From poor lighting in the Hilton's Trianon Room to the endless parade of LED products on display in the Exhibit Hall lighting was the word at Con Ed's Energy Efficiency Summit in New York on Wednesday.

Mike Jackson, director of sales with VC-backed Digital Lumens, even brought along a prop for his presentation in the Pitch Stop, Con Ed's version of the company showcase. Demonstrating his product's benefits for warehouse, distribution centers, and cold storage facilities, Jackson turned on Digital Lumens' ILE-MB-3, their midbay fixture designed for open-space warehouse docks, non-racked storage areas, and manufacturing buildings. 

"Don't look straight into the light folks," Jackson instructed before turning the light on via a wireless connection with his laptop.  Within seconds, the right side of the room flooded with cool white light. Jackson explained the benefits of his lamp configuration over metal halides and high pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures that generate too much heat and use more energy.

"You can reduce kWh consumption up to 90 percent over a traditional lighting retrofit," Jackson told the well-lit audience. "And currently there are no real solutions for cold storage.  Jackson amplified his point in an email after the event, saying that neither HPS nor High Intensity Fluorescents perform well in the cold. "LEDs love cold," he wrote. "They burn brighter and last longer in cold facilities."

Warehouses and distribution centers are typically large, open areas that require significant illumination. Without adequate lighting, there is a risk of misidentifying or damaging items and even injury to workers who must navigate aisles. Lighting is a huge energy consumer for warehouse and logistics facilities, according to Michael Smith of Lutron.  In fact, it may be upwards of 80 percent of onsite electric consumption.

Changing over to LEDs is just one strategy for achieving efficiency in lighting commercial and industrial facilities. In fact, there are seven strategies, according to Smith, who offered his "7 Strategies for Total Light Management" in a breakout session.  Among the strategies Smith called out were daylight harvesting, personal light controls, and intelligent window shades.

Another strategy calls for automated sensor technologies, such as occupancy and vacancy sensors.  Sensors are clearly an emerging opportunity for the component-centric investor; they are important in many, if not all green technologies -- and even many that are not green.

Digital Lumens uses a 360-degree motion sensor in its integrated intelligent lighting fixtures, and there were countless other applications on display Wednesday, many of which help manage lighting without compromising safety or security.

Vacancy sensors for offices and warehouses seem like a great idea addressing a problem with traditional occupancy sensors.

Occupancy sensors have been around for a while – you've probably noticed them in office building restrooms, along with sensors for sinks, towels, and toilets.  The trouble with occupancy sensors is if a person walks into a space the sensor is triggered and the lights remain on for sometimes ten minutes or more before resetting. With a vacancy sensor you switch the lights on upon entering the room and the sensor reacts when you've left, automatically switching the lights off.   

I'm sensing a bright idea for many commercial and industrial facilities, not to mention offices and perhaps even homes.

Photo by Pixomar.