Case Study - Albert Facey House Lighting Upgrade

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ALBERT FACEY HOUSE LIGHTING UPGRADE

Upgrading your light fittings is one of the most effective ways to reduce your office's energy consumption. And, as illumination can account for nearly 50% of a typical office's energy bill, the cost savings can be substantial.

In the case of the Department for Planning and Infrastructure , the lighting upgrade at its Albert Facey House offices in Wellington Street is saving the department more than $45,000 a year.

The lighting upgrade, undertaken in 2004, involved upgrading nearly 1,000 light fittings. To reduce cost and wastage, the Department for Planning and Infrastructure retained the existing casing for each fitting but , replaced all low loss ballasts with electronic ballasts, installed light reflectors and replaced the two or three standard mono-phosphor tubes in each fitting with one tri-phosphor tube, thereby more than halving the energy requirement. The higher light output of the tri-phosphor tubes combined with the reflectors has ensured that the lighting levels still comply with Australian Standards. The work was all achieved using an interest-free loan provided by the Sustainable Energy Development Office through its Energy Smart Government Program.

The Department for Planning and Infrastructure's yearly energy use data reveals that there has been a 53% reduction in energy consumption since the light fittings were refurbished. This equates to an annual financial saving of nearly $46,000 and also represents a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The project has enabled the Department to cut its CO₂ emissions by 361 tonnes a year.

Switching to more energy efficient lighting can carry an upfront cost when dealing with an older, less energy efficient building but the payback period is relatively short. The Department for Planning and Infrastructure for example, has recouped the capital spent on the new lighting in just under three years.

It is hoped that, with results such as these, more government departments and private businesses will be encouraged to re-think their office lighting and switch any energy draining light fittings to more energy efficient types.