Is it worth upgrading my lighting systems?

Upgrading equipment and systems

Zoning

1. Switching in parallel
Make the most of natural light by creating lighting zones parallel to the windows and switching them separately. Then, when there’s enough daylight, the lighting zone near the window can be switched off or dimmed without leaving other zones with too little light.

2. Zone lighting
Within every large workspace there’ll be areas that require different levels of lighting – where closer proximity, more efficient task lighting would improve the working environment. Install specific controls to service these zones, so that task lighting can be switched on when it’s needed and off when it’s not. If you are uncertain where the main work stations will be in a workspace do not light the whole area to the maximum level required for the tasks. Instead, light to a lower level and provide extra task lighting for work stations.

Lighting controls

1. Occupancy sensors
Why light empty spaces? Occupancy sensors, which switch off lights when a space isn’t being used, can reduce lighting costs by 30%.


2. Install daylight sensorsLighting a space artificially when daylight is already doing the job is a waste of energy. Light sensors (photocells) switch off or dim artificial lighting when there’s sufficient daylight. They’re particularly useful for outside lights, and can pay back their costs within a year.