I recently had the opportunity to interview Eric Snyder, marketing manager for Eaton’s Cooper Lighting Business, for an article I wrote about outdoor lighting for The Electrical Distributor (TED) Magazine. The interview was extremely informative, and I wanted to share it with you complete here.
DiLouie: What are the major recent trends in outdoor area lighting?
Snyder: There are several trends in outdoor area lighting, with the most obvious being the market shift away from HID and towards LED based solutions. Distributors, electrical engineers, lighting designers and end users are much more educated on LED technology and solutions today than just a few years ago. Because of this, there is a much higher level of scrutiny and expectation for an LED product versus a traditional source product. There is also a high level of market interest and product development in outdoor lighting controls. I believe there will be significant growth in controls adoption over the next couple of years as better and more cost effective control solutions become available. Another trend I see is a higher level of awareness when it comes to code compliance and good lighting practices. Because of this, I see a much higher use of solutions that limit spill-light and minimize light pollution even when it’s not required by code.
DiLouie: Commercial building energy codes are increasingly regulating outdoor lighting, with a recent notable trend being bilevel control capability. How is this changing outdoor area lighting product design and availability?
Snyder: Changes in regulation provide both a challenge and opportunity for manufacturers and distributors. Current control solutions vary and capabilities as well as compatibility are not always well understood by end users. Going forward, fixture and control manufacturers will need to develop more cohesive systems rather than independent components. As awareness and understanding of control solutions expands, market adoption will grow with better solutions introduced at more cost effective prices.
DiLouie: The Model Lighting Ordinance is not widely adopted, though light pollution standards are being implemented through green building rating systems such as LEED as well as some energy codes such as Title 24 (California).
Do you see large-scale adoption of the Model Lighting Ordinance based on legislative initiatives such as recently introduced in Massachusetts?
Snyder: I’m not familiar with the specific initiatives in Massachusetts, although I believe that focusing on educating the market on MLO and good lighting practices will translate to accelerated LED adoption and better end results.
DiLouie: How are existing ordinances, LEED and energy codes affecting design of lighting products to address light pollution concerns?
Snyder: Lighting ordinances and energy codes vary substantially throughout the country and definitely pose a challenge from a fixture design perspective. I do believe manufacturers are much more aware of specific code and performance requirements today than in years past. These requirements often shape and drive product development, resulting in a better and more effective solution.
DiLouie: How widely is the BUG system used at this time, and how effective is it?
Snyder: Adoption of the BUG system is definitely growing and many customers and end users are much more educated on BUG ratings than in recent years. I expect to see better lighting practices implemented throughout the country due to the MLO and BUG system.
DiLouie: How would you characterize the commercial outdoor area lighting market as a retrofit market for energy savings or lighting quality? What are the opportunities for metal halide, LED, bilevel control? What are typical savings?
Snyder: The retrofit market is substantial for commercial area lighting, and programs such as the DesignLights Consortium have helped accelerate LED adoption. When it comes to the retrofit market, there are many different choices for the end user. By replacing HID with the LED equivalent, it’s common to see 50-75% energy savings. Adding a control device such as an occupancy sensor will further accelerate payback on the investment. For the past several years, HID area lighting products in the 150-400W range have been replaced with LED solutions to reduce energy consumption and maintenance costs. Recent LED product introductions have lumen packages designed to replace up to 1000W HID, which is a common source at many retail and commercial installations such as big box stores and auto dealerships.
DiLouie: What LED options are available for outdoor area lighting, and how would you characterize demand for these options? What are the advantages and disadvantages of LED?
Snyder: There is a wide variety of LED area lighting solutions on the market today. Many of those solutions have a choice of over ten optical distributions compared to around half of that for many products with traditional sources. The wider array of distributions allows for more optimized layouts that further reduce energy consumption while providing a more uniform and safer environment in the application. Aside from optical distributions, it’s common to see a choice of multiple correlated color temperatures ranging from 3000K to 6000K. For many end users, a neutral 4000K CCT is the preferred choice for area lighting applications.
DiLouie: Are there any other options that should be considered, such as induction or light-emitting plasma?
Snyder: It’s always good to be open minded about different solutions and technologies. With that said, there are several good and cost effective LED solutions on the market today. As LED technology continues to improve, I believe this will further solidify the justification to choose LED.
DiLouie: What control options are available for outdoor area lighting, and how would you characterize demand for these options? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Snyder: There are several options for controlling the output of area lighting: Bi-level dimming, with 2 circuit wiring each controlled independently, an occupancy sensor or a wireless control system.
The most basic is 2 electrical circuits that can be wired to separate time clocks resulting in reduced energy consumption in time periods of low occupancy in the application. The drawback of this approach is the cost to run the additional circuit to the pole, which may not be a practical option for an existing installation.
Integral or pole mounted occupancy sensors are available from many manufacturers, which work well for many applications and help reduce energy costs. Implementation is typically straightforward the additional cost of the occupancy sensor providing a good return on investment for many applications.
The ultimate solution is a wireless control system. With a wireless system, there is a higher level of features with many being customizable to the application. Energy monitoring, failure reporting and time scheduled on/off or dimming capabilities being just a few features. The drawback is that implementation may be complex and current solutions may not be cost effective for smaller scale installations.
DiLouie: How should electrical distributors engage their customers to provide the most effective (and profitable) outdoor area lighting solution?
Snyder: Many end users focus solely on the upfront cost or payback period for retrofit scenarios. While upfront cost and payback is important, I think it’s also important for electrical distributors to be an educational resource and highlight other benefits that technologies such as LED can provide. For example, having a more uniformly illuminated environment provides a higher level of safety, which can be a very important benefit for many end users. In addition, most LED based products have a much longer warranty than HID based products which reduces the risk for end users and enhances value in their lighting investment.
Whenever possible, I would also recommend demonstrating real world LED installations to potential end users. To some extent, seeing is believing and demonstrations are a great tool to show the potential of LED solutions.
DiLouie: If you could tell all electrical distributors just one thing about today’s outdoor area lighting, what would it be?
Snyder: Do your homework before choosing a product and invest in educating yourselves as well as customers on technology and recommended practices. Beyond the product itself, do business with companies you trust and that will stand behind their product if or when issues arise.
DiLouie: Is there anything else you’d like to add about this topic?
Snyder: Whenever evaluating different lighting solutions don’t overlook the details. I always recommend performing a lighting layout to verify the light levels are safe and appropriate for the application. When comparing different products pay close attention to details such as BUG ratings, surge protection, color temperature, lumen maintenance as well as construction specifications like IP, vibration and ambient temperature ratings.
