The New York Times Headquarters Daylighting Mockup: Monitored Performance of the Daylighting Control System

A nine-month monitored field study of the performance of automated roller shades and daylighting controls was conducted in a 401 m² unoccupied, furnished daylighting mockup. The mockup mimicked the southwest corner of a new 110 km² commercial building in New York, New York, where The New York Times will be the major tenant. This paper focuses on evaluating the performance of two daylighting control systems installed in separate areas of an open plan office with 1.2-m high workstation partitions: 1) Area A had 0-10 V dimmable ballasts with an open-loop proportional control system and an automated shade controlled to reduce window glare and increase daylight, and 2) Area B had digital addressable lighting interface (DALI) ballasts with a closed-loop integral reset control system and an automated shade controlled to block direct sun. Daylighting control system performance and lighting energy use were monitored. The daylighting control systems demonstrated very reliable performance after they were commissioned properly. Work plane illuminance levels were maintained above 90% of the maximum fluorescent illuminance level for 99.9+/-0.5% and 97.9+/-6.1% of the day on average over the monitored period, respectively, in Areas A and B. Daily lighting energy use savings were significant in both Areas over the equinox-to-equinox period compared to a non-daylit reference case. At 3.35 m from the window, 30% average savings were achieved with a sidelit west-facing condition in Area A while 50-60% were achieved with a bilateral daylit south-facing condition in Area B. At 4.57-9.14 m from the window, 5-10% and 25-40% savings were achieved in Areas A and B, respectively. Average savings for the 7-m deep dimming zone were 20-23% and 52-59% for Areas A and B, respectively, depending on the lighting schedule. The large savings and good reliability can be attributed to the automatic management of the interior shades. The DALI-based system exhibited faulty behavior that remains unexplained, but operational errors are expected to be resolved as DALI products reach full maturity. The building owner received very competitive bids ($30-75 US/DALI ballast) and was able to justify use of the daylighting control system based on operational cost savings and increased amenity. Additional energy savings due to reduced solar and lighting heat gains were not quantified but will add to the total operational cost savings.