Byline: Joel Gundelfinger, Custom Energy

A lighting upgrade does more than improve appearance.

Lighting systems account for more than one-third of the electricity used in a typical commercial or institutional facility. Therefore, improvements in efficiency offered by new lamp and ballast designs can make tremendous strides toward substantially reducing a facility's total energy cost. In addition to energy savings, new longer-life light sources and fixture designs can also reduce lighting system maintenance costs.

In recent years, new technologies like dimmable electronic ballasts, energy-efficient lamps, and a wide array of lighting control products have ...