The Impact of Lighting in Commercial Buildings

Lighting accounts for 17% of the electricity use in commercial buildings! Therefore, if you find inefficiencies in lighting when auditing the building, it could have a big impact on energy savings. Some items to look out for include over-illumination, lighting controls, and making sure the type of lighting fits the use of a room.  

Linear fluorescent lamps comprised 78% of lighting in commercial buildings according to the 2015 US Lighting Characterization Report by the Department of Energy, followed by LED's which represented 10% of the lighting in commercial buildings. Comparing linear fluorescent to LED lamps, the average wattage across commercial buildings was 34 Watts and 19 Watts, respectively. 

​The linear fluorescent lamp is often found in commercial spaces because they provide uniform levels of lighting, are relatively inexpensive, and give illumination for long periods of time. They can be found in spaces that need bright and uniform lighting, such as storage spaces, break rooms, bathrooms, etc. These lamps vary in their wattage and lengths: the most common is the 4-inch 32W T8 lamp, while the energy-saving lamps are the 28W and 25W alternatives. Variations on the most common lamp include different lengths (2-inches and 8-inches) and T5 lamps. In this context, T represents the shape of the lamp as tubular, and the 5 represents the 5/8-inch diameter. 

A Breakdown of Lighting Lamps in Commercial Buildings