Real Estate Journal — Green Buildings — September 29 - October 12, 2017 — 29B
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M id A tlantic
G reen B uildings
By George Crawford, Green Partners Local Law 88 and Local Law 134: Suggestions for upgrading to LED lighting
I
f your building has not already upgraded to LED lighting,
mum of a five year useful life to make these economics work. Longer warranty periods, even if they involve higher product costs, will improve your in- vestment return. As five-year manufacturers’ warran¬ties – or longer – are available for all quality LED products, our suggested requirement for five-year warranties for LED products utilized in your project should be “baked in” to your plan to ensure a success- ful retrofit. Beware of the discounted low cost LED products avail- able on the Inter¬net that may
become an irresistible temp- tation. Remember that these products are “low cost” for a reason. They do not meet the quality standards for longer term warranties and are out there waiting to sabotage some retrofit project. Focus on the required minimum five-year useful product life that is the economic underpinning of your LED retrofit. Another benefit from a LED up¬grade – which could moti- vate sooner rather than later compliance – is less mainte- nance. The longer life of LED products translates to less
building staff time dedicated to failed lamp changes. This benefit may be harder to quan- tify, but doesn’t diminish its value or importance. As can be seen from the comparison of LED products to traditional light- ing products, not only do LED products use less energy, they have much longer useful lives as compared to traditional lighting products. Longer useful product lives translate to reduced staff time dedi- cated to lamp changes. But the benefit doesn’t stop there. With a continuing program
of lamp changes, there is the replacement lamp stock that must be maintained – includ- ing taking inventory as well as a purchasing program for replacement lamps. Taken a step further, the replacement lamp pur¬chases must match the existing lighting configura- tion to maintain the lighting design integrity – easier said than done. For those buildings that have installed architec- turally designed LED lighting, it is easier to maintain the integrity of the design over the long term because of the long continued on page 32B
this article may be use- ful in terms of develop- ing your own p l an f o r a LED retrofit. Lo c a l Law 88 and Local
George Crawford
Law 134 require all buildings 25,000 s/f or larger to up- grade to energy efficient LED lighting. Since this mandated upgrade is not an “if,” but a “when,” here are a few guide- lines to help make your own upgrade a success. First, see your LED upgrade as a quality project with a long and useful life – not just a quick lamp change. Because LED products use less energy than traditional lighting, the before and after utility bill differential – over time – is how we recom- mend you fund your project as well as generate the “return” on your project investment – once the original upfront costs have been covered. The key to the success of this approach is tied to the initial LED product selection and installation. To illustrate the utility bill differen¬tial, which will “fund” your retrofit, here are some examples of traditional light- ing and LED comparisons of electric consumption levels as well useful product lives: • 60-Watt A19 Lamp – 2,000- hour useful life. LED replace- ment: 9-Watt LED Lamp with a 25,000-hour useful life – five- year warranty. • 40-Watt Candelabra Lamp – 5,000-hour useful life. LED replace¬ment: 5-Watt LED Candle with a 25,000-hour useful life – five-year warranty. • 32-Watt 4’ T8 Fluorescent Tube – 20,000-hour useful life. LED re¬placement: 12-Watt LED Tube with a 70,000-hour useful life – five-year warranty. On average, it will take two to three years follow- ing completion of your LED retrofit for the accumulated “differential” from your lower utility bills to cover the cost of your up-front LED investment. After the initial in-stallation cost has been “paid down,” the continuing lower utility bills will then “generate” the “investment re¬turn” on your retrofit investment. So as an economic starting point, you will need to structure your LED retrofit to have a mini-
HowWould You Like To Receive LED Energy Savings Like This?
Cost of LED Product Installed - $56,600.00 Annual kWh Savings 78,132 Annual Savings (based on .24 rate) - $18,751.00 Return On Investment - 2.7 years LED Products Carry a 7-10 Year Warranty
LED Product: With recent advancements, the "one for one" lamp replacement - an incandescent A19 lamp replaced by a LED A19 lamp of lower wattage is old news. "The smart move is to utilize the latest LED "engines" such as TerraLUX. The advantages are 1) Less labor and material costs, 2) Faster payback because there will be more energy saved, and 3) A longer useful product life – 70,000 hours with a 7 year warranty. LED Retro-Fit Payback Timelines: If your LED Retro-Fit will include the replacement of both incandescents and fluorescents, the combination of the energy savings and the funding will result in a payback of about two year’s time.
954 Lexington Avenue * Suite 320 * NewYork, NY 10021 For More Information Visit www.GreenPartnersNY.com or Contact George Crawford, Principal at gcrawford@greenpartnersny.com
To Get Your Project Started, Contact Us Today For A FREE LED RETRO-FIT FEASIBILITY STUDY CALL TOLL FREE 800-595-1094
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