Harvesting Daylight to Minimize Lighting Energy Consumption with Existing Infrastructure

Harvesting Daylight Project Leader

Harvesting Daylight to Minimize Lighting Energy Consumption with Existing Infrastructure

Fall 2021-Energy

Project Overview

In recent years, the commoditization of LED luminaires, wireless lighting controllers, and efficient LED drivers has given rise to a myriad of possibilities with respect to the reduction of energy consumed by lighting infrastructure. In particular, the nonlinear relation between the dim level of LED luminaires and the energy that they consume provides a particularly compelling case for energy savings (and therefore a corresponding reduction in building operating costs) by dynamically adjusting light levels in response to ambient daylight. In this project, they proposed to install a low-power wireless smart network of devices based on the Zigbee network protocol in a one- or two-room pilot in order to both implement an internet- connected daylight harvesting system and to measure the corresponding energy savings that such a system provides for buildings well-illuminated by ambient light. By collecting metering data via the installed system at each phase of the installation, they were able to provide concrete data regarding the incremental contribution to energy reduction that the lighting controls implementation provides above and beyond the LED upgrade itself. At the end of the project, they hoped to provide a proof-of-concept to demonstrate the feasibility, performance, scalability, energy reduction, and cost savings realized by implementing daylight harvesting systems at UCCS along with projections as to the long-term return on investment (ROI) gained by implementing such systems campus-wide.