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INTRODUCTION

Increasing lighting efficiency is often the most cost effective energy efficiency improvement that can be made to an existing building. There are two basic approaches for improving the energy efficiency of an existing lighting system: retrofit or redesign. Retrofitting the existing luminaires will be the more common approach. However, on projects where the existing illumination or lighting equipment no longer suits the space or application, redesign is the better choice. A thorough assessment is necessary to determine if one (or both) of these methods is advantageous over the other.

When upgrading lighting in any space, it is important to know the recommended practice and illumination levels for the occupant programming. The IES publishes many standards on lighting applications, and a competent lighting practitioner/designer may be able to help with specifying accepted illumination levels in the building. There may be a nominal cost, but it is a sound investment to get the lighting upgrade project right the first time. When working on a lighting upgrade project, one must always be aware of the delicate balance between quality lighting and energy savings. When too much focus is placed on energy savings, quality may suffer.