Application: Commercial

Location: Compaq Computer Corp., Littleton, MA and Xilinx, Inc., Longmont, CO

Product: SYLVANIA CAPSYLITE^® PAR64, AR-111 and HPL Halogen, PENTRON^® T5 HO Lamps. LITECONTROL Aviva is a trademark of LITECONTROL Corporation.

Lighting Designer: Bob Figuerido, Electrical Engineer and Lighting Designer, Compaq.; Merit Electric's Tom Rorabaugh, Senior Deisgner; and  Mike Singleton, Project Manager, Xilinx

SYLVANIA Commercial Engineer: Dennis Spaulding and Paula Ziegenbein

The Situation

Amidst the plants, personal photographs and day planners, just about every office worker today has a computer on his or her desk. Quality lighting that minimizes glare on their computer screens is key in order to provide a comfortable working environment. In the past, recessed T8 parabolic troffers with semi-specular louvers were widely used, but these fixtures can still cause glare since the bare lamps are exposed to the human eye.

The trends for office lighting have matured over the last few years. Lighting designs for offices are shifting to low profile, indirect fixtures with T5 HO lamps. By lighting the ceiling and the walls, glare can be significantly reduced.  Although indirect T8 fixtures have been available for quite some time, they have been perceived as being more expensive to install than recessed troffers.  The newer designs and installation features of suspended fixtures, now make them comparable on an installed-cost basis to traditional recessed troffers.  Indirect type fixtures with T5 HO lamps are also affordable, since fewer T5 HO fixtures can be used compared to T8 fixtures due to the improved fixture optics.  The T5 HO fixtures can typically be spaced at 12 to 15-foot centers where as T8 fixtures are typically spaced at eight to 10-foot centers.

When T5 HO lamps are used, one lamp can be used instead of two T8 lamps. More flexible lighting levels and a wider range of light levels are made possible with two T5 HO lamps operated on dimming ballasts. Dimmable systems offer more opportunities for using daylight harvesting. With the increased use of occupancy sensors in private offices for energy conservation, shorter lamp life due to frequent switching should not be a concern when T5 HO lamps are installed. Up to 100,000 starts are possible with T5 HO lamps, while T8 lamps on instant start or rapid start ballasts only provide up to 17,000 starts. 

Two high-tech companies have installed indirect fixtures with SYLVANIA PENTRON^® T5 HO lamps thanks to the efforts of Paula Ziegenbein and Dennis Spaulding, commercial engineers with OSRAM SYLVANIA.  A wholly-owned subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Company, Compaq Computer Corporation’s global services headquarters in Littleton, Mass., and Xilinx, Inc. in Longmont, Colo., have installed new T5 HO fixtures.   The Compaq installation is a major renovation while Xilinx is new construction. For both of these installations, the lighting objectives included energy efficiency and the best visual environment for a computer-based office at a reasonable cost.

The Solution

COMPAQ Computer Corporation

Compaq’s global services headquarters includes two buildings with a total of six stories of office space.  The existing 2X4 troffers with three-lamp 34-watt Super Saver lamps and ballasts are being replaced with LITECONTROL Aviva, V-shaped indirect, single lamp SYLVANIA PENTRON HO fixtures with QUICKTRONIC PHO ballasts. The fixtures, installed in continuous rows on 12-foot centers and suspended 24 inches from the ceiling, provide very uniform illuminance of 30-35-footcandles maintained at the desks.  Four-foot AVIVA fixtures define aisles and corridors, and perimeter circulation aisles at windows take advantage of natural light. When required, 26-watt DULUX D/E compact fluorescent down lights illuminate vertical surfaces to provide added depth to the space. In conference rooms, single and double rows of two-lamp T5 HO fixtures provide uniform horizontal and required vertical illumination.

“Using these state of the art T5 HO fluorescent systems, the lighting quality and efficiency goals of <1.0 w/square-feet were achieved while meeting a budget of <$3.50/square-feet,” said Bob Figuerido, electrical engineer and lighting designer for Compaq.  “A wonderful byproduct of the new T5 HO lighting is the perceived increase in ceiling height. The gray furniture and silver gray fixtures create a depth of field that visually separates ceiling, lights and partitions three dimensionally.” 

Xilinx

With assistance from Commercial Engineer Dennis Spaulding, Merit Electric’s Tom Rorabaugh, senior designer, and Mike Singleton, project manager, specified SYLVANIA’s PENTRON T5 HO lamp and ballast dimming system for the indirect fixtures installed at the newly constructed two story, 130,000-square-foot Xilinx, Inc. building located in Longmont, Colo.  Peerless’ Peerlite Aero Series, single lamp T5 HO indirect fixtures installed on 12-foot mounting centers and suspended at 21-inches from the ceiling provide approximately 30-footcandles in the cubicles. Task lights are available in each cubicle for use as needed. Another row would have been required in some areas if T8 fixtures had been used, increasing labor and material costs as well as energy costs.

The lighting design includes the use of Lithonia dimming controls, occupancy sensors and some daylight harvesting.  Also, low voltage TRU-AIM TITAN MR16 lamps are used throughout the core office areas to enhance the beauty and function of the spaces.  In interior conference rooms, Lithonia Avante Series luminaries with three lamps and wall wash fixtures are used to meet the illumination needs.

“Merit Electric made the commitment to Xilinx to provide the most energy efficient lighting design for this installation.  The project would not only save money through the years to come, but would provide comfortable working light levels for their employees. Had we used dual lamp T8 luminaires, approximately 25 percent more luminaries than the T5 HO luminaries installed would have been needed to provide uniform lighting,” said Tom Rorabaugh.  “The final power density for the complete lighting system, excluding furniture mounted lighting, is at a comfortable 0.9 watts per square foot.  SYLVANIA’s QUICK 60+ warranty program which ensures low cost, no hassle lamp and ballast replacements within the warranty period, provides another benefit both to Xilinx and Merit Electric.”

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