Improved fluorescent lighting models for building energy programs

Currently, building energy analysis programs employ models of fluorescent lighting systems which are much oversimplified and potentially inaccurate. One important factor neglected by all whole-building programs is the variation of lamp power and light output with lamp wall temperature. This means that the lighting component of zone load and artificial lighting levels are both calculated incorrectly. Additionally, the latter implies that the predicted energy saving for systems that automatically reduce artificial lighting when daylight is available is also incorrect. Recent experimental and analytical work provide a basis for correcting this deficiency. This paper reviews the recent work and proposes a new lighting heat gain model that can be adapted to either weighting factor or heat balance building energy analysis programs