Integrated Lighting Approach Saves Energy in Post Office Facilities

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has made numerous efforts to improve the lighting quality and efficiency in their facilities. These efforts have included both traditional retrofits such as the transition to T8 lamps/electronic ballasts and more experimental approaches such as light pipes and sulfur lamps. However, these efforts have focused primarily on their industrial and plant facilities and have had little impact on their small and medium sized facilities, which comprise roughly 90% of their total building stock. These efforts have also neglected the affinity between task and ambient lighting functions.

The objective of this project was to develop and demonstrate an integrated lighting system that saves energy while improving the lighting distribution and quality in small and medium sized USPS facilities. Work included the evolution of a novel task lighting fixture designed explicitly to improve the light distribution within the carrier case letter sorting station. The new task light system was developed to work in combination with a high efficiency, low-glare ambient lighting system mounted on the ceiling. The use of high-performance task lighting allowed the ambient lighting component to be reduced, thereby limiting the amount of glare produced and reducing the amount of energy consumed.