Wireless Advanced Lighting Controls

Wireless networking, which is relatively new to advanced lighting controls, enables Advanced Lighting Control functionality without the expense of installing dedicated control wiring. Assessments in two federal sites in Northern California showed 54% energy savings when fluorescent lamps with dimmable ballasts were retrofitted with wireless ALC, and 78% when the wireless ALC retrofit was coupled with new LED fixtures. View full-size infographic. [PDF - 238 KB]

GPG Findings 022, May 2015, Wireless Advanced Lighting Controls. Opportunity: How much energy is used for lighting in U.S. commercial buildings? 26% of electricity goes to lighting(Wireless Advanced Lighting Controls Retrofit Demonstration. Francis Rubinstein (LBNL), April 2015, p.7).>30% DEMONSTRATED SAVINGS WITH ADVANCED LIGHTING CONTROLS (ALC) (Ibid, p23) Compared to national average EUI of 4.1 kWh/ft2/yr ONLY 2% OF U.S. COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS IMPLEMENT ALC (Ibid, p23) Technology: How do Wireless Advanced Lighting Controls work? Wireless Networking enables ALC functionality without the expense of installing dedicated control wiring. Measurement and Verification. Where did M and V occur? LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY assessed wireless advanced lighting controls with new fluorescent lamps and dimmable ballasts at the Moss Federal Building in Sacramento, California, and with LED fixtures at the Appraisers Building in San Francisco.Results: How did Wireless Advanced Controls perform in M and V? 54% SAVINGS 78% SAVINGS INCLUDING LED (Ibid, p.7,39) Normalized for GSA.INCREASED FLEXIBILITY IN LIGHT LEVELS TO SUIT USER PREFERENCES (Ibid, p7,39). 3-6 yr INCREMENTAL PAYBACK FOR RENOVATIONS (Ibid, p7,39). Payback: Incremental payback between three and six years. For locations with GSA’s average energyuse intensity (EUI) of 3.25 kWh/ft2, installed costs for retrofitting with wireless advanced lighting controls and LED must be $3.00/ft2 at an electricity rate of $0.12/kWh for a 10-year payback.Deployment: Where does M and V recommend deploying Wireless Advanced Lighting Controls? INTEGRATE WITH LED FOR RENOVATIONS. Also consider for retrofits, targeting facilities with minimal lighting controls, high lighting energy use (EUI > 3.25 kWh/ft2) and utility rates > $.10 kWh (Subject to evaluation and approval by GSA-IT and Security) [PDF - 238 KB]


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Last Reviewed: 2021-10-08