NY Times Building Sees 70% Energy Savings with Lighting System

There's good news for The New York Times, at least about their building. The New York Times Building was designed to use 1.28 watts per square foot of lighting, but with the installation of a lighting management system, they've actually only used .38 watts per square foot, a 70 percent savings. That reduction in energy use translates into savings of $315,000 and 1,250 metric tons of CO2 a year for the building.

The 52-story tower was outfitted with Lutron's Quantum Solution, a system that controls the entire building's lighting. So, how did the Quantum achieve such a large reduction in energy consumption? The greatest savings came from setting specific lighting levels for each space and from dimming lights when daylight is available, which is particularly effective in a building covered with floor to ceiling windows. The rest of the savings came from occupancy sensing that turns off lights when spaces are vacant and from scheduling that turns lights on and off at certain times of day.

The Quantum includes software that shows real-time energy savings and reports 30-day energy use and savings. With the results from the building's first year and with the additional information provided by the system, building owners could aim for even lower energy use in the future.

These are exciting results for such a large building. It really proves how much of a difference these types of systems can make, especially in large-scale applications like skyscrapers. Let's hope other large companies are taking note and looking into installing similar systems.
via Lutron