Recently, Finelite and MH Lighting provided the new Research Support Facility on the campus of U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden. The Research Support Facility is one of the largest ultra energy efficient buildings in the U.S., and was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal and the February issue of Lighting Design + Application (LD+A) magazine.

The client set the energy-efficiency bar high-50 percent less energy usage than national codes and the 222,000-sq ft facility is part of the NREL and houses 800+ employees. They want to down to the last watt.

With plenty of daylight, RNL, specified lower energy overhead ambient illumination systems, as well as daylight sensors and an LED desk light for each workstation to help meet the “energy budget” of 55 watts per workstation.

Rachel Petro set up a tabletop test of LED task lights. The Research Support Facility design team chose Finelite’s PLS LED desk lamp because it had:1.A low 6-watt power option;2.Superior range of adjustability;3.Uniform light levels that were not too bright;4.An overall aesthetic and minimal appearance which was preferred by the project’s interior design group;5.An occupancy sensor option (the Research Support Facility likes having the option to add at a later date);6.A price that was able to fit within the budget.

At 6 watts per fixture vs. more traditional compact fluorescent or halogen options, significant energy savings were achieved. Finelite’s elegant PLS LED desk lamp is available in three sizes, two finishes, and multiple watt packages to tailor it to the individual user needs. Their latest LED desk lamp, The Curve, includes dimming for even more user control.

Part of the Integrated Office Lighting System (IOLS), the PLS lamp can be combined with undercabinet lights for a full workstation lighting solution and can provide the potential to earn maximum LEED points. Finelite makes it easy for architects and designers to specify our products. The specific energy savings are right there on the label.