Life cycle cost analysis of building re-lamping alternatives

With rising energy costs and cuts in expenditures, institutions around the country are trying to find ways to cut energy consumption and operational costs. As many academic institutions have old buildings in service, one of the most considered and relatively easy energy saving alternatives is to change old and inefficient lighting to those that are newer and more energy efficient. This paper deals with the cost savings question of re-lamping existing buildings on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign using life cycle cost procedures. We examined the energy and costs savings potential by comparing existing prevalent T12 fluorescent lighting fixtures to two T8 fixtures and two T5 fixtures. The results show that, although there may be energy savings potential for some of these newer systems, the economic benefits are not always obvious or real. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4705508]