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A report using LED Lighting Facts data to examine the current state of the market for linear luminaires, troffer luminaires, and troffer retrofit kits.
This report describes an exploration of troffer lighting as used in office and classroom spaces, which was conducted by the CALiPER program. Twenty-four pairs of 2×2 and 2×4 troffers were procured anonymously, documented, tested for photometric and electrical performance, and installed in a mockup office space in Portland, Oregon. Three of the pairs were T8 fluorescent benchmark products, 12 were dedicated LED troffers, five were fluorescent troffers modified for LED lamps (sometimes referred to as "tubes"), and another four troffers were modified with LED retrofit kits. The modifications were performed by a commercial electrical contractor, following the instructions provided by the retrofit lamp or kit manufacturer. Once installed in the mockup facility, the converted luminaires were examined by a NRTL (Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory) safety expert, who provided feedback on safety issues. In September 2012, a group of lighting designers, engineers, and facility managers were brought in to observe the LED luminaires in comparison to fluorescent benchmarks. This report documents performance in measures that go beyond illuminance values or luminaire efficacy. Dedicated LED troffers are ready to compete with fluorescent troffers in terms of efficacy (lumens per watt), and in many lighting quality issues such as glare, light distribution, visual appearance, and color quality. That is not to say that each one is stellar, but each one tested in this CALiPER study bested the fluorescent benchmarks in terms of efficacy, and almost all were rated highly in several categories -- only one luminaire of twelve performed consistently poorly.
Experience in the Next Generation Lighting Systems (NGLS) ”Living Lab” at the Parsons School of Design, has clearly shown the impacts of communication on the configuration complexity of the connected lighting systems installed there. Since 2017, NGLS has invited manufacturers to submit connected lighting systems for assessment against a set of specifications. To date, 14 systems of wirelessly connected LED luminaires and controls have been installed in classrooms with existing lighting. In nine of the rooms, new LED linear pendants or recessed troffers replaced existing luminaires; in the other rooms, LED “kits” were retrofitted into the existing troffers. Eleven of the installations featured sensors integrated in the luminaires or retrofit kits; the others used ceiling mounted sensors. All systems provided wall control devices for manual operation. For half of the installations, the complete systems were furnished by single companies; for the other half, luminaires and controls were furnished by separate companies. A total of 18 different companies provided products, with four of these located outside the United States including, Korea, Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands. In addition, two different electrical contractors in New York City provided multiple installation teams totaling 10 individuals, none of whom were familiar with any of the systems.
This CALiPER study examines the problems and benefits likely to be encountered with LED products intended to replace linear fluorescent lamps. LED dedicated troffers, replacement tubes, and non-tube retrofit kits were evaluated against fluorescent benchmark troffers in a simulated office space for photometric distribution, uniformity of light on the task surface, suitability of light output, flicker, dimming performance, color quality, power quality, safety and certification issues, ease of installation, energy efficiency, and life-cycle cost.
This document provides guidance for retrofitting existing fluorescent troffer fixtures with LEDs, as well as information about lighting controls. It outlines the pros and cons of three different retrofit options: Tubular LEDs, Retrofit Kits, and Luminaires.
This document provides guidance for retrofitting existing fluorescent troffers including the LED and associated control options available, the pro/cons and costs/benefits of each option, and agency specific requirements (where applicable).
Solid-state lighting technology fact sheet providing guidance on the various factors to consider when deciding on an LED upgrade for a fluorescent troffer system.
The LED lighting retrofit at the Carl Icahn Laboratory of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics was the first building-wide interior LED project at Princeton University, following the University’s experiences from several years of exterior and small-scale interior LED implementation projects. The project addressed three luminaire types – recessed 2x2 troffers, cove and other luminaires using linear T8 fluorescent lamps, and CFL downlights - which combined accounted for over 564,000 kWh of annual energy, over 90% of the lighting energy used in the facility. The Princeton Facilities Engineering staff used a thorough process of evaluating product alternatives before selecting an acceptable LED retrofit solution for each luminaire type. Overall, 815 2x2 luminaires, 550 linear fluorescent luminaires, and 240 downlights were converted to LED as part of this project. Based solely on the reductions in wattage in converting from the incumbent fluorescent lamps to LED retrofit kits, the annual energy savings from the project was over 190,000 kWh, a savings of 37%. An additional 125,000 kWh of energy savings is expected from the implementation of occupancy and task-tuning control solutions, which will bring the total savings for the project to 62%.