Citing energy savings between 40% - 50% with matching light levels and quality, a report published by the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Green Proving Ground (GPG) program recommended plug-and-play LED downlight lamps as a replacement for compact fluorescent lamps. Plug-and-play LED downlamps used for this evaluation were provided by Lunera^® Lighting.

Company logo of Lunera. (Lunera/LEDinside)

In 2014, plug-and-play LED downlamps provided by Lunera were selected from over 120 candidates to participate in real world testing through the GPG program. Last month, GSA released findings from a one-year evaluation in three federal buildings, by independent research lab Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

PNNL assessed the light levels, energy and cost savings over time and determined that payback for the plug-and-play LED downlamps was 2.4 years compared to 12.4 years if installing or retrofitting a new LED fixture.

LED light levels in the plug-and-play downlamps were better than or equal to measurements taken in the previous lamps. In addition, the occupants and facility managers of the test buildings were interviewed after a year of working under LED lighting and had not noticed any difference according to the report.

Standard compact fluorescent downlights were replaced with Lunera’s plug-and-play LED Lamps in the U.S. General Services Administration’s regional headquarters in Auburn, Washington; the Cabell Federal Building in Dallas, Texas and the Veterans Administration Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for this study.