New Lighting Technologies, Their Status and Impacts on Power Densities

There have been many new lighting products introduced since the 1973 energy crises. The products that entered the market most rapidly were based on existing technologies and relied primarily on reducing light levels to reduce electrical power use. These systems worked for retrofitting existing spaces that were over-illuminated. In the mid-70s, new products employing new technologies were developed that increased the efficacy of producing and distributing visible light. These included the high-frequency operation of fluorescent lamps, replacement of incandescent light sources, and effective management of lighting. These technologies will be described and their present status, with regard to their current use, will be discussed. Their impacts on energy use and on the quantity and quality of illumination will be presented. The results will provide evidence that proposed lighting power densities of 1.5 watts per square foot for lighting can be realized.