The recent wave of lighting retrofit kits has allowed lighting designers to provide what appear to be new, aesthetically appealing fixtures in the ceiling while saving a building owner or facility manager installation time and labor costs. “Retrofit kits have been a good thing for projects with a large volume of the same fixture,” Minard says. “When you get into the ceiling, it’s not always as open as you think. When you take the old fixture down you may realize the new fixture isn’t going to fit. Retrofit kits allow you to keep the same housing and replace all the components on the inside.”
In addition, as technologies change, kits allow building owners and facility managers to upgrade their existing light sources. “You can open up the louver in 10 years and make some improvements to where the bar is, still providing the same amount of light but operating at less wattage,” Minard adds. “That allows me or the client to just upgrade the fixture or component without having to buy a new fixture.”
McMasters warns any lighting retrofit can unexpectedly cause an energy-code-compliance issue. “Previously, when you were changing lamps or ballasts, you did not need to bring your facility up to code, as far as controls go. However, with new energy codes [IECC 2012 and ASHRAE 90.1-2010], which have been adopted in some states, you need to be careful because the definition of an alteration has changed. You can accidentally add more onto your bill if you decide to do a retrofit that kicks you into a code you didn’t know you needed to comply with.”
Step No. 3: Understand Technology Advancements
Rising energy costs and concerns about environmental issues have paved the way for lighting’s constant evolution. Rosen notes the manufacturers with whom he regularly works are investing their research and development in LED technology, rather than CFL or any other light source.
“Eight years ago—not even 10 years ago—as professional lighting designers we were really concerned about this because the quality of LED products just wasn’t very good, including the color rendering,” Rosen says. “But the speed at which the market has improved the quality of LED light is remarkable. At this point, we’re way over the hurdle of whether we want to use LED.”
Today, lighting retrofit kits allow building owners to replace virtually any light source with LED, though Rosen isn’t convinced LED is always the best option: “Some of the solutions that have been developed to replace a fixture with an LED are very good but, in general, I think the fluorescent is still more efficient. However, I don’t think it will be that way forever; manufacturers will continue to work to ensure LEDs provide better light with less power.”
McMasters adds: “Compact fluorescents are what they are; you have a certain size and the certain base it fits into and you know what to expect from the operation of the lamp. LEDs are still very much all over the place. However, there’s a consortium, called Zhaga, that is working on standardization of LED products so you can swap things in and out. There are some hiccups with that, as well, but that’s part of developing a new technology.”
Another technology advancement comes as a way to take advantage of tax incentives for energy efficiency: Retrofit lighting kits now offer dimming and step-dimming ballasts. “EPAct [Energy Policy Act] now requires bi-level control, which means two levels of light, not including off,” Minard notes. “If a space is not occupied, the fixtures need to be dimmed while some are off, so ballast manufacturers are meeting that requirement in their retrofit kits.”
Rosen thinks five years from now the vast majority of lighting products specified on a project will be LED, but he adds there will continue to be many retrofit opportunities in our buildings. “There are still a lot of fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs out there, and the vast majority of street lighting is still HID,” he says. “In all these categories, however, LED is coming on strong.”
Lighting Resources
Illuminating Engineering Society, www.iesna.org
International Association of Lighting Designers, www.iald.org
National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions, www.ncqlp.org
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, www.pnnl.gov
U.S. Department of Energy’s CALiPER Program, www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/caliper.html
Zhaga Consortium, www.zhagastandard.org