T12 lamps for sale in a Minneapolis hardware store, April 2016. (Source: Franklin Energy Services)
Turning Off T12 Lighting for Good
Although U.S. federal standards have effectively phased out the manufacture and import of fluorescent T12 lamps and magnetic ballasts, this outdated technology lives on. Businesses that continue to operate T12 lighting systems are burdened with an inefficient lighting source with inferior lighting quality and performance.
Minnesota utilities have worked for years to help customers upgrade their T12s, which historically meant converting to more efficient T8 or T5 systems; however, not all T12s have been converted. Having a reliable estimate of remaining T12 stock would be useful for Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) planning.
Franklin Energy Services, LLC received a CARD grant to quantify remaining T12 stock in Minnesota through field assessments of more than 200 randomly selected businesses spread across a random sample of 10 communities. The 10 communities were evenly spread across five geographic regions shown in Figure 1: the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest. This sample design provided for a margin of error of 10% at a confidence level of 90% in T12 quantity statewide.
Two communities in each region were randomly selected after applying probability weighting proportional to size. Probability weighting was applied in order to compensate for the fact that small cities are most numerous in Minnesota: If purely random sampling had been used, then small cities would have been overrepresented. The selected cities in each region are summarized in Table 1.
Figure 1. Map of Sample Regions with Selected Communities
Table 1. Selected Communities in Each Region
Region / Community / Business Count*Metro[1] / Minneapolis / 57,897
St. Paul / 33,742
Northeast / Duluth / 7,204
Nisswa / 311
Northwest / Alexandria / 1,773
Foley / 243
Southeast / Albert Lea / 1,135
Red Wing / 1,082
Southwest / Morris / 501
Worthington / 860
*Source: Salesgenie®
Within each selected community, 60 business locations were randomly selected, evenly divided between small, medium, and large sites. Size was based on square footage, as indicated in Table 2.
Table 2. Business Size Classifications
Size / Square Footage / Sample Count per CommunitySmall / < 5,000 / 6-7
Medium / 5,000 - 9,999 / 6-7
Large / ≥ 10,000 / 6-7
Total / 20
Field staff were given a quota of 6-7 completes for each size classification, and a total quota of 20 completes in each community.
Field data collection proceeded throughout 2016. At each site, staff collected information on any T12 fixtures present as well as operating hours and air-conditioning presence to allow for energy usage calculations. The site data was combined into a single table for analysis.
Analysis of data collected confirmed what many observers suspected: T12 lighting is far from gone. We estimate that one-in-four non-residential buildings, statewide, have at least one T12 fixture. The total T12 load is estimated at 242 MW statewide, which represents approximately 10 percent of the total commercial/industrial lighting load. On an energy basis, these fixtures consume 881 GWh per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of approximately 77,000 U.S. homes (based on an average electricity consumption of 11,300 kWh per year, derived from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey).
Past efforts by utilities to incentivize T12 replacements have generally relied heavily on bonus offers. Future efforts will likely require targeted outreach to influence remaining customers with T12s to convert their working fixtures. Our results show that business locations of 5,000 square feet or less, the most numerous size category in the state, have the highest average power density of T12 fixtures, as shown in Table 3.
Table 3. T12 Prevalence by Business Size
Size Range / Business Count* / Average T12 Watts/ft2< 5,000 ft2 / 104,639 / 0.284
5,000 – 9,999 ft2 / 41,905 / 0.116
≥ 10,000 ft2 / 91,875 / 0.043
*Source: Salesgenie®
The high prevalence of T12s in small businesses presents multiple challenges to the typical CIP program; however, one solution that has been deployed successfully in Minnesota is community-based small business energy “blitzes,” in which teams of utility representatives canvass a community, performing quick commercial energy audits focusing on the top three to four efficiency opportunities in each building. Because small businesses tend to be clustered in central business districts, this approach allows representatives to reach many locations in a relatively short time span.
Focusing on the top three to four opportunities with the best paybacks, which usually includes lighting, reduces the cost and time of each audit, while not overwhelming the business owner with a lengthy list of recommendations. These campaigns not only create awareness of energy efficiency opportunities and matching incentives, but generate goodwill for the utility. Timing the campaign to coincide with a special bonus offer or “bounty” for T12 replacements can be an especially effective strategy.
Another approach that has proven effective is to leverage local trade allies via a midstream incentive program, in which incentives are offered to lighting contractors for promoting T12 upgrades. Small businesses often have long-standing, trusted relationships with local contractors and rely on their expertise when making purchasing decisions. Through focused outreach, education, and trade incentives, trade allies can be motivated to identify and promote T12 conversions.
There are a variety of options for upgrading T12 fixtures. A few years ago, fluorescent T8 retrofits were the most common solution. Today, however, many businesses are interested in upgrading to LED products. This technology offers superior performance and longevity, while presenting more options for controllability. Retrofit kits and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Type B (Direct Wire) LED T8 tubes are often the most cost-effective LED product types for T12 upgrades.
Upgrading the Minnesota Technical Reference Manual (TRM) to include T12-to-LED measures would help utilities develop program offerings around converting remaining T12 fixtures. Of concern is how to address the measure lifetime: the TRM currently provides a deemed lifetime of one-year for T12 to T8 or T5 conversions through program year 2017. Given the uncertainty over the remaining useful life of current T12 fixtures, coupled with current fluorescent lighting standards, this lifetime could be extended through 2018 and applied to T12 to LED conversions.
For more information on this study, please see the full report, “Turning Off T12 Lighting… For Good! A Market Characterization and Conservation Potential Study,” or contact project manager Mark Garofano or CARD program administrator Mary Sue Lobenstein. Franklin Energy will also present an overview of the study in a webinar on May 24 (see separate announcement in the Webinars section of this newsletter).