DDEELLTTAAPortfolioDemonstration and Evaluation of Lighting Technologies and Applications • Lighting Research Center

Lighting Case Studies ▲ Volume 2, Issue 6

McLean Village ApartmentsSimsbury, Connecticut

Type:Independent Living Facility for Seniors

Site Sponsors:The Connecticut Light and Power Company, an operating company of Northeast Utilities

● Lighting Objectives

● Provide lighting that compensatesfor the reduced visual capabilitiesof seniors:

1) Raise overall light levelsslightly to 25 to 50% higherthan illuminances recom-mended for working-age populations by the IlluminatingEngineering Society of NorthAmerica (IESNA).

2) Raise task lighting illuminancessignificantly to at least twicethe recommendations forworking-age populations.

3) Improve lighting uniformitywithin spaces.

4) Provide gradual transitions inbrightness between spaces.

5) Minimize direct and reflectedglare.

6) Improve color discriminationby using good color-renderinglamps.

● Provide lighting that the residentsfind attractive and comfortable.

● Minimize the lighting powerdensity by using energy-efficientlighting products.

● Minimize hours of lighting operation in some areas by usingautomatic lighting controls.

● Ensure reliability of operation andlow maintenance costs by usingquality lighting products.

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McLean Village Apartments, an independent livingfacility for seniors, is part of a retirement commu-nity in Simsbury, Connecticut. The larger McLeancommunity consists of multiple cottages built in1979. This community is committed to continuingcare for seniors, providing housing and activitiessuited to an individual’s health and lifestyle choices.McLean Village Apartments, completed in 1998,houses 24 one- and two-bedroom apartments, aswell as meeting, dining, and health care spacesused by the whole community. Its electric lightinghas been designed to be sensitive to the specialvisual needs of its older residents, while keepingenergy and maintenance costs low. This demonstra-tion installation was sponsored by the local electricutility. DELTA evaluated the apartments and publicspaces, including corridors, dining room, lobby,and basement storage rooms.

The residents of McLean Village Apartments consistof both couples and singles, ranging in age from 68

to 90 years, with varying incomes. Most arehealthy and active; only a few individuals aredisabled. No one is legally defined as partiallysighted, although some residents are experi-encing the early stages of deteriorating visioncommon to aging populations.

The lighting was designed to provide a visualenvironment that helps the residents seecomfortably and easily, making them feel saferand more confident in their daily activities. Asindividuals age, glare becomes a problembecause more light is scattered in their eyes,resulting in a loss of clarity and poorer colorperception. Also, light is increasingly absorbedby the lens, making it more difficult for olderpeople to see in dim spaces. This means theyhave difficulty adapting to different brightnesslevels within rooms or from space to space.Carefully planned lighting can help compen-sate for these limitations.

McLean Village, Simsbury, Connecticut

Project Profile

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Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

▲Lighting and Control Features

▲ Glare control. Using indirect lighting, baffles, valances, and fascias on luminaires limits the direct view of bright lamps.

▲ Even lighting. In many areas, lighting is directed toward light-colored surfaces such as walls or ceilings. The reflected light from these surfacesimproves uniformity within the room, especially when combined with closely spaced luminaires.

▲ Transitional spaces. Adjacent spaces are similar in brightness. At entrance lobbies, lighting is brighter during the day when residents are movingfrom interior spaces to the daylighted outdoors, but can be switched to a lower level at night to help residents’ eyes adapt more quickly to thedarkness outside.

▲ Task lighting. In apartments, luminaires provide high illuminances in places where grooming and other difficult visual tasks are performed, suchas on kitchen countertops, on sinks, and in showers.

▲ Convenience and safety. Permanently installed luminaires in apartments are switched at doorways to provide an easily accessible, low level ofambient lighting, rather than relying on switched outlets for table lamps.

▲ Energy efficiency and maintenance. Primary light sources are all long-life fluorescent, either linear or compact, often operated on electronicballasts. Occupancy sensors switch off some electric lighting when no one is present.

TechniquesThe principal light sources are F32T8 4’ (1220mm) and compact fluorescent lamps with a colorrendering index (CRI) of between 75 and 85 anda correlated color temperature (CCT) of 2700 to3000 K (warm). Unless otherwise noted, lumi-naires with CFQ18 or FT24 (compact fluorescent)lamps use rapid-start (RS) magnetic ballasts, whileluminaires with CFQ26 and FT36 lamps areoperated on RS high-frequency electronicballasts. Luminaires with T8 lamps are operatedon instant-start (IS) high-frequency electronicballasts. All ballasts are high power factor (HPF).

A Compact fluorescent wall sconceproviding up- and downlight, 12” W x 7”H x 4” D (310 x 180 x 110 mm). Open attop, prismatic lens at bottom. Lamps: (2)CFQ26W/G24q/827.

B Fluorescent striplight, 4’ (1220 mm) long,one lamp in cross section, mounted withinarchitectural wall slot. Lamp: F32T8/730.

C Recessed compact fluorescent down-light with semi-specular clear aluminumcone, 7” (180 mm) aperture. Lamps: (2) CFQ18W/G24d/827.

D Recessed lensed compact fluorescentwall-washer downlight to match type C,7” (180 mm) aperture. Lamps: (2) CFQ18W/G24d/827.

E Pendant-mounted compact fluorescentuplight with decorative translucentacrylic bowl, 3’ (930 mm) in diameter,suspended 2’ (610 mm) from ceiling.Lamps: (4) FT24W/2G11/830.

F Ceiling-mounted fluorescent stacklight,4’ (1220 mm) long, one lamp in crosssection, with U-shaped white-paintedaluminum baffles spaced 1” (25 mm)apart. Lamp: (1) F32T8/730.

G Wall-mounted fluorescent luminaire,2’ (610 mm) or 4’ (1220 mm) long,one lamp in cross section, with clearacrylic wraparound prismatic lens.Mounted to backside of closet header.Lamp: F17T8/730 or F32T8/730.

H Job-built valance providing up- anddownlight using 4’ (1220 mm) fluo-rescent striplights, two lamps in crosssection, with lay-in white-paintedaluminum baffles. Lamps: (2) F32T8/730.

J Track lighting, 8’ (2440 mm) long,with PAR30 halogen track heads,mounted on top of valance (type H).Lamp: 50PAR30/NFL/Halogen.

K Pendant-mounted incandescent chande-lier. Five arms with linen shades. Lamps: (5) 60A19/Halogen.

L Recessed incandescent downlight withwhite grooved baffle trim, 5” (130 mm)diameter aperture. Lamp: 50PAR30/NFL/Halogen.

M Incandescent pendants with 16” (420mm) diameter opaque metal shade.Lamp: 50PAR30/NFL/Halogen.

N Ceiling-mounted compact fluorescentluminaire with translucent acrylicdiffuser, 22” (560 mm) in diameter.Lamps: (2) FT24W/2G11/830.

P Wall-mounted quarter-sphere compactfluorescent downlight, 12” W x 6” H x6” D (310 x 150 x 150 mm), withacrylic prismatic lens. Lamp: CFQ26W/G24q/827.

Q Fluorescent undercabinet light, 2’ (610mm) long, one lamp in cross section,with clear prismatic acrylic lens. Lamp: F17T8/730.

R Ceiling-mounted fluorescent luminaire,1’ x 4’ (310 x 1220 mm), two lamps incross section, with oak louver andhousing frame. Lamps: (2) F32T8/730.

S Job-built wood valance luminaire, using4’ (1220 mm) fluorescent striplights. Onelamp in cross section. Lamp: F32T8/730.

T Wall-mounted fluorescent vanity lightproviding up- and downlight, 4’ (1220mm) long, two lamps in cross section.Metal fascia with lighted reveal. Lamps:(2) F32T8/730.

U Recessed compact fluorescent showerdownlight with white-painted cone andregressed fresnel lens, 7” (180 mm) indiameter. Lamps (2) CFQ18W/G24d/827.

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Techniques

Lighting plan, lobby

Lighting plan, undulating wall corridor

Lighting plan, lower level storage area

OS OccupancySensor

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Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

Wattage

NORTH

T8 fluorescent lamps (electronic ballasts)F17T8 (2'): 24 W per 1-lamp ballast F32T8 (4'): 31 W per 1-lamp ballastF32T8 (4'): 62 W per 2-lamp ballast

FT long twin-tube fluorescent lampsFT24: 68 W per 2-lamp magnetic

ballastFT36: 84 W per 3-lamp electronic

ballast

Compact fluorescent lampsCFQ18: 43 W per 2-lamp magnetic ballastCFQ26: 51 W per 2-lamp electronic ballastCFQ26: 35 W per 1-lamp electronic ballast

Incandescent lamps50PAR30/Halogen: 50 W60A19/Halogen: 60 W

Input wattages for luminaires include ballast watts and are estimated from manufacturers’published literature. All calculations were based on the following values:

V Surface-mounted fluorescent striplight, 4’(1220 mm) long, two lamps in crosssection, mounted in architecturaldropped soffit. Lamps: (2) F32T8/730.

W Pendant-mounted compact fluorescentuplight with decorative translucentacrylic bowl, 27” (690 mm) in diameter.Lamps: (3) FT36W/2G11/830.

Lighting plan, first-floor one-bedroom apartment

Lighting plan, second-floor two-bedroom apartment

Lighting plan, dining room

0' 2' 4' 8'

0m 1m 2m

BATHROOM

Common SpacesLobby Building residents, as well as residentsfrom the surrounding McLean community, usethe lobby. Here you find people reading, chat-ting, waiting for friends to arrive or activities tobegin, or meeting visiting healthcare profes-

sionals. Multiple tiers of windows on thesweeping curve of the north wall make thisspace bright and inviting. Any daylight glarefrom the windows is controlled with woodenvenetian blinds. The electric lighting includesrecessed compact fluorescent downlights (type

C) in a curvedceiling soffit,pendant uplightswith glowingacrylic bowls (typeE), direct/indirectwall sconces inreading alcoves(type A), and anarchitectural slot atan artwork niche(type B).Incandescent tablelamps contributeless to task lightingthan to a residen-tial atmosphere. Atsofa reading loca-tions, horizontalilluminances at

night average 20 footcandles (fc) [210 lux (lx)],not including the minimal contribution fromtable lamps.

Most of the common spaces in this facility arenot used extensively after 6:00 p.m. However,to make it easier for residents and visitors tocome and go when it is dark outside, thependant luminaires (type E) are switched off bythe maintenance staff at dusk. This lowers theambient horizontal illuminance to 5 fc (58 lx)and reduces the overall brightness of the lobbyconsiderably, speeding the adaptation frominterior light levels to low outdoor levels.

Dining Room The dining room, where resi-dents can eat dinner, is a popular spot forsocializing as well as eating. A painted mural atone end adds visual interest to the space, whilethe vaulted ceiling makes it seem open andspacious.

For a pleasant, comfortable dining experience,the lighting must help seniors move safely inand out of chairs, read menus, see their food,and view their companions’ faces. Uniform

Details

Lobby

Perspective of lobby (light levels measured at night with table lamps off)

Dining room

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15 cd/m2

38cd/m2

1600cd/m2 200 cd/m2

15 fc

21 fc

19 fc

17 fc

19 fc

19 fc

20fc

21 fc

2cd/m2

29 fc

42fc

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Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

Horizontal illuminanceson the tables at nightranged from 19 to 28 fc(200 to 300 lx). Verticalilluminances on the facewere fairly consistentthroughout the space,ranging from 11 to 14 fc(120 to 150 lx).

Circulation Spaces Corridors, staircases, andelevator lobbies in thebuilding were designed

to provide even lighting along pathways, withbounced light on walls and ceilings to add tothe perception of brightness. Because the oldereye is more sensitive to glare, luminaires wereselected to conceal bare lamps from residents’normal viewing angles. The older eye also hasmore difficulty discerning details, so contrastingmoldings and baseboards were used to markedges of corridors and doorways.

In corridors, the lighting must be uniformenough so that dark patches do not concealobstacles. Patterns of light and shadow shouldreinforce edges, intersections, and potentialhazards. The lighting should not create patterns

that imply a stair or level change where noneexists. Aging residents may also feel moresecure when they are able to recognize faces ofpeople walking toward them. To quantifylighting uniformity in the corridor, DELTAmeasured both horizontal illuminance on thefloor and vertical illuminance at the face atseveral points in the corridor. Maximum-to-minimum ratios measured on the floor and atthe face were less than 4:1. DELTA’s observa-tions at McLean Village Apartments suggest thatthese conditions produce perceptions of gooduniformity.

An undulating glass block wall in the corridoron the main floor leading from the lobby to theelevator ushers in daylight. Glare from directsunlight is not a problem here because thecurved wall faces northeast and is shielded byan overhang. Residents can enjoy a view intothe gardens while seated at small bistro tablesplaced in each curve. Deep, recessed compactfluorescent downlights (type C) spaced 8’ (2.4m) on center provide most of the lighting on thepathway, ranging from 15 to 20 fc (170 to 220lx on the floor) at night. Facial illuminanceranges from 4 to 14 fc (40 to 150 lx), soalthough this space appears dramatic, theuniformity is still good. Decorative shade

Section through dining room

Undulating wall corridor Perspective of undulating wall corridor

lighting suits the residents’ visual needs whilemaking it possible for the serving staff to posi-tion tables anywhere they are needed.Uniformity is achieved with job-built valanceluminaires (type H), which direct their lightupward and downward onto wall and ceilingsurfaces. The reflected light also minimizesglare and makes faces look attractive. A singledecorative chandelier (type K) uses halogen A-lamps for improved incandescent lamp life.Track lights using PAR30 halogen lamps (type J)are mounted on top of the valance and arecarefully aimed toward the mural to add accentlighting without glare for diners.

0' 2' 4' 8'

10 cd/m2

4 fc

5 fc

8 fc120 fc

20 fc 18 fc 18 fc

16 fc 15 fc 16 fc

9 fc

10 fc

4 fc

4–14fc

9' ceiling

11fc22

fc

14fc18

fc

15 fc

12fc28

fc

105cd/m2

72 cd/m2 66 cd/m2

84 cd/m2

60 cd/m272 cd/m2

83 cd/m2

14fc

9 fc8 fc

(under downlights)

(between downlights)

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pendants (type M) suspended over the tablesuse PAR30 halogen lamps to direct light ontothe table but not into the eyes of a seated orstrolling resident. A job-built valance lumi-naire (type B) lights the elevator doors at theend of the corridor, making this destinationthe brightest object in view (not shown onplan).

DELTA evaluated two designs for corridorlighting in the apartment wings: compactfluorescent wall sconces (type A) spaced 12’(3.6 m) on center on the first floor, and linearbaffled fluorescent stacklights (type F) spaced8’ (2.4 m) on center on the second floor (seeplans in Techniques). Both systemsperformed similarly; the sconces producedfloor illuminances ranging from 8 to 14 fc(81 to 150 lx) and facial illuminances of 4 to14 fc (44 to 150 lx). The stacklights producedfloor illuminances ranging from 18 to 22 fc(190 to 240 lx) with facial illuminances of 10to 22 fc (110 to 240 lx). Although the linear

stacklights requireless power thanthe sconces, theyspread such evenlight on the wallsthat the spaceappears brighterthan the sconce-lighted corridor.Several residentseven commentedthat this solution“wasted energy”because it was on24 hours a day(see Resident andStaff Response).

Circular nodes inthe corridors markthe doors to pairsof apartments, forming a gracious entry area.Apartment numbers are clearly marked withlarge-type, high-contrast signs. The sign is

lighted to 31 fc vertical (330 lx) with aquarter-sphere compact fluorescent down-light sconce (type P). The corridor node isevenly lighted with a centered surface-mounted compact fluorescent luminaire(type N) that produces an average of 15 fc(160 lx) on the floor. The luminaire’sdiffuser measures 128 times the luminanceof the ceiling area, so it is very bright, butno residents complained of glare.

Lower Level Storage Area EachMcLean Village apartment is assigned aremote storage closet in the lower level toaccommodate additional belongings. Theclosets are lighted with a 2’ (610 mm) longluminaire (type G) with a fluorescent lampand wraparound lens, mounted on theback side of the door header. Each closethas its own mechanical timer switch thatautomatically shuts lights off after 15minutes if the resident does not rememberto switch off the light upon leaving theroom.

In the corridor leading to the storageclosets, walls and ceilings are painted alight color to increase interreflected light

First-floor corridor node with wall sconces

Perspective of wall sconce corridor (first floor)

Circulation Spaces, cont.

553cd/m2

24cd/m2

15 cd/m2

7 cd/m2

9cd/m2

15cd/m2170

fc 5fc

13 fc

13 fc

5 fc

4 fc

9 fc 8 fc 8 fc

14 fc 12 fc 10 fc

(aligned with luminaires)

(between luminaires)

4–14 fcon face

Details

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Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

from baffled stacklight luminaires (type F)spaced 10’ (3.1 m) on center. The light isdirected onto room surfaces rather than intothe eyes of residents walking down the hall.Floor illuminances are very uniform,

ranging from 9 to 15 fc (93 to 160lx). Because this space is infre-quently used, the luminaires arecontrolled by a ceiling-mountedultrasonic occupancy sensor.

Second-floor corridor node with stacklights

Perspective of stacklight corridor (second floor)

Lower level storage area

Perspective of lower level storage area

9 fc(between

luminaires)

15 fc(under

luminaires)

5fc

6fc

11fc

17fc

9 cd/m2

31cd/m2

797cd/m2

2180 cd/m217 cd/m2

31 fc

16 fc

(under luminaire)

22 fc21 fc

18 fc 18 fc16fc

25fc

40fc

12fc

14 fc

15 fc

41cd/m2 28

cd/m2 56 cd/m2100–156

cd/m2

10–22fcon

face

(between luminaires)

risk of falling and injury for seniors, so thedesign team specified permanently installedlighting operated by a switch near the door toprovide a low level of ambient lighting, enoughto enable a resident to feel comfortable walkinginto the room. Residents are still expected tobring in portable lighting for areas where theyperform visual tasks (see Resident and StaffResponse).

Living/Dining Rooms On the first floor,living/dining rooms are illuminated with a linearfluorescent valance luminaire (type S). The lightis reflected off the white walls and ceiling, and

ApartmentsDELTA evaluated two designs in several of theresidential spaces at McLean Village Aparmentsin order to get feedback on a larger number oflighting techniques.

In contemporary residential construction, mostapartment rooms rely on switched outlets andportable table lamps to provide ambient light.This practice presents a common problemwhen a person enters the apartment and cannotturn on the table lamps with a switch by thedoor because the lamps have been turned off atthe base. Such a situation poses an increased

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the oak fascia blocks the view of bright lamps.The result is a low-brightness, uniform ambientlight. Residents brought in portable table andfloor lamps to personalize their spaces. DELTA’snighttime light measurements in a typicalliving/dining room are shown below.

Second-floor living/dining rooms have a pair ofup/down compact fluorescent wall sconces(type A). This luminaire looks different from thevalance luminaire in the first-floor apartments,but it has an opaque front and throws lightupward and downward in the same way.Although residents liked the appearance of both

Second-floor living/dining roomPerspective of second-floor living/dining room

(light measurements include contribution from table lamps)

First-floor living/dining roomPerspective of first-floor living/dining room (view not shown in plans)

Details

9 fc

10 fc

15fc

10 fc

7 fc17 cd/m2

26 cd/m2

116 cd/m2

93 cd/m2

23 cd/m2

13 fc

13 fc

Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

First-floor kitchen Perspective of first-floor kitchen (view not shown on plans)

Second-floor kitchen Perspective of second-floor kitchen

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the valance luminaires and the sconces, theypreferred the valance luminaires because theyproduce more light (see Resident and StaffResponse).

Kitchens Designers also created two lightingplans for the kitchens. Both have a central lumi-naire to provide consistent ambient lighting ofabout 20 fc (220 lx) on the counters, plusundercabinet lighting and recessed downlightsto concentrate light on task areas such as thesink and countertops. Task area illuminancesrange from 60 to 80 fc (650 to 860 lx).

(type L) concentrate light onto the sink and thebreakfast bar countertop.

Second-floor kitchens use a pendant uplight(type W) to provide ambient light. The lumi-naire has a diffuser on the bottom side, but themajority of its light is directed toward theceiling. The difference between the luminanceof the diffuser and that of the ceiling above isonly 3:1; as a result, this is a very comfortableluminaire to view.

First-floor kitchens use a ceiling-mountedfluorescent luminaire (type R) with oakbaffles and white diffuser. The diffuser evenlydistributes light downward into the room,and the wood baffles help hide the excessivebrightness of the diffuser. Task lighting isprovided by undercabinet lights (type Q) andrecessed downlights (type L). This undercab-inet light is mounted as close to the frontedge of the countertop as possible toincrease illuminance on the edge, and the 2”(51 mm) lip of the cabinet completely blocksany view of the bright lens. The downlights

60 fc

10 fc

12 fc

58 fc 15 fc 61fc

17fc

13fc

31 cd/m2992cd/m2

31cd/m2

2310 cd/m2

36 fc

100fc

61 fc

10 fc

10 fc15fc

15 fc78 fc

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Bathrooms People often perform demandingand potentially hazardous tasks in bathrooms,such as shaving with razors, climbing in andout of slippery showers, or reading fine print onprescription bottles, making this room a primesite for accidents. Bathroom lighting at McLeanVillage Apartments is designed to help seniorresidents perform these tasks safely. In addition,vertical illuminances and good color appear-ance here are very important for washing,dressing, and grooming.

Residents rated first-floor bathrooms higher thanthe second-floor bathrooms. First-floor bath-rooms use a 4’ (1220 mm) long fluorescentup/downlight (type T), with an opaque fascia,mounted above the mirror. The reflected uplightproduces even illuminances in the room, andthe white diffuser on the bottom side distributeslight evenly on the body of the residentstanding at the vanity. Vertical illuminances are

Perspective of first-floor bedroom

First-floor bathroom Perspective of first-floor bathroom

8 fc

7 fc

90 cd/m21096cd/m2

2170 cd/m2(lens)

20 fc30 fc(on face)

19 fc (onshower floor)

28 fc

24 fc

Details

Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

30 fc (320 lx) on the face at the vanity; hori-zontal illuminance is 44 fc (480 lx) on thecountertop. The shower is equipped with acompact fluorescent recessed downlight(type U) with white reflector cone andfresnel lens. The lens reduces lamp bright-ness, creating a soft-edged light that illumi-nates the shower walls and floor. This featureproved to be one of the most popular aspectsof the lighting in McLean Village Apartments(see Resident and Staff Response).

Second-floor bathrooms are equipped withthe same shower lights, but these bathroomsalso have a dropped soffit over the vanity(type V). Its diffuser produces soft downlighton the resident’s body, but the light isunevenly distributed because the opening isoff-center from the vanity (see Resident andStaff Response).

Bedrooms In the bedrooms, designersspecified fixed luminaires to provide a lowlevel of ambient lighting, 5 to 15 fc (54 to

160 lx), so that seniors will nothave to fumble with table lamps inthe dark. First-floor bedroomshave a pair of compact fluorescentwall sconces (type A). Second-floor bedrooms have a round,compact fluorescent, ceiling-mounted luminaire (type N) withwhite diffuser and rings designedto spill a small amount of lightonto the ceiling. Residents havebrought in their own table lampsfor reading.

Apartment bedrooms containeither walk-in or shallow closetswith bifold doors. As a conve-nience to residents and as anenergy-saving measure, passiveinfrared occupancy sensors weresupposed to be installed with thecloset lighting (type G). This turnedout to be a comical calamity (seeResident and Staff Response).

Second-floor bedroom

First-floor bedroom

Perspective of second-floor bedroom

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19 fc

15 fc

14

Energy Impact DELTA used manufacturers’ data to calculatelighting power densities (LPDs) for McLeanVillage Apartments. The tables below give theLPDs for the common spaces and apartments. Inorder to compare the energy impact on thecommon spaces of the facility, DELTA consultedthe ASHRAE-IESNA/90.1 (1989) standard powerdensities. To compare power densities in theapartments, DELTA consulted residential base-lines developed for the Lighting Research Centerpublication The Lighting Pattern Book for Homes.

Economic andEnvironmental Analysis The lighting design of the combined block ofapartments at McLean Village achieved lowerLPDs than in typical American homes by usingenergy-efficient luminaires, lamps, and ballasts.In the economic analysis for the apartments,DELTA assumed the following hours of use assuggested by The Lighting Pattern Book forHomes:

• 100% of lighting in kitchens on for 3 hours per day

• 100% of lighting in living/dining rooms on for 3 hours per day

• 100% of lighting in bedrooms on for 1 hour per day

• 100% of lighting in bathrooms on for 2 hours per day

The lighting systems in all 24 apartmentstogether save more than $1,300 annually inlighting energy use over typical American resi-dences operating the same hours. Taking intoaccount the estimated impact on the apart-ment’s heating, ventilation, and air-conditioningsystem, this reduction in lighting energy usecorresponds to total annual cost savings ofabout $1,600. These savings are due to loweroverall energy costs, assuming a residentialcustomer rate of 10.6¢/kWh for electricity and$6.67/MBtu for gas. (Calculations adapted from“Worksheet for Life-Cycle Cost-BenefitAnalysis” published in The Lighting Handbook8th Edition from IESNA.)

For the common spaces of the facility, theDELTA team, after consulting the McLean

emissions of 23 tons (21 metric tons) of CO2,0.13 tons (0.12 metric tons) of SO2, and 0.36tons (0.33 metric tons) of NOx compounds. Byreducing these emissions into the atmosphere,the facility contributes less to problems such asglobal warming, acid rain, and smog.

The lighting construction cost for the entirefacility was about $204,000, or $4.29/ft2. Thelocal utility company, CL&P, contributed to thecost for this facility with an incentive of$65,000.

ProjectEvaluationVillage Apartments building manager, esti-mated daily hours of use:

• 10.5 hours in lobby• 1.1 hours in medical offices• 2.3 hours in function rooms• 7.1 hours in office space• 24 hours in undulating wall corridor• 16 hours in coffee shop area• 7.1 hours in kitchen area• 2.3 hours in dining room• 3.6 hours in restrooms• 24 hours in first- and second-floor corridors• 1.9 hours in workout, beauty shop,

and store areas• 15 hours in the second-floor

corridor/office area• 24 hours in lower-level

circulation spaces, wherethere are no occupancysensors. (The hours of use inthe storage areas wereassumed to be negligible,because lighting had occu-pancy sensors and/or timerswitches.)

The lighting system in thecommon spaces saves almost$1500 annually in lightingenergy use over spaces oper-ating the same hours lighted toASHRAE/IESNA standardLPDs. In this case, savingsfrom reduced air conditioningdemand are outweighed byadditional heating require-ments, so the overall savingsreduces to $1300. Thesesavings are due to loweroverall energy costs, assuminga demand charge of $0.50 perkW and 9.3¢/kWh for elec-tricity and $6.67/MBtu for gas.

According to the region’spower utility, ConnecticutLight and Power (CL&P),reduced energy from thisentire facility will result inannual lower power plant

Common Spaces and Apartments—Lighting Power Densities (LPD)

Area Total LPD ASHRAE/IESNAa

Common Spaces (ft2) (W/ft2) Allowed LPD (Wft2)Lobby 1502 1.52 1.0Medical offices 530 1.95 1.4Function rooms 1423 1.54 1.8Office 656 1.75 1.8Undulating wall corridor 702 0.85 1.3Coffee shop 1405 0.89 2.5Kitchen/food preparation 1556 1.85 1.4Dining room 1058 1.79 2.5Restrooms 472 1.27 1.2Corridors (2nd floor) 2464 0.89 0.8Corridors (1st floor) 2464 1.06 0.8Workout, beauty shop, store 320 3.66 2.02nd-floor corridor/office 1930 0.98 1.8Lower level storage, overall 4604 0.91 1.0(not used in economic analysis)Lower level circulation only (used in economic analysis) 1126 0.72 N/AAll common spaces 21,086 1.23 1.4

Total Area b Total LPD c Pattern Book dApartments (ft2) (W/ft2) (Wft2)Kitchens 3635 1.62 3.12Living/dining rooms 11,681 1.37 1.55Bedrooms 7937 1.92 1.75Bathrooms 2397 1.78 4.27All apartments 26,460 1.33 2.04

a ASHRAE = American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. IESNA = IlluminatingEngineering Society of North America. Although ASHRAE/IESNA does not apply to residential facilities, LPDs weredrawn from the category “Nursing Homes” for comparison only.b Areas are totals for all 24 apartments.c Includes portable lighting. d LPDs in typical American homes, based on data from The Lighting Pattern Book for Homes (1996).

10.76 ft2=1m2; 1 W/ft2 = 10.76 W/m2

“Most people who come here the first timenotice that the lighting is nice. I think it’s abig plus. We love the lighting.”

—Resident.

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Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

Resident and StaffResponse DELTA interviewed residents, management,and maintenance staff about their impressionsand experiences with the lighting. They wereasked about task visibility, visual comfort,color appearance, and satisfaction with thelighting and controls. Overall, the responses

to the lighted environment were very positive.No one made negative comments about coloror flicker from fluorescent lighting, exceptone woman who thought the warm colorlight made it more difficult to seespots on white shirts in the laundry.Residents expressed feelings of secu-rity and comfort.

Common Spaces Residents consid-ered the lobby a comfortable andpleasant place for conversation.However, some residentscommented that light levels were toolow for serious reading. Residentsalso found the dining room lightingsatisfactory and even, but severalcomplained that misaimed tracklights were too glaring. Once thetrack lights were properly aimedtoward the mural, the complaintsstopped. Corridor lighting was well-liked,except that several people commented thatthe second-floor corridors using linear fluo-rescent luminaires (type F) appeared overlit.These responses could reflect a psychologicalreaction to the brightly lighted walls. Somealso remarked that it was a waste of energy tokeep all these lights operating 24 hours a day,although this corridor actually uses lessenergy than the first-floor corridor. The storageareas were well-liked. Several residentscommented that the occupancy sensorslocated here and in the trash area workedvery well to provide light when it wasneeded.

The fixed living/dining room lighting had beendesigned to provide a low level of ambientlighting for safe circulation; the design teamexpected that residents would bring their ownportable lighting for reading or craft tasks. Inspite of this design decision, residentscommented that they wished the light level werehigh enough for reading. Residents preferredvalance luminaires to wall sconces for ambientlighting, because they produce more light fortasks. A common complaint among residentswith a separate dining table was that they wouldlike to have a decorative hanging luminaire overthe dining table. One solution for future projectsmight be to provide a junction box above thetypical dining table location so that residentscould provide their own decorative luminaires.

Many residents commented that they had neverhad a light in the shower (type U) before, andfound it extremely useful for bathing andcleaning. DELTA also received an overwhelm-ingly positive response to the up/down fluores-cent vanity light (type T). Many residentscommented that it was easy to see themselves inthe mirror for shaving or grooming tasks.However, the response to the lighted soffit (typeV) was less positive. The off-center position of theluminaire above the vanity caused one residentto complain that the uneven distribution of lighton the right and left sides of his face caused himto shave his sideburns unevenly. DELTAmeasured a difference of 2:1 in vertical illumi-nance on the two sides of the face in this type ofbathroom.

The building manager confirmed that the overallresponse to the lighting was positive. Shebelieves that the lighting creates an environmentthat makes the building more appealing to newresidents.

Maintenance and ProductPerformance Problems with the performance of the occu-pancy sensors in closets were the main source ofcomplaint from the residents and staff. Most ofthese sensors have been replaced by traditionalpull-chain switches (see Resident and StaffResponse).

Apartments The chief complaint from resi-dents and staff concerned the erratic operationof occupancy sensors installed in bedroomclosets. The passive infrared (PIR) occupancysensors originally specified were direct line-of-sight devices that would pick up motion onlyinside the closet doors. However, ultrasonicsensors that have a greater sensitivity to motionbeyond the closet doors had been substitutedfor the PIR sensors. Residents found that anyactivity in the room kept closet lights on; evenrolling over in bed at night sometimes triggeredthem. The sensor manufacturer was called in todiagnose the problem, and replaced the ultra-

sonic sensors with PIR sensors. However, manysensors had been incorrectly installed above theheader-mounted luminaire so that the luminaireblocked the view of the PIR sensor. As a result,many residents then found that they had tomake extreme motions inside the closet inorder to turn the light on. Finally, these poorlylocated sensors were deactivated and replacedwith pull-chain switches, to the residents’ satis-faction (see Lessons Learned).

LIGHTING SURVEYPercentages of People Who Agree That the Lighting is:

Good Neither BadDining room (n=21) 90 10 0Lobby (n=15) 87 13 0Corridors (n=18) 100 0 0Trash room (n=17) 100 0 0Lower level storage (n=11) 100 0 0

Residents’ Responses to Best- and Worst-lighted Rooms:(number of responses out of 21)

Room where lighting isParticularly Good: Particularly Bad:Kitchen 13 Dining area 3Living room 5 Little coat closet (unlighted) 1Hallway 1 Laundry closet 1(Entire) Bathroom 1

“I’m too old to jump up and down to turnthe lights on!”

—Resident

“The kitchen is very bright, for goodness’sake. The lighting works really well.”

—Resident

“I like the hallways very much; they’re brightbut without glare.”

—Resident

Copyright © 2000, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved. Neither the entire publication nor any of the information contained herein may be duplicated or excerpted in any way in any otherpublication, database, or other medium and may not be reproduced without express written permission of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Making copies of all or part of this publication for any purpose

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Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

DELTA Portfolio Lighting Case Studies

Volume 2, Issue 6McLean Village Apartments

Simsbury, ConnecticutSite Sponsor:

The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), an operating company of Northeast Utilities (NU)

February 2000

Program Directors: Naomi Miller, Sandra Vasconez

Reviewers: Russell Leslie, Mark ReaProject Coordinator: Peter BoycePublication Manager: Judith BlockCopy Editors: Claudia Hunter,

Marilyn MorganResearch Associate: Jennifer BronsEvaluation Team: Peter Boyce,

Naomi Miller, Dalia Kairiukstiene, Jennifer Brons

Technical Assistance: Andrew Johnson, Kami Wilwol, Ge Zhang

Graphics: Javier Ten

CREDITSMcLean Village: Patricia BaileyNortheast Utilities System:

NU Project Contact: Peter Morante CL&P Project Representative: John Scanlon

Architect: Design Group One ArchitectsEngineers: Acorn Consulting EngineersLighting Design: Lighting Research CenterElectrical Contractor: Commercial ElectricLuminaire Manufacturers:

Types A and E, Winona Lighting; Type F, NeoRay Lighting; Type P, Shaper Lighting; All others, Lightolier

DELTA Portfolio Graphic Design and Production: JSG Communications, Inc.

Photographer: (excluding exterior photograph) Randall Perry Photography

DELTA MEMBERSConsolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

Northeast Utilities SystemLighting Research Center

DELTA STEERING COMMITTEEPatricia Glasow, Peter Jacobson, Roger Knott, Mitchell Kohn, Peter Morante, Marsha Walton

A greater-than-expected number of ballastshave failed in the type A compact fluorescentsconces, apparently due to a shipment ofdefective ballasts. The ballast manufacturer hasreplaced all these ballasts once and continuesto replace additional failing ballasts. The main-tenance staff also had problems with thebottom lenses of these wall sconces. The pris-matic acrylic lens fit so tightly that the lensoften broke during relamping or ballast inspec-tion. The sconce manufacturer has shippedsmaller replacement lenses to solve theproblem.

The facility’s maintenance techniciancommented to DELTA that, aside from theproblems described, few lighting maintenanceproblems have occurred in the first eightmonths of operation. He replaces halogenPAR30 lamps more frequently than seemsnormal to him, speculating that vibration in thefacility may shorten lamp life.

Lessons Learned• Fluorescent luminaires are acceptable in

residential applications. New technology influorescent lamps and electronic ballasts hasapparently overcome many of the negativereactions to fluorescent lighting from thepast. In fact, none of the residents expressedconcerns about color, noise, flicker, orappearance from fluorescent luminaires intheir apartments.

• Residents prefer pendant lights over theirapartment dining tables. Pendant luminairesadd style and familiarity to a dining roomsetting. Residents appreciated ambient lightfrom wall-mounted luminaires, but they stillwanted to bring in their own decorativechandeliers or pendants.

• Shower lights can make tub and showerareas easier to use. Recessed, lensedcompact fluorescent shower lights were well-liked. Residents commented that it was easierto use and clean the shower.

• Bathroom lighting should be evenlydistributed. Residents preferred the vanityluminaire that directed light up- and down-ward. Light reflected off the ceiling createseven illumination throughout the room; italso provides vertical illuminance that makesbodies and faces more visible in the mirror.The light directed downward illuminates thecountertop as well as the resident’s face andbody.

• Occupancy sensors must be carefullyselected and installed. Designers must matchthe characteristics of occupancy sensors withthe application, and make sure that sensorsare carefully located. The occupancy sensorsused in some closets on this project had tobe disabled and retrofitted with pull-chainswitches because they were not thoughtfullyapplied or installed.

• Well-designed occupancy sensor installa-tions save energy and are appreciated byresidents. In lower-level storage areas and inthe building’s trash room, occupancy sensorsautomatically switch lights on and off. Thisautomatic switching is a great convenienceto residents who are carrying boxes or trashcontainers.

“Light in the shower is a real plus. I neverhad this before.”

— Resident