Study: Wireless Lighting Retrofits Offer Quick Payback

Cost of Lighting Retrofits

Clanton Associates just completed a study for wireless lighting control company Daintree Networks that compares first costs and energy savings for six different lighting control retrofit options for a typical 1970s office space. Not surprisingly, the study shows significant first-cost savings with the wireless systems, with higher equipment costs offset by the reduced labor for running wires. Energy savings for the two wireless options are comparable to that of wired systems with similar capabilities, with the most advanced systems saving 49% over an ASHRAE 90.1-2007 baseline and 35% over California’s Title 24-2008 efficiency standard. The modeling in the study also reveals that advanced controls can compensate for less optimal layouts. Even though it was focused on retrofit solutions, this study may also help inform designers considering options for newly constructed spaces. In new construction “there would likely be a bit less differential in first cost between the systems, but the energy study would remain the same, and the additional long-term benefits of installing a networked, addressable system may far outweigh the first cost and energy costs,” predicts study co-author Dane Sanders.

For more information, see: www.daintree.net/products/wireless-lighting-control/