- reduces overhead costs by lowering energy consumption
- decreases maintenance costs and
- increases worker welfare and productivity.
- Is increased worker satisfaction important to our business?
- Do I have the budget to spend a little more now (10%-20%) to save much more in the long run (20%-40%) per year, over the next ten years?
- Is integrating daylight with electric light important for reducing our operational costs?
- If we use daylight in our facility, will glare be an issue for our workers?
- Who will manage the initial equipment costs in the specifications to monitor your bid pricing?
- Is it important that our firm project an environmentally conscious, 'green' image?
- What are the feelings of the employees who use the space every day?
- increased resale value of the property
- enhanced ability to rent space
- the ability to attract and retain workers
- improved employee mood, comfort, and productivity
- improved public image
IALD Director of Marketing & Communications and Principal of IlluminArt, Stefan Graf, reiterates the importance of using a professional lighting designer early on in the design process...
Lighting Should be Part of Facility Management Models
I was asked recently to comment on facility lighting and realised that in too many cases a professional lighting designer is still not an integral player on a facility management team. As a result, many of the issues related to good lighting, including visibility, productivity, health and operating costs are often overlooked in the design of today's workplace.
Despite the fact that proper lighting design gives companies a competitive edge, to many, lighting still might be an afterthought or considered a small part of a mechanical electrical system. However, changing this paradigm and thinking of lighting as part of the synergistic whole of a facility provides measurable returns worth repeating. Right out of the box, incorporating professional lighting design from the start of a project typically:
There are examples of poor lighting everywhere - lighting that causes distracting and uncomfortable glare from uncontrolled sunlight or from improperly specified lighting, lighting that is too dim and lighting that does not fulfil the needs of the facilities that it serves. It forces us to ask why bad lighting is so prevalent. It is estimated that up to 90% of lighting systems are specified by persons who don't have knowledge of current technologies or access to the research that guides quality illumination design techniques.
So who is specifying all of these lighting systems?
Sometimes it is the architect, engineer or interior designer on the project. While they are experts in their professions, the field of architectural lighting design is equally as specialised. Thus, professional lighting designers are becoming evermore integral to the overall success of a project. In many other instances, lighting sales people are stepping in. The goal of a lighting sales representative is to sell product. To accomplish this, reps offer free specification services to their customers. They often simplify lighting design to a fixture style selection and doing foot candle calculations. There are many fixtures that may look the same in catalogues, but have completely different quality and performance characteristics.
Lighting is a Science
Once armed with some knowledge of lighting, it is time for the building owner or manager to answer some hard questions that will achieve the best design for the facility. Questions to ponder include:
Savings Not Just for New Buildings
Lighting Enhances Productivity
The Light Right Consortium (www.LightRight.org), which is affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy, is the source of a variety of studies delineating the relationship between people and the quality of light in their work environments. In their research study titled Lighting Quality and Office Worker Productivity, it was found that workers who were satisfied with the lighting in their workspace rated that space as more attractive, and were happier, more comfortable, healthier and more satisfied with their environment and their job. In the same study, it was found that when workers had individual control over their workspace lighting, their daily motivation was increased, and their individual work performance was sustained throughout the day instead of dropping, which is the norm.
Overall, the Light Right Consortium has found numerous possible links between well designed lighting and strategic business outcomes including:
In other words, lighting, both good and bad, has the possibility to impact a facility on many different levels. Lighting is an integral part of every building, and when it is done well, it can be an economical asset that can lower overhead costs and increase productivity, not to mention the aesthetically pleasing aspects of good lighting. Done wrong, it can be expensive, cause problems for staff, and be a drain on the bottom line.
information :
www.iald.org
To learn about the lighting solutions available, research is important. One of the best ways to make sure that a facility, be it new or existing, has cost effective lighting is through awareness and education. Building owners and operators need to become more informed on important lighting considerations and using new technologies to reduce operational costs.
After addressing these and other questions and doing additional research, owners may find that their views of lighting design and new technology change. New technology is often seen as too costly, however, the opposite is typically true. Every day, new technologies in lamp, ballast, and optical systems are being perfected, and the choices continue to increase. Yet, not every new technology may be appropriate for every facility, and the technology needs to be reviewed and considered before specifying it for a project.
Cost savings such as these are not limited to new facilities. The lighting of an existing office or work space can be redesigned to show considerable savings to the owner. The initial lighting design may have been specified by a sales person or well-intentioned specifier who lacked lighting education and the knowledge of up-to-date lighting trends and technologies. When a system is redesigned by a lighting designer who keeps abreast of available technology, the initial costs are comparable, but the reduced energy requirements and lowered maintenance costs will over time reveal a cost payback of many times that of the initial outlay.
Of course, good lighting is not always about cash on hand. It can also mean benefits for the workers in the space, which can lead to increased worker satisfaction and may increase productivity. The biggest return on investment will be realised when a good design is implemented and the people in the facility benefit.