Nash Community College

A Study in Energy Efficient Lighting

T5 Fluorescent Adapters vs. T12 Fluorescent Lighting
T5 Fluorescent Adapters vs. T12 Fluorescent Lighting

Version 1.0: June 16, 2010

Presented by: Mark T. Brown

Client approval: Yes  No 

Branch Rain.Shine Technologies

Address 355 Clyde Ct.
City, state, ZIP Code McDonough, GA 30252
Phone number 770-957-1003

Contact name Mark T. Brown

Title Founder
Phone number 770-957-1003
E-mail address [email protected]

Solution group Rain.Shine Technologies

Solution offering T5 Fluorescent Adapters
Project name or title Nash Community College

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T5 Fluorescent Adapters vs. T12 Fluorescent Lighting

Customer profile
Customer name Nash Community College
Address 522 North Old Carriage Rd.
City, state, ZIP Code Rocky Mount, NC 27804
Phone number 252-443-4011
Web site address http://www.nashcc.edu/

Industry Education
Number of employees 200 +
Annual revenue Non Profit

Contact name Bill S. Carver

Title President
Phone number (252)443-4011
E-mail address [email protected]

Case Study for Nash Community College

College Profile
 Nash Community College, a public comprehensive educational institution with an open-
door admissions policy, was founded in 1967.

 Modern buildings including the Science and Technology Center, the Business and
Industry Center and a four star rated Child Development Center comprise the campus
physical plant.

 2006-2007 academic year, NCC served 11,559 students for various educational
opportunities. Curriculum programs had 3,673 students and Continuing Education
enrolled 7,886.

 86 degree, diploma, or certificate programs as well as Continuing Education options

Business Situation
As a result of tight budgetary conditions caused by cuts in funding, Nash Community College looks to
reduce utility budgets and generally “Green” the campus by implementing new energy saving technology.

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T5 Fluorescent Adapters vs. T12 Fluorescent Lighting

Technical Situation
The campus is currently laden
en with older T12 fluoresce
fluorescent
nt lighting technology that needs to be updated in
order to improve lighting conditions and reduce energy consumption. Additionally ally in accordance with
federal law, replacement ballasts for T12 fixtures will no longer be manufactured after July 2010.
2010

Solution
By retrofitting existing T12 fixtures with newer T5 technology Nash Community College greatly reduces
reduce
energy consumption while improving the current lighting conditions. The ESave and WattSaver T5
adapters allow for retrofitting of existing fixtu
fixtures
res with a simple wiring change that bypasses the old
ballasts
ts while leaving them in place, therefore requiring no disposal of existing fixtures or fixture
components.

Test Results
Rather than rely on manufacturer’s claims of energy consumption and ligh
lighting
ting output, field testing was
completed in a classroom as two college presidents
presidents, energy managers from the local K--12 school system,
and representatives from the press looked on. See test results below:

Light
Output in
Foot Energy Payback in
Candles Watt Usage Savings % Months*
T5 (2) 28 Watt Adapters 50 56 62 20.7
T5 (2) 18 Watt Adapters 31 33 77 19.1
T12 (4) Lamp Fixture 33 144 0 0
*Increase of 4% per annum used in calculation for energy cost. Reduction in heat load was
factored based on ASHRAE published data.

180
160
140
120
100
Watt Usage
80
Light Output in Foot Candles
60
40
20
0
T5 (2) 28 Watt T5 (2) 18 Watt T12 (4) Lamp
Adapters Adapters Fixture

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T5 Fluorescent Adapters vs. T12 Fluorescent Lighting

Benefits
 The T5 18watt version of the adapter provides comparable light to the existing fixtures, while
providing energy savings of 77% with a return on investment of 19.1 months.
 The T5 28watt version of the adapter provides substantially more light than the existing fixtures,
while providing energy savings of 62% with a return on investment of 20.7 months.
 Ballast life increases significantly from 20-30,000 hours to 60,000 hours with the T5 adapters.
Note: The T5 adapters come with a 5 year warranty.
 Lamp life increases significantly from 10,000 hours to 30,000 hours with the T5 adapters.
 Significant HVAC savings are realized due to heat load reduction. Each watt saved reduces the
heat load by 3.412 BTU’s.
 Lighting degradation will no longer be an issue, since T5 lamps only lose 5% of their luminance
over the lifetime compared to more than 20% with T12 and T8 fixtures. Several of the existing
fixtures in the classroom had measurable degradation of luminance.
 The typical flicker and humming issues associated with T12 ballast are eliminated due to the
efficient T5 electronic ballasts. These issues were present in the particular classroom tested.
 Lighting maintenance will become a janitorial task rather than a task required to be performed by
electricians, since a failed adapter can be removed and replaced just as a fluorescent lamp would
normally be replaced.

Products Used In Solution

 Helico ESave T5 Adapter

 Helico WattSaver T5 Adapter

 Standard GE T5 4100Kelvin Lamps (provided by NCC)

Testing Equipment

 Greenlee CM-450 Digital Volt/Amp Meter – used to test voltage and amp draw

 Greenlee 93-172 Digital Light Meter – used to take foot candle measurements

Link to Press Coverage

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/college-moves-greener-lighting-20565

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