Green Light New York is launching an exciting social media initiative to highlight the potential for daylight to offset the use of electric lighting in commercial office spaces. Called the Daylight Hour- participants will agree to turn off the lights in day-lit office spaces from Noon to 1 on June 20th, the last workday before the solstice.
Green Light has always been a strong advocate for daylighting strategies in commercial office spaces- to improve the quality of our work environments and drive down the use of electric lighting. In many offices, the lights are left on even in spaces near exterior walls that have enough daylight to work by. What’s more, the times of greatest available daylight coincide with peak demand- the period when most energy is required from the grid. This peak energy is the most expensive energy, and typically the dirtiest and most harmful to our global climate because the oldest, least efficient plants are brought online to meet this need. Our recent study, Let There Be Daylight, found that owners and tenants could save $70 million every year by introducing daylight responsive lighting systems. At the same time, balanced day-lit spaces are often the most pleasant to spend time in, and studies suggest these spaces promote our health and well-being, improve productivity and reduce absenteeism. While there are a variety of lighting control systems available that respond to daylight, these systems are not typical.
To draw attention to this important issue, Green Light New York will be tracking participants in the Daylight Hour, promoting their involvement and efforts, and estimating the energy savings and other impacts of the campaign. Participants will be asked to post photos on Twitter or Facebook from their day-lit spaces at the beginning and the end of the Daylight Hour to demonstrate their participation. Use #DaylightHour. This activity will act as a springboard to deliver programs and other resources on the strategies and technologies that enable the daylighting of office spaces.
Register your organization for the Daylight Hour, here.
Upcoming events at the Green Light Resource Center include:
The Lights Have Eyes – Discussion on Lighting Controls Security
June 10, 2014
5:30PM – 7:30PM
Register here
Efficiency Demo Rodeo
June 25, 2014
9:00AM – 11:00AM
Register here
