Situation > The challenge that this commercial office setting presented was that we needed to reduce energy consumption and improve the quality of light, while maintaining the existing light levels.

Solution > We switched the fixture type from a 2×4 trouffer to a 2×4 trouffer with reflector, and replaced four 4’ T-12 lamps with two 4’ T-8 fluorescents. The two magnetic ballasts were substituted with a single electronic one. With these changes, the watts per fixture dropped from 168 to 56, and the CRI jumped from 62 to 85.

Benefits of Upgrade > In addition to improving the light quality by raising the CRI to 85, the energy consumption was reduced by 67%. The accounting department will surely be pleased with annual energy savings of $41.93 and a ROI over 50%. These savings are based on 4,680 annual burn hours and a cost of $0.08 kWh; the result is a less than two year payback.