When it comes to commercial office lighting design – lose the incandescent. There was a time when it made sense to use incandescent in a commercial building. Energy was less expensive and the alternative choice was a buzzing fluorescent fixture that flickered. With rising energy and maintenance costs and superior electronic fluorescent products available, that time has long passed. The average lumen per watt for an incandescent source is 16 – 18 lumens per watt and the average life of a lamp is 1,000 – 2,000 hours. T8 & T5 fluorescent products offer 90+ lumens per watt with 20,000 – 35,000 hour lamp lives. This is akin to comparing an H1 Hummer at 7 miles per gallon to a Toyota hybrid at 55 miles / gallon.

Fluorescent systems today give the occupants a choice of color temperatures ranging from 2700K (incandescent like) to 5500K which is as cool as the noon sun. When you utilize a specification grade fluorescent lighting system in today’s buildings, you are doing a great service to the occupants of that space. They will pay significantly less energy costs and spend much, much less time changing lamps – and that is a good thing.

- Patrick O'Flaherty