Analysis of the Spectrally Enhanced Lighting Economics Validation Study

On this page, you will find the economic analysis for the 2006 study involving three facilities evaluating the energy savings and rate of return for spectrally enhanced lighting (SEL).

The economic analysis performed by AfterImage + Space demonstrates that the retrofit of existing lighting systems with SEL systems is an economic and viable solution for many commercial buildings. Specifically, the installation costs are no higher than other forms of lighting retrofits, making the incremental energy savings a no-cost benefit to building owners/operators.

For buildings with T12 lamps, spectrally enhanced lighting can provide a 71% Rate of Return on the investment over the life of the system; a 30% Rate of Return is obtainable for buildings with existing T8 lamps. For new construction, SEL provides a design tool that can reduce initial construction costs and provide peak load reductions and long-term energy savings for building owners/operators.

The following tables provide a summary of the economic analysis for the 2006 field demonstrations.

Simple Payback (Energy Savings Only)
Lighting Retrofit Economics	PG&E Santa Rosa Service Center Building	U.S. Forest Service Western Regional Headquarters	Port Hueneme Building 1000
Total installed cost for the area	$25,210	$56,049	$32,354
Annual savings from retrofit (Energy Only)	$9,438	$7,996	$4,501
Payback (years)	2.67	7.01	7.19
Rate of Return	37%	14%	14%

Payback Including Life Cycle Annual Savings
Lighting Retrofit Economics	PG&E Santa Rosa Service Center Building	U.S. Forest Service Western Regional Headquarters	Port Hueneme Building 1000
Total installed cost for the area	$25,210	$56,049	$32,354
Annual savings from retrofit	$17,921	$15,557	$9,276
Payback (years)	1.41*	3.60	3.49
Rate of Return	71%	28%	29%

*Approximately half of the savings in the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) Santa Rosa building are due to the use of SEL while the other half are attributable to the change from the pre-retrofit T12/magnetic ballast system to the post-retrofit T8/electronic ballast system.

Source: Spectrally Enhanced Lighting Program Implementation for Energy Savings, Economics Validation Study, conducted by AfterImage + Space for the U.S. Department of Energy (August 2006) (PDF 1.2 MB). Download Adobe Reader.