Minimizing initial costs and energy costs in new store lighting systems

As energy costs and environmental concerns become more and more critical, store designers and developers face new challenges that often conflict with construction cost objectives, owner requirements, and tenant needs. Prudent businessmen continually are faced with rising costs of material and labor and new requirements to meet state and federal codes and standards while attempting to build a competitive facility. New technologies often required to meet these new codes and standards are frequently more costly than traditional technologies. Initial cost must be balanced with anticipated operational and maintenance costs, further complicating the design decision process. Lighting in retail stores plays a major role and is relied on for enhancing merchandise and promoting sales. This not only requires a significant initial investment but also results in the major energy cost factor in stores. Recent studies have shown that about 60% of total store energy costs are attributed to lighting. As is true in other buildings, the lighting system is but one part of the total environmental system of a store and, as such, impacts other systems including heating and air-conditioning. These three major systems must be considered in any new store design because of their continual interaction and interdependency. This articlemore » will deal with store system interactions and define just how the system interdependency affects first cost as well as operation, maintenance and energy costs. In addition, The author will evaluate the positive environmental benefits of energy efficient lighting systems proposed for new designs. These benefits will come in the form of decreased environmental emissions from the building itself and the servicing electric utility.« less