Continuing our discussion on energy solutions that will help every church reduce their energy usage and bills through management systems and automation, I’m shifting to the actual products that you should be considering in your building renovations and upgrades.

We’ve come a long way since the days when candlelight was the only lighting option.  Now candles are a feature item in most church buildings reserved for special occasions.  Today, church lighting systems are a large contributor to energy waste.  If your church has yet to convert from incandescents, old school gym flood lights, and fluorescent tubes, you are missing out on significant energy savings.  Incandescent lights by todays standards are inefficient. Incandescent lights contain a filament wire crafted from various elements that illuminate when current travels through the wire.  The problem is that the filament is very fragile and burns out within 750-2000 hours, much faster than CFLs and LEDs.  They also give off heat in the space which impacts room cooling.  CLF’s and LED’s require a fourth of the energy or less and last 10-20 times longer.

The benefit of investing in sustainable lighting is the low voltage and increased lifetime of the new technologies.  These new fixtures will require far less maintenance and bulb replacements than ever before.  If upgrading the whole building at once seems a bit overwhelming, consider doing it in phases.  You can tackle this one room at a time.  The good news is that more companies are producing these lights and prices are dropping fast.  Let’s get up close with the latest types of lighting options.

CFL

What is it?  Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) produce light in a different way than incandescent light.  Their housing contains a mixture of noble gases and other elements that glow when current moves through the tube.  They require less current and give off less heat which makes them far more efficient than incandescents.  CFLs have become very popular and can be found in abundance in hardware and department stores across the country.  They are being widely adopted as a direct replacement for most incandescent bulbs.

The Good:  Lasts 10-20x longer than traditional incandescents while using uses 1/4 of the energy.

The Not So Good:  Most are not dimmable.  Certain dimmable CFL’s still require the user to replace the wall dimmer unit with one that is compatible with dimmable CFLs.

Prices: $1-8 per bulb

Lifetime:  8000-10,000 hours

LED

What is it?  Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are made from semi-conductive materials that create light when current passes through them.  Most LED light bulbs contain several small LED semiconductors, a heat sink to absorb any heat given off, and a circuit controller that manages the bulbs. They are incredibly efficient compared to incandescents and are a lot more robust which means they will last a lot longer. The integrated circuitry and fast action make LED’s a very attractive option.  Companies like Phillips, GE, Belkin, Cree, and others are producing LED bulbs with wifi technology allow them to appear on a network to be remotely controlled with an app.  In a more commercial space, there are highly controllable LED replacements for recessed “pot” lights and fluorescent tube fixtures available on the market.

The Good:  Lasts Up to 25x longer than incandescents while using 1/5th of the energy.

The Not So Good:  Prices are still pretty high, but are falling more and more.

Prices: $4-$25 per bulb

Prices: $10- $60 for home connected bulbs (requires additional hardware and an app).

Estimated Useful Lifetime: 35,000-50,000 hours (LEDs typically lose brightness over time)

INDUCTION

What is it?  Induction lighting isn’t a household name at this point.  However, this cool technology will be making more headway in the market especially in large rooms and halls with outdated high bay fluorescent fixtures while using half the energy.  They give off good color and are comfortable for a variety of tasks with significantly reduced glare. They aren’t affected by temperature and can withstand vibration. How they work is something you just have to see for yourself.  Take a look at this video:

The Good:  Induction lights last 5-10 times longer than their fluorescent counterparts all while using 50% the Energy.  They get to full brightness in as little as 90 seconds, 2-3 times faster than traditional high bay fluorescents and re-striking does not require warm up.

The Not So Good:  Not much bad to say.  It’s a new technology, there isn’t much documentation on actual lifetime, mainly because installs haven’t used them long enough to report on actual lifetime.

Prices: $150-$400 per fixture for high bay lights.

Lifetime: Up to 100,000+ hours (up to 20 years)

Want to know how much you can save by switching to CFLs, LEDs, or Induction lamps?  In the next post we calculate the payback period using some examples.

Sources:

CFL’s EnergyStar.gov

LEDs EnergyStar.gov

Induction Lighting Inductionlamps.com

Lifetime: US Dept Of Energy