How This Calculator Works
We created this tool to help you discover how much energy and operating costs you can save for your commercial lighting by implementing DC (direct current) power, DC power factor correction, and intelligent controls such as daylight harvesting and occupancy sensing.
This calculator assumes that your commercial lighting is currently powered by AC (alternating current) power, which is the type of electricity distributed by power grids. It also assumes that your current system has no level of automation other than on-off controls (i.e. wall switches or thermostats).
First, this calculator calculates the current total cost of your lighting based on number of fixtures, watts required per fixture, average cost of electricity, and average hours of daily use (HOU).
Next, it takes potential energy saving techniques into account, and calculates how much energy you could save each year by implementing those techniques.
Where Energy Savings Come From
AutomationBy automating commercial lighting systems to respond to occupancy or available natural light, energy can be saved by ensuring that lighting is used only when necessary.
DC Power DistributionIf you're powering LED fixtures, these fixtures need DC power to operate (rather than the AC power they're getting). If they get AC power, they have to convert the AC power they get into the DC power they need. This can be a very inefficient process (wasting up to
40% of the energy consumed by a fixture when it's turned on). Implementing a DC power distribution system eliminates the need for these inefficient, AC to DC conversions. This ultimately saves energy, operating costs, and lengthens the lifespan of LED fixtures.
You can also implement techniques to correct energy lost due a low power factor.
Power factor is a rating from 0 - 1, with 1 (unity) meaning that no energy was lost as reactive power, and a power factor of 0.5 (for example) meaning that 50% of consumed energy was lost as reactive power. AC power is a victim of reactive power losses, while DC power is not affected by this type of line loss due to its physical properties. Thus implementing DC power distribution has the additional benefit of saving energy with centralized power factor correction.
By automating commercial lighting systems to respond to occupancy or available natural light, energy can be saved by ensuring that lighting is used only when necessary.
