SEE-Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Conserving our Essential Companion: Energy & Environment

Energy Conservation Techniques in Lighting

Lighting accounts for less than 5% of the electricity consumption in most industries. In spite of the fact that lighting is a not major energy consuming center in the industry, considerable developments have taken place in this area, hence the scope for energy saving is significant. Light output is measured in lumens and the availability of light in a particular area is called illuminance, which is measured in lumens/sq.m or lux. The illuminance level in Indian industry, with some rare exceptions, is generally much lower than the recommended levels. Some of the working planes and the required Lux levels are given below :

 It may be noted that it is not always necessary to provide exactly the sane illuminance level as given above. Since the issue of lighting is subjective, care should be taken to provide satisfactory lighting which will facilitate people to do their tasks, without straining their eyes.

 Selection of Energy efficient Lamps:

 As the technological developments in the field of lighting has achieved tremendously high, the wattage required to produce the same illuminance has reduced very drastically. Some of the lights with their illuminance levels are given below :

 The replacement of the standard lamps with the energy efficient lamps is shown below:

Type of lamps, their wattage and luminaires have to be selected considering the tasks being performed, the mounting height and the lamp efficacy. Apart from illuminance requirement another parameter which is important is color rendering, which is very much specific if the task involves distinguishing colors. Luminaires selection also may be done to maximize light availability in the work area. Use of mirror optics for fluorescent tube light fittings is one such example. Mirror optics are now being extensively used for office and commercial lighting.

Important Developments :

Electronic Ballast :

Conventional electromagnetic ballasts are used to provide the higher voltage during the starting and also limit the current during normal operation. The power loss in electromagnetic ballast is about 10 to 15 watts, hence a 40 W tube light fixture actually consumes about 50 to 55 W.

Electronic ballasts are oscillators that convert the supply frequency to about 20000 Hz to 25000 Hz. The losses in an electronic ballast are only 1 to 2 w. These ballasts can replace conventional electromagnetic chokes, saving about 20 % energy and also provide about 10% more light. The additional feature is that, with electronic ballasts, tube lights light up instantly without blinking, the conventional starter is also eliminated.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) :

Compact Fluorescent lamps (CFL) are available in sizes of 5 W, 7 W, 9 W, 10 W, 11 W, 13 W, 18 W, 20 W , 23 W, 25 W and 26 W, These are now being manufactured in India. The use of these lamps are catching up fast in commercial sector i.e. shops, hotels etc. The 9 W, 11 W and 18 W CFLs can replace 40 W, 60 W and 100 W incandescent lamps respectively.

Different CFL s that can replace incandescent lamps are

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