Old fluorescent lighting – what to do with it?

If you have a lot of Old fluorescent lighting do you: LEAVE IT – or - RENEW IT – or - RETROFIT IT?

Most large buildings older that 15-years have numerous aging fluorescent lights, these may be suitable for economically replacing with new, high energy efficiency light fittings OR for retrofitting (refitting) with new, higher energy efficient light components.

Illustrated example: Old 2-lamp (2-tube) light fittings can be replaced (or retrofitted) with: 1x long life T5 or T8 Triphosphor lamp, a high efficiency light reflector, lamp holders, low loss electronic ballast and capacitor.
These new, 1-lamp lights, with their high efficiency, space-age components will give off as much illumination as the old, 2-lamp lights, but will use 50% - 60% less energy.

Savings can be spectacular in buildings such as office buildings and similar buildings where up to 50% of the electrical energy is often attributable to fluorescent lighting fixtures, therefore your total electricity bill could drop by up to 25%.

Lighting maintenance savings due to renewed lighting components can also be huge, and can add to the already big savings, thereby dramatically increasing the commercial viability of the installation, with payback periods often as little as 2 – 4 years. This gives any business a boost with their financial planning by equating to an average 33% return on investment which would no doubt help create a better bottom line for any business.

The $64 question for your particular site is: In the long run, when taking energy savings, maintenance savings and installation costs into consideration, is it then:

• cheaper to leave your lights as they are, or is it
• cheaper to completely renew them, or is it
• cheaper to retrofit (refit) them with new, energy-efficient components?

Our lighting program has been written to suit Australian and International applications.

Case studies of retrofit installations already completed in Australia
Two Sydney buildings that were recently retrofitted after evaluation by our CEO are the 20-level office block for the NSW Police Service’s HQ in College St, Sydney and also the huge Sydney Police Centre near Central Station, both with resultant, substantial energy savings and facility maintenance savings.

Police Service’s HQ in the Sydney CBD was a building which they were leasing over 5-years, but Police installed the retrofits out of their own funding because the program showed that the simple payback period for the installation would be under 2 ½ -years, thereby still making a good profit. The power factor correction effect of the replacement of thousands of old, blown capacitors via the retrofits was quite noticeable with this site and was a bonus as it decreased the payback period to well under 2-years.

These two projects were subsequently a contribution towards the NSW Police Service being granted a NSW SEDA Excellence Award for “Outstanding Commitment to the Energy Smart Government Program” in 1998.

What information will the lighting program give you?
You will calculate the following benefits which will assist in minimizing your recurring facility management expenses:

• Energy Savings: The potential drop in your electricity bill’s energy component due to less lamps and less ballasts etc;
• Demand savings: The potential drop in your electricity bill’s demand component due to less lamps and less ballasts etc;
• Air conditioning savings: The potential reduction in heat energy emission from fewer fluorescent lamps. This also lowers your air conditioning cooling load during summer and therefore assists any presently-overloaded AC systems to operate better and more efficiently.
• Maintenance savings: You will also calculate the potential drop in your lighting maintenance bills because lighting components will be renewed (in some cases equipment maintenance savings can be bigger then energy savings). You will separately calculate the potential lighting maintenance savings due to the fitting of the following new lighting components:
  • Long life, high light output, T5 or T8 triphosphor lamps in lieu of normal lamps;
  • New lamp holders;
  • New ballasts;
  • New capacitors.
  Note that the replacement of numerous old, blown lighting capacitors via the retrofits (or lighting renewals) can have a dramatic power factor correction effect, thereby further reducing the demand component of your bill and also proportionally reducing the electrical power (current) in main cables.
• Environmental Savings: The potential environmental remediation benefits, i.e. the huge reductions in the emissions of the green house gas, carbon dioxide which causes Global Warming. Also calculated is the Australian NSW Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme rebate (NGGAS) – if applicable.
• New lights or Retrofitted lights: Finally the program will tell you if it is more economical to renew or to retrofit + it will give you an auto-generated pie chart similar to this:

To ORDER from Australia and Internationally:

PayPal: This item can be purchased fast, via a Credit Card payment for only 49 Australian Dollars, through PayPal who have over 150-million accounts world-wide. This International system is also used by millions of eBay customers world-wide and is one of the most secure ONLINE payment organisations in existence. Use the BUY NOW button below:

More purchase information:

The lighting software program is written on approx. 400-lines of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. It is very simple to use for any person with a little spreadsheet knowledge & a little technical knowledge.

Erwin Tischler
   (Business Owner - Cert. Electrical Engineer, Granville TAFE NSW 1973
   & Lic Electrician EA 39404)

RE Developments Company (Incorp. “Energy Conservation”)
   Electrical Engineering Design
   Energy Conservation Services
   Power Factor Correction Services
   DIY Web Site Design Advice

PO Box 441
BAULKHAM HILLS, New South Wales, 1755, Australia

Email: savings@energyconservation.com.au or savings@bigpond.net.au
Ph: 02 9686 6771 Fax: 02 9688 7606

Click here for TOP of Page

Our services suit persons from all States, Cities and major Towns in Australia, e.g.: Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (A.C.T. ACT), Sydney in New South Wales (N.S.W. NSW), Melbourne in Victoria (Vic.), Hobart in Tasmania (Tas.), Adelaide in South Australia (S.A. SA), Perth in Western Australia (W.A. WA), Brisbane in Queensland (Qld.), Darwin in the Northern Territory (N.T. NT), Cairns, Innisfail, Ingham, Townsville, Bowen, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Gympie, Charters Towers, Mount Isa, Mnt Isa, Mt Isa, Kingaroy, Roma, Dalby, Toowoomba, Ipswich, Warwick, Surfers Paradise, Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah, Ballina, Lismore, Tenterfield, Grafton, Glenn Innes, Inverell, Blacktown, Liverpool, Fairfield, Pennant Hills, Penrith, Narrabri, Moree, Bourke, Coffs Harbour, Armidale, Tamworth, Gunnedah, Coonabarabran, Gilgandra, Nyngan, Broken Hill, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Pt Macquarie, Taree, Forster, Nelson Bay, Maitland, Cessnock, Gosford, Parramatta, Castle Hill, Pennant Hills, Hornsby, Liverpool, Penrith, Windsor, Lithgow, Katoomba, Bathurst, Orange, Wellington, Dubbo, Cowra, Forbes, Parkes, Young, Leeton, Griffith, Narrandera, Hay, Mildura, Goulburn, Yass, Cootamundra, Kiama, Nowra, Queanbeyan, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Deniliquin, Batemans Bay, Cooma, Merimbula, Wodonga, Wangaratta, Shepparton, Echuca, Swan Hill, Horsham, Bendigo, Seymour, Ballarat, Ararat, Portland, Warrnambool, Colac, Geelong, Warragul, Morwell, Traralgon, Sale, Bairnsdale, Mount Gambier, Mnt Gambier, Mt Gambier, Murray Bridge, Port Pirie, Pt Pirie, Gawler, Peterborough, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Pt Augusta, Port Lincoln, Pt Lincoln, Burra, Kalgoorlie, Norseman, Esperance, Albany, Bunbury, Merredin, Busselton, Mandurah, Armadale, Fremantle, Midland, Northam, Moora, Geraldton, Carnarvon, Newman, Karratha, Port Hedland, Pt Hedland, Broome, Derby, Wyndham, Halls Creek, Collie, Adelaide River, Katherine, Alice Springs, Newcastle, Wollongong.

Our energy efficiency website may also help persons Internet searching with the following search phrases: recessed lighting, recessed lights, business lighting, business lights, lighting equipment, fluorescent light fitting, fluorescent light fittings, energy efficient lighting, energy efficient lights, lighting design, office light, office lights, office lighting, ceiling lights, ceiling lighting.