Lighting

The End of an Era: The T12 is Sent Packing by the DOE

Gone is the era of the T12. Now, stop donating to your local utility, start saving energy and use those rebates.

Sarah Steele

The T12 fluorescent lamp originating in 1938, once carrying the title of the most common lamp in the world, will be hard to find on store shelves as its pending fate has been sealed by the Department of Energy (DOE). T12s are found in offices, body shops, restaurants, garages and waste management facilities. Named “T”, for Tubular and the “12” for the number of eighths of an inch, the T12 could once be found in just about any facility including residential garages.

On July 14, 2012 the new general service fluorescent lamp efficacy standards will take effect in the U.S. These new standards, issued by the DOE include the discontinuation of manufacturing or importing of the majority of T12s. The DOE has thrown down the gauntlet in eliminating these lamps in order to decrease the use of these highly inefficient lamps, setting what will arguablybe a worldwide standard over time. In addition, the mercury content of a typical T12 manufactured pre-1992 is four times more concentrated than that of typical T8 found in most facilities today. A newer 800 Series T8 (recommended) has less mercury than its predecessor the 700 series T8. Technology may be perceived to be moving extremely fast, but the reality is that T8s actually entered the commercial world more than 25 years ago.

There are some exceptions to the discontinuation, but they are not the common 34 watt 4’ and 40 watt 4’ lamps commonly found or 8’ lamps that range from 60 to 95watts. In 2010, the magnetic ballast, most often paired with a T12 was eliminated as well. Its replacement is an electronic ballast that is not compatible with a T12.

Making the Switch

The time is now to make the switch to the T12’s much more efficient successor—the T8. Do you have T12s lurking around your facility? There is still a short window of opportunity to seek out rebates from your local utility company to help pay for the retrofits. Typically, a rebate will pay for 20 to 50 percent of your retrofit project. Some retrofit companies will finance the balance of the project or your utility may offer financing as well. Choosing whether or not to have the retrofits done in-house should be made based on a few factors. Do you have a high volume of fixtures to retrofit? Are your fixtures in okay shape or should they be replaced completely?

When using a retrofit company, you are paying that company to retrofit your fixtures from existing to the efficient option chosen, coordinate recycling of the old lamps and fixtures and to deal with the rebate. Generally, retrofitters can do the job for less than in-house maintenance crews because they have the right tools, are very experienced with the process, and are very fast with implementation. Retrofit projects can have very quick returns with easy-to-calculate savings.

Why make the switch if your lights are still in working order? Aside from the money available right now from many local utility companies to help pay for the retrofits, the energy savings realized once the retrofits are completed is astounding. A typical T8 is 40 percent more efficient than a T12. Light quality is vastly improved and often fewer lamps are needed when the retrofits are complete. This is what is known as “de-lamping.” A typical four lamp office fixture with 34 watt lamps can be reduced to two 28 watt T8s with improved light output and more than 50 percent savings. To top it off, the new T8 lamps also last almost 50 percent longer than the old T12s.

The T8 is actually in its seventh generation; and is more commonly known by either the “700 series” or “800 series”. The 700 series of T8s has also been eliminated by the DOE because its successor the 800 series has pushed efficiency just that much farther with the 25 and 28 watt lamps, as well as the reduction of phosphors and mercury content. If you happen to have 32w 700 series T8 lamps in your facility in a high bay fixture or in office spaces, you may have an opportunity to re-lamp with 28 watt or possibly 25 watt 800 series T8s and qualify for a rebate. Typically, a T8 lamp will last three to five years, depending on its usage. It is a good idea to plan to have your facility re-lamped all at once before you have many lamps going out. The lamps will darken at both ends, dim slightly and then go out. Unlike the T12 that will dim over a long period, become completely darkened with barely a trace amount of light seeping out. That innocent amount of light that is now likely buzzing overhead is actually using as much energy as a brand new lamp. If you have those lamps, at the very least, take them out!

Retrofits and Rebates

Rebates are often overlooked as a viable resource of funding projects. Rebate programs, both within your utility and offered by third-party programs, have ramped up in recent years. It is important that you move fast on these retrofits. Many utilities are eliminating their rebates as the DOE eliminates the T12s and 700 series T8s this July. Some utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) in California, are giving businesses until the end of 2012 to complete the retrofits. Others are eliminating the rebate as soon as June of this year. In addition, low-interest funding options are more and more common through both utilities and retrofit companies, often creating a positive cash flow scenario from the get-go.

Finding participating rebate programs was not the easiest task in the past, but now there is a great place to start. The DOE has compiled a list of all of the utilities in the country and some cities that offer separate rebate programs to their customers. Many programs are offered via third parties as well. (For more information on how a utility funded rebate program or third party program works, visit www.TheSteeleNetwork.com). To find rebates programs in your area, visit www.energy.gov/savings (U.S.) or oee.nrcan.gc.ca/home (Canada). Both Canada’s www.ncran.gc.ca and the U.S.’ www.energy.gov will give you hours of reading material including information on opportunities you may be considering like solar, electric vehicles, biofuels in addition to the “low hanging fruit”of lighting efficiency.

By contacting your utility from the beginning, you will give yourself a running start on all of the resources they have to offer and will be less likely to miss out on programs available to your facility. Recent years have shown utilities to be partnering more and more with local contractors to get the word out about their programs. In the PG&E territory that services Northern and Central California, you will find their Trade Professional program pairs their customers with contractors dedicated to energy efficient measures. Preferred ‘Trade Professionals’ are given permission by PG&E to use the trademarked powder blue logo on their marketing materials. All of these contractors are familiar with the rebate programs and have demonstrated that they are using the most efficient products and have proven track records of completing projects with the utility. This is a coveted designation. Other utilities are rumored to be modeling similar programs from PG&E’s due to its proven success in saving heavy volumes of power territory wide since instituting the partnership program.

Why Would Our Utility Company Want to Sell Less Energy?

Aside from the common misnomer that utilities actually make money off of the energy they sell, the utilities are aggressively trying to convince its customers to move on energy efficient measures so they will not have to increase capacity by building more power plants. In fact, some States have been able to keep energy consumption at bay and barely increase usage in decades simply by promoting energy efficiency. These measures being taken by customers more and more each year can be credited to a group of very forward thinking people who collaborated together in the early 1970s. As computers, multiple televisions and little things like skyscrapers became common place, it became evident that the existing power infrastructure would quickly be inadequate unless its capacity was significantly increased over a fairly short period, or a game plan in making energy efficiency a reality was put in place. Leading the charge was Art Rosenfeld. He brought to light many opportunities that utilities were not looking at as opportunities to slow the increase of energy usage. Initially the focus and pressure was placed on manufacturers of the most common guzzlers, such as appliance makers. This pushed those manufacturers to create more efficient models which are now commonly labeled with the Energy Star labels we are familiar with. However, unlike an appliance that is typically replaced as a whole, lighting and other energy guzzlers like HVAC systems are more often maintained over decades which does not allow for manufacturers to as easily swap out the newer models for the older inefficient models. This is the reason the DOE has taken action over recent years to eliminate still commonly used and purchased items such as the good ole T12. Gone is the era of the T12, it had a nice long run—74 years. Not too bad. Now, stop donating to your local utility, start saving energy and use those rebates.

Sarah Steele is a Senior Lighting & Energy Consultant residing in Northern California. She can be reached at [email protected] or find her on LinkedIn.com/in/skscon. For help with the rebate process, answers to commonly asked questions and information leading you to your local rebate programs, visit TheSteeleNetwork.com.

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How About LEDs? Shouldn’t We Consider LEDs Now?

Just as a machine has a purpose that is built for, each type of lamp has a purpose as well. A recent wave of manufacturers have hit the ground running slinging all kinds of LEDs. Unfortunately, there are so many available now that the typical consumer would assume that since they are out there, they must be better. LEDs are fabulous for replacing a PAR lamp (typical halogen spot or flood lamp) at limited heights. LEDs are also a great option for lower wattage parking lot, parking garage or street lighting retrofits. The important factors to consider are generally safety related. If an area does not require bright white flooding and fixtures are not over 24’, than you may consider LEDs for your facility. However, check to see if the LEDs you are considering are approved by your utility. What about those LEDs that are shaped like a T8? Unfortunately, they are just not ready for prime time since there are more factors to consider. The wattage of a typical T8 fluorescent lamp is 25 to 32w versus an LED shaped like a T8 that is about 20 watts. The cost of that one lamp is four to five times the cost of the super T8 and does not last much longer and will not produce the “daylight” we have come to appreciate from a T8.

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