RP-231 -- The Impact of Lighting Fixtures on Heating and Cooling Loads PDF

Because of the energy crisis, many areas of building design must be reexamined. One such area concerns the heat transferred to a building from electric lighting fixtures. Lighting is the source of the majority of the air conditioning load in the interior of many office buildings and is of major concern in almost all buildings. Therefore, a more accurate analysis of the heat transferred from lighting would improve the estimation of air conditioning loads.

Task 1 consisted of a literature search and a lighting fixture survey. Task 2  consisted of developing a mathematical model. Task 3 was to establish a plan for a parametric study to cover a wide and useful range of fixture types and sizes. Task 4 used the models of Task 2 to carry out the study plan of Task 3, generating ranges and averages of heat gained by the room and ceiling plenum air, both in the steady state and under transient conditions.Task 5 was to develop tabular and graphical presentations of these results, along with narrative descriptions of their use and limitations. Tasks 1-3 were detailed in an Interim Report, discussed later. The major thrust of this Final Report is the presentation of the results from Tasks 4 and 5.