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Follow The 'LEEDer'

International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) seems to be on everybody's mind. From the concerned leaders to energy bill payers, we are all doomed to start saving, or return to condles. While the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Green Building Council develop standards and seminars generating both the awareness and importance of energy conservation, we should not forget the small business entrepreneurial enthusiasts who make it all happen. One such business is U.S. Way Lighting.

Established by an immigrant from Poland, Victor Korzen seems to be pursuing the dream of many prominent Americans who also started business in a garage.

After years of scribing for Underwriters Laboratories Inc., where learned about the quality control of electronic components, his interests focused on developing electronic gadgets that would keep Motorola and Philips think-tanks blushful. In 1985, he invented and patented the first no-radio-frequency Electronic Table Pager that employed electroluminescent light powered with AA battery energizing the high voltage/low frequency inverter - a precursor to the LED technology and its applications. A year later, in 1986, with the newly formed U.S. Way Lighting Company, we presented the first "twisted U-shaped" Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs at the LDI Show in Las Vegas. A few months later, another manufacturer, who happened to obtain a few samples at the Show, flooded the market with those "sensational Twisters".

Once CFLs launched its own carrier with many producers, U.S. Way's attention concentrated on the high output CFLs that eventually would terminate heavy energy consumption by the conventional HID lamps. While ambitious proponents are taking pride in offering CFLs of "as high power as 45W", U.S. Way Lighting has in its stock 85W, 105W, 200W, and 300W already. And here is why:

HID/Metal Halide lamps, like the high output CFLs that eventually would terminate heavy energy consumption by the conventional HID lamps. While ambitious proponents are take pride in offering DFLs of "as high power as 45W", U.S. Way Lighting has in its stock 85W, 105W, 200W, and 300W ready for shipment.

HID/Metal Halide lamps, like any high intensity gas discharge lighting source, have some characteristics that make them really a burden. First, their indispensable autotransformer ballasting device, needed to secure high current to boost the lamp, weighs about 20 lbs, emits familiar buzzing noise, and occupies a substantial space in the lamp. Its weight, though, is the unwanted factor to consider when calculating the structure of the roof and/or ceiling trusses to hold those lamps in addition to the weight of the snow.

Second, the HID lamps can manage only up to 5% of the voltage fluctuation; otherwise they extinguish themselves and do not restart for several minutes until the lamp cools down and the gas pressure decreases.

The third, and outright dangerous feature of those lamps, is their operating temperature reaching 1,385?F each. which has a large impact on building HVAC systems. A broken bulb falling on skin could result in a fourth degree burn. For safety reasons, HID lamps are normally caged and/or fully covered at the bottom, which obviously reduces the amount of desired lumens.

Fourth, only 20% of energy is seen as the visible light spectrum at optimal Color Rendering Index (CRI) of up to 50 only. 30% of energy is wasted producing ultraviolet radiation, and the remaining 50% of energy is consumed by the ballast.

HID lamps are expensive and need to be replaced once per year. Physically changing out those lamps in high bay ceilings only adds to the aggravation.

To reduce the building owner's frustrations and in consideration of the DOE's Energy Star program and USGBC's LEED Standard objectives, U.S. Way Lighting has come up with two flag-ship products that, frankly, kick conventions to the curb: Self-ballasted Multi-Quad Universal High-Output Compact Fluorescent Lamp CF12Q66 (Patented) and High-Power T5 Fluorescent Fixture YW454T5.

While U.S. Way's 105W CFLs (6,720 lumens) already easily compete with 400W HIDs when replaced 4:3, the new screw-in 200W (14,400 lumens) and 300W (21,600 lumens) Multi-Quads replace HIDs 1:1. A user may want to add 1000 lumens with our mirror-shine aluminum reflector CS-3202.

Energy saved (yes!): 180-watts per lamp, that is $337 a year times 100 lamps in an average warehouse which equals out to approximately $33,700! The work with no autotransformer, an operating temperature of lukewarm, are harmonious with electronic sensors, have a Universal Input Voltage from 100V up to 277V, CRI: 82, and customer's choice of the Color Temperature. Our CF12Q66 comes with fourteen 2H-PLC, 6400K, tubes included; nevertheless, the customer may want to select another Color, or even mix them up following his own fantasy.

Lower High-Output light bulbs offered by U.S. Way find successful applications in the park and parking fixtures that have been exclusively constructed for the U.S. Way light bulbs. Their film-friendly full spectrum feature is demonstrated in the picture taken at the Lemont, IL, Park District facility where 175W HIDs have been successfully replaced with the U.S. Way's 65W Compact Fluorescent bulbs.

Another way to save some utility money and energy is to replace HIDs and/or office T12 fixtures with T8 fixtures. Lowe's and Home Depot did it a year ago, which was a smart idea then. U.S. Way leads in the development of the T5 fixtures that save an additional 20% of energy to T8 lamps.

With IES Lighting Level recommendations for an office of up to 50 footcandles, retrofitting T12 fixtures into T8 fixtures will save 40% of energy. Depending upon labor cost, it can run approximately $80 per fixture to rewire and replace the ballast and tubes. For the same cost, you may want to write off your grand buzzing T12 fixture and replace it with the U.S. Way amazingly gratifying T5 Troffer YW354T5 that will save you 60% of energy. Typically, they are characterized with Universal Voltage and wave mirror reflector. What is extra to their equivalents in the market is an additional 3200 lumens per fixture, and a readiness to snap-on the self-learning Occupancy Sensor - no rewiring needed.

Compared to an average office lit by 12, 40-watt T12 fluorescent lamps ($4,305 per year), your savings will amount up to $1,839 - that's 60%.

U.S. Way has achieved this phenomenon by utilizing the cost-saving Rectifier Control ICs effectively drawing less power while producing high frequency output to operate the fluorescent tubes in parallel, each with its own L-C resonant circuit. At Power Factor exceeding 0.99, U.S. Way 44kHz ballasts operate 3 x 54W fixture drawing 109.2W, and 4 x 54W fixture, emitting 19,600 lumens, drawing 145.6 Watts - an achievement offered to energy conservation fellows with a tip of Victor's hat.

The revolutions in LED technology have enabled LEDs to replace basically all incandescent bulbs in a large number of applications. First, they found their niche in the automobile industry where in the telltale example the total power dissipitated by the AllnGaP lamp is 25mA times 12.8V, or 0.32W compared to 3.8W originally used by the incandescent bulb. They can also be turned ON selectively to create alphanumeric messages. As the LED light assemblies are less than an inch thick, they can be attached directly to a panel of any shape. Based on that feature, U.S. Way has developed the first white-lite LED Reflector that consumes only 30-watts while emitting the light equivalent to a 100W light bulb. This time it saves 67% of energy, not to mention that any shape of the panel may be constructed. With the LED life span expectancy of 10 million hours compared to 10,000 hours of the CFLs,fluorescent fixtures may soon be phased out.

Another example of the LED application is the EXIT signs of which no part requires replacement. They work on the solid-state lighting systems for buildings, and/or theatrical production illumination. U.S. Way's housing is made of metal.

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