greening your lodging - lighting

Money Saving Tips - Lighting
Reprinted with permission from www.GreenLodgingNews.com

• Install compact fluorescents where appropriate. These can provide up to 80 percent energy savings and have eight to 13 times the life span of incandescents.
  
  
• Use the lowest wattage bulbs that will do the job.
  
  
• Incorporate natural light in building design where possible.
  
  
• Use efficient T5 and T8 fluorescent lamps.
  
  
• Replace your incandescent exit sign lamps with compact fluorescents or new LED lighting. LED systems also are available for cove and accent lighting.
  
  
• Replace mercury lamps with high-pressure sodium or metal-halide lamps. They have a higher efficiency than mercury lamps.
  
  
• Lighting, where possible, should be on sensors that switch the lights on or off as required. This applies to both interior and exterior areas.
  
  
• Turn lights off when not needed. Post signage to remind employees.
  
  
• Paint walls, ceilings and floors in light colors for better light reflection.
  
  
• Dust lamps regularly. Dusty lamp coverings reduce light output and create the need for additional lighting. According to the Washington, D.C.-based National Energy Assistance Directors’ Assn., dust can cut light output by as much as 25 percent.
  
  
• Provide nightlights near bathrooms. Guests often leave a light on at night because rooms are dark.
  
  
• Housekeepers should use lights in only those rooms being cleaned.
  
  
• Install translucent lampshades to increase room light levels.
  
  
• Use LED candles instead of real candles.
  
  
• Do not leave underwater decorative pool lights on overnight.
  
  
• Install skylights where feasible to add natural light.
  
  
• Use reflectors above fluorescent lights to focus the light in desired areas without increasing bulb wattage.
  
  
• Where heat lamps are used in bathrooms, install timers to control their operation.
  
  
• Replace magnetic ballasts with energy-saving electronic ballasts.
  
  
• Where applicable, use dimmable lighting.
  
  
• Use lighting control units with emergency lighting.
  
  
• Incorporate dimming capability where possible.
  
  
• Use a light meter to make sure you are not overlighting areas of your hotel.
  
  
• In pool areas, use metal halide high-intensity discharge fixtures.
  
  
• The most efficient source of outside lighting in the United States is referred to as high-pressure sodium. Use 250-watt high-pressure sodium fixtures mounted about 20 feet off the ground.
  
  
• Investigate government rebate options for lighting retrofits. Through the end of 2007, there may be substantial tax credits available due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
  
  
• For outdoor signage, use LEDs. They offer an 80 to 90 percent energy efficiency gain, last much longer than neon and fluorescent lighting, and require much less maintenance.
  

Reprinted with permission from www.GreenLodgingNews.com.