Good lighting design lowers lighting costs
Refurbishment or replacement: lighting costs are a major criterion for project and planning decisions. The total cost of a lighting installation is made up of
- capital costs – acquisition and installation – and
- operating costs – energy consumed, servicing and maintenance.
Because energy costs today account for around half of the total cost of a lighting installation (see pie chart), the greatest savings can obviously be made with energy-efficient lighting.
Energy balance and analysis
So lighting planning also includes an energy balance calculation as well as a feasibility analysis. Cost comparisons make sense where quality, service life, fitness for use, spare parts availability and maintenance advantages of luminaires as well as lighting quality features are equal.
Energy- and cost-saving lighting installations depend crucially on
- precision design tools
- informed selection of
- long-life lamps with high luminous efficacy and good colour rendering
- energy-saving operating devices and
- energy-efficient luminaires with optimised optical control, - use of modern lighting management technologies permitting both optimum utilisation of daylight and flexible lighting tailored to actual requirements.
