when needed, thereby minimising energy consumption (ie, high efficiency); or
• Lighting equipment that is regulated in terms of light output (and energy consumption) to take full advantage of daylight availability (ie, dimmable).

Types of lighting control equipment[28]

The types of lighting control equipment referred to above are listed to aid in the selection process:

Fitting timers or occupancy detectors[29]

Timers that switch lights off after a pre-set period may provide a suitable solution for open plan offices or large conference rooms where it is difficult to make an individual responsible for turning off the lights at the end of the day. They can also be useful for isolated areas visited for short periods such as toilets or stock rooms. Some timers give a warning before switching the lights off and can be re-set if light is still required. The lights can still be turned off manually, so labelling is desirable to help ensure they are not inadvertently switched off if timers are mounted centrally.

Occupancy detectors are another solution in open-plan office areas and conference rooms where the lights are often left on when they are not needed. They turn the lights off if they have not detected movement for around 15 minutes, but turn them on again when anyone enters the space. They are more expensive than timers, but are more effective at saving energy in areas where sections of the floor are vacant during the day, or in conjunction with a cleaning regime where, say, all cleaners work on one floor at a time.

Luminaires (light fittings)

This target and guidance relates to functional luminaires only (ie, those that are to deliver quantified levels of light), not decorative luminaires.

Guidance

High-efficiency reflectors

One of the most common light fittings used in commercial offices is the recessed "troffer" with a prismatic diffuser covering the lamps. Light is lost inside the fitting because of the box shape and, especially as the fitting ages, because the white paint does not reflect light efficiently. Specially shaped reflectors of silver or aluminium can be custom-made and fitted behind the lamps. They improve the efficiency of the fitting by up to 40 per cent and can allow further energy savings as fewer lamps are required. In older offices with poor lighting, light levels can be improved with no extra expenditure of energy.

Maintenance of light fittings

Regular cleaning of light fittings is important to remove any dirt on the reflecting and diffusing surfaces that may cause light levels to drop by over 50 per cent.

Many older installations were designed around the 38mm (T12) fluorescent tube. This tube was much less efficient than the modern 26mm (T8); so much so that towards the end of life, 2 x T8 tubes produce as much light as 3 x T12 tubes. It is also not uncommon to find that the interior surfaces of these fittings have never been cleaned. As most lighting installations are designed for the "worst case", thorough cleaning of the interior surfaces and diffusers and replacing the tubes with T8 tubes usually allows the fittings to be reduced from 3 tubes to 2. This is a well proven low cost, low risk upgrade option that should be considered before expensive alternatives such as high efficiency reflectors (see below).

In older installations, yellowed diffusers may drastically reduce light levels and should be replaced. Fittings installed in the 1960s and 70s may contain toxic chemicals called PCBs. As it is no longer legal to use equipment containing PCBs, checks of older installations should be performed by an electrical contractor, and PCB containing equipment replaced.

Summary – encourage energy-saving behaviour

Take the following actions to encourage energy-saving behaviour:

• Obtain "Switch Off when not in use" stickers for light switches (available from EECA)
• Use the lowest wattage bulb or tube that will meet lighting requirements
• Remind people to switch off lights in meeting rooms and other rooms that are used only part of the time
• Ensure that switching to individual areas is provided and labelled so that during after-hours use, a whole floor doesn't need to be illuminated.