T12 Lamps Are Going Away Soon... So What's Next?
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has reported that as of March 2010, there are one BILLION 4-foot fluorescent lamps burning in the US, and half of which are T12, with magnetic ballasts!
As of July 1, 2010 it became illegal to manufacture or import T12 magnetic replacement ballasts and on July 14, 2012, standard T12 lamps will no longer be made.
Building owners have two options for replacing T12 lamps; switching to T8s or, even better, T5s. These are more efficient lamps with lower mercury contents. Switching to T8s could cut mercury content by 43 percent and switching to T5s could cut mercury content by 56 percent. These are not insignificant numbers.
Incentives or rebate dollars may still be available, but not past 2011. Both the PUD and Bonneville Power Administration are currently offering lighting rebate programs. These increasingly common lighting retrofit offers improve lighting quality and illumination levels while reducing lighting system operating costs by typically 30 to 50% or more. Lighting in a typical commercial building represents 40% of your energy costs.
The advantage to changing to electronic ballasts is that they will virtually eliminate flicker and hum. The T8 lamps will fit the same pin connection as the T12 and it is one of the simplest ways to save lighting energy and get a better quality of lighting at the same time.
Quality of light is measured in more than the amount of light output and watts per foot (luminous efficacy). To be smart we must also look at color rendering index (CRI), lamp life, type of ballast for contribution to the overall energy use and the type of light fixture based on each application. The overall requirements will change based on use, whether it is an office, school, retail, warehouse or home application, as well as from room to room.
Consult with Dykeman, or a lighting design specialist to determine the best application for your building.
What's next?
In 2012, 100W incandescent A-lamps (standard screw in light bulb) will no longer be available for retail sales. Then, 75W will go out of production in 2013. By 2014, the manufacture of 40W and 60W lamps will be completely suspended. This is based on federal legislation, as outlined in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.
So, is Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting the best solution in the future? Not for all applications, but there is a lot of progress being made in the lighting industry to find more efficient replacement lamps for all of these applications. LED lighting is a relatively new technology and has not been around long enough for us to know if the lamp life and energy claims are true. The LED guidelines that have been developed by the Illuminating Engineers Society (IES) will give us better standards in the future.
CFLs like it hot and LEDs like it cold to operate more efficiently, so if I replace my CFL with a LED will it work in my current incandescent light fixture? Look to us for more articles in the future where we will discuss these options in more detail.
Michael Barthol, AIA, NCARB
Principal