Craig Bernecker, Parsons School of Design, The New School
Virtual
Friday, April 9, 2027
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ET
Credits TBA
Intermediate
Despite the proliferation of LEDs there are currently 964million fluorescent luminaires and 1.5 billion incandescent sockets in use in the United States.Although many of these systems are being upgraded through replacement, or the use of retrofit kits, an overwhelming number remain. Moreover, both of these approaches are fairly costly and involve a significant amount of waste — even retrofit kits involve removing and disposing of most of the components, with only the housing remaining. The embodied energy of these existing systems is as problematic as the energy required to operate them. And all of these issues disproportionately affect underserved populations and economically-deprived locations where LED’s are not readily available or affordable. Repurposing these systems, as opposed to what is typically considered as retrofitting, involves replacing the legacy fluorescent and incandescent sources with permanent but affordable LED technologies while minimizing the amount of materials removed from the systems, limiting the amount of waste going to landfills. In particular, this project focuses on fluorescent luminaires commonly used in school, office, and institutional environments. It identifies the luminaire typologies typically used in these environments, and each technology is explored to identify the optimal repurposing, seeking the best permanent LED modification of existing luminaires to maximize efficiency and performance, as well as maintaining or improving the quality of light. Full photometric measurements, including luminous intensity, spectral power distribution and correlated color temperature, and luminance, were gathered using a goniophotometer, with the existing sources as a baseline of performance. The luminaires were then outfitted with several LED technologies in several arrangements to maximize output and distribution, while minimizing luminance at critical viewing angles.This presentation will share the data on two fluorescent typologies, along with the prototype LED conversions, and an economic analysis of the cost of conversion and life cycle cost comparison.
Basic lighting knowledge
Learning Objectives
- After this session, participants will be able to recognize the magnitude of existing lighting systems that remain as opportunities for upgrading
- After this session, participants will be able to recognize the impact of repurposing on underserved populations
- After this session, participants will be able to identify differences between retrofitting and repurposing lighting systems
- After this session, participants will be able to compare the value of repurposing versus retrofitting and replacement
Speaker
Craig Bernecker
Professor of Lighting Design/Director, MFA Lighting Design Program
Parsons School of Design, The New School
Dr. Bernecker has been a lighting educator for over 40 years. He is founder of The Lighting Education Institute, providing professional education, and Professor of Lighting Design and Director of the Masters of Fine Arts in Lighting Design program at Parsons School of Design, The New School. Prior to founding The Lighting Education Institute, he directed the lighting education program within the Department of Architectural Engineering at Penn State University. He has published more than fifty articles on research and education in lighting design and illumination engineering and is known for his work on the psychological aspects of lighting. He also maintains an active consulting practice, providing lighting design services and serving as an expert consultant on many projects and as an expert witness on many legal cases. He regularly serves as a peer reviewer for lighting research proposals and projects sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. He further served for 15 years as Educational Facilitator for LIGHTFAIR International, coordinating the development of the annual conference program, and annually teaches an online lighting certification review course in preparation for the NCQLP LC exam. Dr. Bernecker has served the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) as Vice-President for Technical and Research Activities (1991-1993) and Vice-President for Educational Activities (1993-1995). More recently, he served the Society in its highest office, as Senior Vice-President for 2003-2004, President for 2004-2005, and Immediate Past President for 2005-2006. As a result of his contributions to lighting education, the Society named him a Fellow in 1991, and for his service to the IES, the Distinguished Service Award in 2017. He also received the 2021 LIT Lighting Design Awards Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2024 Edison Report Lifetime Achievement Award.