Limitations of state efficiency policies routinely result in understated energy savings potential of lighting systems, and particularly advanced lighting control technologies, inadvertently leaving substantial savings on the table, according to a new study by the Alliance to Save Energy (funded by GE Current) and the DesignLights Consortium (DLC).
Efficiency programs that capitalize on system-level lighting efficiency measures – combining lighting technology upgrades with networked lighting controls (NLC) – could see an additional 22 percent lifetime energy savings on average. Additionally, the report provides a first-of-its-kind compilation of estimates related to peak demand impacts possible through such a systems approach – noting that peak savings available for targeting from C & I lighting technologies by 2035 could be over 37,000 megawatts.
Prepared by Energy Futures Group as a component of the Alliance’s Systems Efficiency Resource Hub project, the report focuses on the opportunity to update energy efficiency (EE) program rules and regulations. Noting that LEDs and NLCs are typically installed as a complete system, the report finds that programs tend to underestimate the savings potential of NLCs. This underrepresentation is largely due to an oversized reliance on annual (first year) savings rather than lifetime energy savings potential, inconsistent savings assumptions for NLC impacts, and a tendency to calculate benefits without considering savings from NLCs installed with LED lighting projects as part of the same system.
The report recommends shifting EE programs toward designs and incentive strategies that promote LED lighting and NLCs as a single solution, which would align program design with actual practice, maximize savings and establish “a foundation for more advanced system-level interests such as grid-interactive efficient buildings.” Treating LEDs and NLCs as a system rather than separately, the analysis concludes, increases the lifetime savings of NLCs by 22 percent on average, thereby significantly improving the overall cost-effectiveness of commercial and industrial (C & I) lighting projects. In addition, the report recommends changing the focus from annual savings to lifetime savings, noting that this better represents the potential cost savings and environmental benefit of a measure.
“Networked lighting controls have major potential to reduce energy use and resulting carbon emissions, while providing a gateway to building intelligence, but that potential remains largely unrealized,” said Christina Halfpenny, Executive Director of the DLC, which published a 2018 study showing that NLCs can boost the energy efficiency of stand-alone LED commercial lighting projects by up to 47 percent. “With today’s report, we hope to help guide the design of utility efficiency programs that fully appreciate the value of NLCs to capture energy savings, reduce peak demand, and advance smart building goals.”
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