New Energy Codes

New Energy Codes and Their Impact on Lighting Design

Introduction

Many Canadian provinces and municipalities will adopt, or have already adopted, new energy codes or standards for commercial buildings, with the aim of reducing building energy consumption. The principal effect of these codes on lighting design is to set limits on installed lighting power in buildings. As these limits are significantly lower than typical current designs, the codes will encourage the adoption of energy efficient lighting technologies.

The Energy Crisis of the 1990s

There have been energy crises of one form or another throughout history. Most, like the energy crisis of the early 1970s, were caused by a lack of fuel supply. The crisis of the early 1970s spawned much research into energy conservation and renewable energy sources, in an effort to reduce dependence on fuel sources then deemed unreliable. After an oil glut in the 1980s, we now find ourselves in another effort to save energy. However, this latest crisis is not due principally to limited fuel supplies. While it is certainly true that traditional fuel supplies have finite lifetimes, they will not run out tomorrow. For example, estimates of world oil reserves range from 76 to 164 years at present rates of production [1], and the lifetime of the reserves of other traditional fuels is probably at least as long. Suppliers of energy now face more immediate environmental, political and economic pressures.

Principal among these pressures, certainly as far as the public is concerned, is the environmental impact of energy generation. Though the effects may vary in form and degree, every method of energy generation has an environmental impact, particularly those which generate electricity on a large scale:

• Traditional fossil fuel power stations are notorious for the pollutants which they discharge into the environment [2]: carbon dioxide, which is the major "greenhouse" gas; sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxides, which produce acid rain; and volatile organic compounds and particulate matter.
• Nuclear power (fission) was once regarded as the "clean" successor to fossil fuel burning, but accidents have shaken public confidence, and the problem of radioactive waste disposal remains.
• Hydro-electric power makes a significant contribution to electricity generation in several Canadian provinces, and is largely viewed as environmentally benign. However, hydro-electric generation detrimentally affects the environment by flooding large areas and changing ecosystems.

Governments, reacting to the public concerns over the environmental impact of energy generation, have sought to encourage energy conservation, and more "environmentally friendly" ways of generating energy.

Utilities too have demonstrated a growing interest in energy conservation, principally for economic reasons. The capital cost of construction, environmental impact assessments and public inquiries make building new generating capacity very expensive [3]. Hence, many Canadian electrical utilities, with forecasts of increasing future demand for energy, have embarked on vigorous demand side management (DSM) programs. DSM programs promote energy conservation and, if successful, offset the need to build new generating capacity. Many of the more successful DSM programs have been aimed specifically at lighting. These programs often offer cash rebates for the adoption of energy efficient lighting technologies; utilities find this a cheaper alternative to building the generating capacity to meet a growing demand.