Energy efficiency in municipal facilities: Appraisal of interior lighting systems

Energy efficient lighting reduces the demand for electricity and its corresponding environmental impacts. In fact, lighting can represent a significant portion of energy and electricity consumption in public facilities. On the other hand, energy is the largest cost in owning and operating a typical lighting system. Finally, besides energy savings, energy efficient lighting often represents additional cooling and operation and maintenance savings. This paper is aimed at presenting the appraisal of several energy efficiency measures for the interior lighting system of distinct Portuguese municipal facilities. Besides the characterization of the currently available lighting systems, the study presents the technical-economic analysis of the efficiency measures selected for each space analysed, by taking into account the space s characteristics and both electrical and photometric characteristics of the luminaires, ensuring its longevity as well as the suitable light levels required.