NLPIP Specifier Reports: Lighting Circuit Power Reducers

Lighting circuit power reducers are retrofit devices designed to reduce the energy use of a lighting circuit. Also called lighting controllers, these devices are installed at electrical panels between a circuit breaker and the lighting load to reduce the active power of the entire lighting circuit. Reducing the lighting load, however, reduces illuminances and may also reduce system efficacy. Manufactures may claim that lighting circuit power reducers save energy without a perceptible reduction in light output, but there are few test data that support these claims.For this Specifier Report, NLPIP tested lighting circuit power reducer products for single-phase fluorescent lighting systems from three manufacturers. Although NLPIP did not test high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting systems, this report also includes information on these products. In 2005, NLPIP added a supplement to this report to present manufacturer-supplied and NLPIP-measured data on a product not tested in the original document.

Research relating to the Lighting Research Center is funded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and various sponsors. This digital document was provided to Rensselaer Libraries by the Lighting Research Center. Use of this digital version is prohibited without the expressed permission of the Lighting Research Center.