A lighting upgrade does not end with the installation of efficient equipment. Many cost-effective opportunities for reducing energy and maintenance costs and improving occupant satisfaction are frequently missed simply because operations and maintenance issues are ignored or addressed in an ad hoc fashion after the upgrade. The following decisions need to be integrated into your upgrade design from the beginning.

All lighting systems experience a decrease in light output and efficiency over time from three factors:

• Lamp light output decreases (lamp lumen depreciation).
• Dirt accumulates on fixtures (luminaire dirt depreciation).
• Lamps burn out.

Over time, these factors can degrade a system’s efficiency by up to 60 percent wasting energy and maintenance costs and compromising safety, productivity, and building aesthetics. A planned maintenance program of group relamping and fixture cleaning at a scheduled interval minimizes this waste and maximizes system performance.

Integrating a planned maintenance program into your lighting upgrade saves money in two ways. First, you will not have to overcompensate with higher initial lighting levels to ensure adequate lighting over time. The lighting system can be rightsized, saving on annual energy use and material first costs.

Second, while replacing lamps as they burn out on a spot basis may seem like a cost-effective practice, it actually wastes valuable labor. Group relamping times the replacement of lamps at their maximum economic value, generally at about 70 percent of their calendar life. Although it means replacing lamps before they expire, group relamping dramatically reduces the time spent replacing each lamp (not to mention the time spent responding to service calls and complaints), which can reduce your overall lighting maintenance budget by more than 25 percent. In addition, planned maintenance reduces the cost of lamps through bulk-purchase discounts, the storage space needs for replacement lamps, and disruptions in the workplace.

To sustain an efficient, high-performance lighting upgrade, assemble an operations and maintenance (O&M) manual. Use it as both the lighting management policy and a central operating reference for building management and maintenance staff. This manual should include the following information:

• Facility blueprints.
• Fixture and controls schedule.
• Equipment specifications, including product cut sheets.
• Equipment and service provider sources and contacts (include utility contacts).
• Fixture cleaning and relamping schedule with service tracking log.
• Procedures for relamping, reballasting, and cleaning fixtures.
• Procedures for the adjustment of photosensors and occupancy sensors.
• Procedures for proper lamp and ballast disposal.

Review the O&M manual with the staff responsible for lighting maintenance. Make training mandatory for all new maintenance personnel. Correct operation and maintenance should be built into job descriptions and should become part of all annual performance reviews.