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LEDs lighten the load of maintenance and energy fees
February, 2008
By Brian K. Owen
It was recently announced that the Palace Pier, a Toronto condominium development overlooking the waterfront, would receive an internal renaissance that would include both the fine interior finishings and would represent the best in future technology in lighting. Close to $2 million had been budgeted for the renovations, including new ceilings, wall treatments, carpeting and state of the art LED lighting.
In order to complete this, the condominium board had been planning for the extensive project over quite some time, by accumulating a portion of monthly fees and apportioning it to the renovation project. Nevertheless, even by having the funds available, effective budgeting of the renovation had to be undertaken in order to maximize the investment and to achieve optimum results. |
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When it comes to new condo developments, conservation is a major opportunity. Advancements in plumbing technology deliver water savings without compromising performance or design – and they save money in the long run. In short, a building that boasts smart, efficient plumbing – especially when combined with other environmentally intelligent design features – is highly marketable. Although upgrading older buildings is a tougher sell, the opportunity presented is just as valuable.
The property manager’s dilemma
Despite the plethora of options and innovations, property managers have a tough job. Tasked with fulfilling the needs of distinct stakeholders, upholding regulations and operating profitably in the long and short term – all while making the condominium an attractive place to invest and live – successful property managers are also expert jugglers.
Let’s consider a best-case scenario. Perhaps the condo board or most of the tenants in the building understand the importance and value of conservation. You have their full support to spend what’s needed to make your building as efficient as possible. This is of course the exception, not the rule. Regardless of how much your stakeholders value the principle of conservation, one thing will almost always take precedence when it comes time to commit: cost. No matter how impressive the latest water saving invention or product innovations are, immediate cost followed by long-term value will almost always be the deciding factors.
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Heather Ann Scott signature design is the noted Toronto interior design firm tasked with this monumental project of bringing the Palace Pier into the 21st century with the new LED lighting technology. The growth of LED lighting applications has been observed in decorative and holiday lighting, architectural lighting and in automotive usage and traffic signals. Recently, the high brightness ‘white light’ technology has advanced so rapidly that general illumination or lighting applications are now possible.
With LEDs, you can experience a range of colours and even shades of white. Earlier high brightness LEDs exhibited a bluish hue, as the process used a blue LED with a yellow phosphor to create white. Today this is much whiter and still acceptable in outdoor applications as human night vision is much more receptive to this part of the spectrum.
This is not so true when is comes to the warm and cosy feel desired indoors or under the traditional reading lamp. White light, as exhibited by fluorescent office lighting, can be irritating and fatiguing to some. The warm white light of the incandescent is much more desirable. Advancements in today’s LED technology have allowed manufacturers to achieve this colour.
Scott brings years of design experience into the equation and, as a part of her design philosophy, she realizes that each project must add value to the property both in the quality of living and in the financial bottom line. A renovation like this can appreciate the property value between 10% and 30%.
With an expertise in interiors, Scott was not challenged by the finishings and treatments, but when it came to the LED lighting, she became immersed in the technology but inundated by the options. She quickly realized that in order to deliver an effective lighting plan using LEDs in a financially prudent manner some external expertise was required.
Hearing about the Toronto LED City initiative, Scott contacted greenTbiz, a not-for-profit program that assists the business sector with energy conservation and environmental practices, as well as being the facilitator of the LED City initiative. With the motto ‘Thinking Green and Saving Green,’ the program delivers energy efficient and environmental solutions that are not only beneficial for the environment, but effectively better the bottom line. Both technical practicality and financial feasibility are factors when considering LED, simply where it makes both economic and practical sense.
“Both factors have to be met,” states Chantal Brundage, greenTbiz Program Manager, whose responsibility is to explore LED solutions for indoor applications. “We also have to delve through the vast amount of unqualified product that is either not to requirements or comes with overstated claims. When an investment of this type is to be made, the end user must be assured that above and beyond the projected energy savings, their money is being spent wisely.”
“This is the largest residential interior lighting conversion to LED in North America,” said Jim Lord, President of the Palace Pier Condominium Board. “The board and residents were committed to finding a ‘green’ solution for the new lighting and LED proved to be the answer.”
Lighting is a subjective element but there are some objective principles involved. People are particular about what they like in terms of lighting and interior designers are no different in this process.
“When you make a substantial investment in your finishings and treatments, you want the colours represented correctly,” explains Ms. Scott. “Also, the level of light is quite important to meet the necessary requirements.”
Fundamentally, even though energy conservation and light requirements are essential, only having high quality lighting with the appropriate colour rendering will provide the desired environment. This was a challenge for Scott.
She sought an LED replacement solution for the typical MR16 halogen light that would fit into the same fixture as the conventional MR16. The secondary plan was that the halogen lamp could still be installed and used should the LED solution not be available or satisfactory.
After many LED products were reviewed, a local Canadian company shined a bright light on the project. Meeting both the light quantity and quality desired, a company in Welland, Ontario was able to deliver a product that satisfied the requirements of the project. Scott Riesebosch, President of CRS Electronics, was also sympathetic to the Palace Pier’s budgeting process.
“LED lighting is still a premium product and the client wants to receive the best quality for the best available price,” comments Riesebosch. “The capital costs have to be recovered in the payback and our calculations demonstrated that we will be able to achieve this for the Palace Pier in less than one year.”
As the planned lighting is in hallways and operates 24 hours a day, the payback is quick. This is also true for other applications that operate around the clock, such as elevators. Riesebosch recognized that interior designers and lighting consultants will not sacrifice lighting quality for energy efficiency, but they will sacrifice lighting levels for lighting quality. He was able to meet this design standard and still provide an energy efficient product that will save the Palace Pier thousands of dollars in electricity and maintenance costs over the lifetime of the product.
"I'm glad the Board members at Palace Pier as well as Heather Ann Scott were able to understand the strong business case for changing the halogen lights to an LEDs," says Riesebosch. “Most building owners and operators don't realize just how much money it costs to use halogen lights in their elevators and corridors.”
CRS created a spreadsheet program to calculate the true cost of halogen MR16s versus LED MR16s. The calculator enables you to enter key information such as hours of usage per day, electricity rate, lamp cost and lamp life. The calculations are meaningful because they are based on the figures provided by the building owners and operators themselves.
"The initial cost of these lights is definitely higher than halogen, but good business people always look at the big picture,” said Riesebosch. “That is what the Palace Pier did, and they will get their investment back in about one year. They will more than double their investment over the next 4.5 years from the savings.”
Both the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario are committed to energy retrofits, including the employment of energy efficient technology and they provide incentives to support these activities. At the city level, the Energy Efficiency Office’s Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) offers incentives to both current condominium energy retrofits and to new construction.
“In Toronto, there are condominium developments that are being built 25% more efficient than the 'Model National Energy Code for Buildings'.” Eleanor McAteer of the BBP explains. “At the design stage, a simulation is created as to energy usage and once finished, there is an incentive for the electricity savings realized. Based upon the design, up to $7000 can be allocated for the modelling on a per square foot basis or size of the project and at completion the incentive based upon the kW demand savings at $350 per kW.”
The Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) also offers solutions. For developers, installing energy efficient measures before a condo is built will mean offering higher value to potential purchasers. TAF provides assistance through their green condo financing.
Experience dictates that most existing condos can dramatically reduce their utility bills (and greenhouse gas emissions) by upgrading heating and ventilation equipment, improving lighting systems, and better sealing and insulating the building itself. Many of these updates can be quickly paid through utility bill reductions and will improve market values. TAF can assist interested condominium corporations in taking more cutting-edge actions and may be able to assist with finding financing. The Ontario Power Authority delivers programs through the many Ontario local distribution companies such as Toronto Hydro. A condominium corporation would be wise to contact their local distribution company and explore the funding and incentive options that are available.
Through effective budgeting and planning, a condominium corporation can benefit from green initiatives that are better for the environment and better for the financial position of the development or corporation. A green investment will ultimately result in a green return.
Brian Owen is the President of FIRSTeam Corporation and the Principal of LEDesignWorks. He is also the Program Advisor to greenTbiz, which facilitates the LED City Toronto initiative. Mr. Owen is actively involved in the development and operation of energy conservation programs for government, municipalities and utilities and specializes in capacity building, commercialization and market transformation, as well as energy management analysis for the private sector. greenTbiz provides energy conservation and environmental awareness programs to the small business sector in Toronto and Mr. Owen is responsible for the LED lighting pilot programs.
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