6.5 Alterations and Additions for Outdoor Lighting

The Energy Standards apply to alterations and additions to outdoor lighting systems. In general, additions are treated the same as newly constructed buildings, and must comply with all mandatory measures and lighting power density requirements. The application of the Energy Standards to alterations depends on the scope of the proposed improvements.

For alterations that increase the connected lighting load in a lighting application listed in Table 140.7-A or 140.7-B, the added or altered luminaires in the application zone must meet all the applicable requirements of §130.2(c) and §140.7.

For alterations in parking lots or outdoor sales lots that do not increase connected lighting load, but do replace the larger of 5 luminaires or 10 percent of the existing luminaires where the luminaire is mounted less than 24 feet above the ground, the replaced luminaires are required to meet the applicable controls requirements of §130.2(c)1 and §130.2(c)3. For applications where the luminaire is mounted greater than 24 feet above the ground, the replaced luminaires are required to meet the applicable controls requirements of §130.2(c)1 and either comply with §130.2(c)2 or be controlled by lighting control systems (including motion sensors).

For alterations that do not increase connected lighting load, but do replace the larger of 5 luminaires or 50 percent of the existing luminaires in a lighting application listed in Table 140.7-A or 140.7-B, the replaced luminaires must also meet the requirements of §140.7 in addition to the control requirements mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Some or all mandatory measures may apply to altered components. The mandatory requirements include certification of any new lamps, ballasts and drivers that are installed if they are the type regulated by the Appliance Efficiency Regulations. Any new lighting controls must meet minimum performance requirements.

6.5.1 Outdoor Lighting Additions and Alterations – Mandatory and Lighting Power Density Requirements

Additions to existing outdoor lighting must meet all of the mandatory measures for the added luminaires. The mandatory requirements include certification of any new lamps, light sources, ballasts and drivers that are installed if they are the type regulated by the Appliance Efficiency Regulations. Any new lighting controls must meet minimum performance requirements. In addition, control and circuiting requirements apply as follows:

• Maximum zonal lumens for uplight and glare for luminaires with lamps rated greater than 150 watts.

• Independently controlled from other electrical loads by an automatic scheduling control.

• Motion sensing devices for luminaires mounted below 24 feet above ground that automatically reducing the lighting power of each luminaire by at least 40 percent, but not greater than 90 percent, auto-ON functionality when the area becomes occupied and no more than 1,500 watts of lighting power shall be controlled together.

• Outdoor Sales Frontage, shall have a part-night control or motion sensors capable of automatically reducing lighting power by at least 40 percent but not exceeding 90 percent, along with auto-ON functionality.

• Building Façade, Ornamental Hardscape, and Outdoor Dining shall have a part-night control or motion sensors capable of automatically reducing lighting power by at least 40 percent but not exceeding 90 percent, along with auto-ON functionality, or a centralized time-based zone lighting control capable of automatically reducing lighting power by 50 percent.

The outdoor lighting additions must also comply with lighting power allowances of §140.7, Energy Standards Tables 140.7-A and 140.7-B. These requirements are the same as for newly constructed buildings, as discussed earlier in this Chapter.

Example 6-40 Requirements for Parking Lot Additions

Question

I am adding a new 20,000 ft² section to our parking lot. What are the outdoor lighting requirements for the new addition?

Answer

§141.0(a)1 specifies that all additions to existing outdoor lighting systems must comply with applicable requirements of §110.9, §130.0, §130.2, §130.4, and §140.7.

Example 6-41 BUG Requirements for Parking Lot Lighting Replacement

Question

We are replacing 20 percent of the existing 250 W luminaires in a parking lot. Does the BUG requirement apply to the new and existing luminaires?

Answer

Yes, new luminaires may be required to meet the Uplight and Glare lumen limits, however, luminaires that are not being replaced are not required to be upgraded to meet the Uplight and Glare lumen limits. §141.0 (b) specifies that all altered components must meet applicable mandatory requirements, including Uplight and Glare lumen limits for replacements luminaires. Therefore, replacement luminaires that are greater than 150 W must meet the Uplight and Glare limits of the Standards, even if less than 5 luminaires or 10 percent of the luminaires on site are replaced.

However, there is an exception to §130.2(b) where replacement of existing pole mounted luminaires in hardscape areas meeting all of the following conditions are not required to comply with the Uplight and Glare lumen limits:

•Where the existing luminaire does not meet the luminaire Uplight and Glare lumen limits in §130.2(b); and

• Spacing between existing poles is greater than 6 times the mounting height of the existing luminaires; and

• Where no additional poles are being added to the site; and

• Where new wiring to the luminaires is not being installed; and

• Provided that the connected lighting power wattage is not increased.

Example 6-42 Requirements for Replacing Existing Luminaires

Question

In a service station we are replacing more than 50 percent of under canopy luminaires. Does this trigger the alteration requirements for outdoor lighting? Do we need to bring non-canopy lighting such as hardscape lighting up to code as well?

Answer

Yes, §141.0(b)2Liii specifies that when more than 5 luminaires or 50 percent of luminaires are replaced in a given lighting application included in Energy Standards Tables 140.7-A and 140.7-B, the alteration requirements apply. So, in this example, all of the under canopy luminaires must meet the requirements of §140.7 and the applicable control requirements of Section 130.2. Hardscape and other outdoor Lighting Applications other than the canopy need not meet these requirements even if they are included in the permit along with the canopy lighting.

Example 6-43 Requirements for Adding New Luminaires in a Parking Lot

Question

We are adding new luminaires to the existing lighting systems in a parking lot. Which Standards requirements are triggered by this alteration?

Answer

Because additional load is being added to the parking lot, which is part of the general hardscape lighting, the entire general hardscape area must comply with the lighting power density requirements for the given Lighting Zone. However, only the newly installed lighting system must comply with the applicable mandatory requirements, including control requirements and Uplight and Glare lumen limits.

Example 6-44 Requirements for Replacing Ballasts

Question

I am going to change the ballasts in my façade lighting system. Will I be required to meet the new Outdoor Lighting Standards for façade lighting?

Answer

No, the replacement of only lamps or ballasts in outdoor lighting systems is not considered an alteration and does not trigger compliance with Outdoor Lighting Standards. Replacing entire luminaires will trigger mandatory requirements for the altered (replaced) luminaires only. Replacing more than 5 luminaires or 50 percent of the existing luminaires or adding to the connected lighting load for any outdoor lighting application will trigger the lighting power density requirements of the Energy Standards.

Example 6-45 Requirements for LED Retrofits

Question

I am going to retrofit all of my HID parking lot lights with an LED retrofit kit. What requirements do I need to follow for the LED retrofits?

Answer

For outdoor lighting alterations that reduce lighting power such as LED retrofits, there are two options for demonstrating compliance with the Energy Standards. You can either use NRCC-LTO-02 to calculate the lighting power allowance for the hardscape area, or you can use NRCC-LTO-04 to list the number and wattage of the existing luminaires in the hardscape area.

In both cases, the requirements are the same: if fewer than 5 luminaires are being retrofitted, or the number of luminaires being retrofitted is less than 10 percent of the total number of luminaires in the hardscape area, then the requirements of the Energy Standards are not triggered and no compliance documentation is required. If more than 10 percent and less than 50 percent of the luminaires in the hardscape area are being retrofitted, then control requirements apply. If 50 percent or more of the luminaires in the hardscape area are being retrofitted, then control requirements apply and the lighting must either meet current lighting power allowances per Section 140.7 (using NRCC-LTO-02) or must achieve a 40 percent reduction in lighting power (using NRCC-LTO-04).

Example 6-46 Exemption from lighting power allowance requirements

Question

50 HID exterior pole fixtures in a parking lot are being replaced with 50 new LED fixtures. However, to improve poor coverage in one end of the lot an additional 3 pole fixtures are added, bringing the total new fixture count to 53. Despite the addition of 3 fixtures, the total connected load for the 53 fixtures was reduced by 42 percent compared to the original 50. Does this project have to meet the Outdoor LPAs in §140.7?

Answer

No, the project does not have to meet the lighting power allowances in §140.7. Even though the number of fixtures is increased, the total wattage of the project is less than before so the connected lighting load has decreased, not increased. Since the overall connected load was reduced by 40 percent or more compared to the original luminaires, Exception to §141.0(b)2Liii applies and the new fixtures are not required to comply with the LPAs in §140.7.

6.5.2 Outdoor Lighting Alterations – Adding Outdoor Lighting to Existing Sites

In many cases, the general lighting for a site will be designed for a shopping center or a strip mall and stores or restaurants may be added later with additional lighting needs. In general, if one has a new outdoor lighting application (more doors, outdoor dining, retail sales) one can add the amount of lighting associated with the additional lighting allowances for specific applications contained in Table 140.7-B of the Energy Standards. If this amount of lighting allowance is not enough, one can either re-design the proposed lighting system or re-calculate the hardscape lighting allowances for the entire site to identify if savings somewhere else on site can be used to add light for this application.

Outdoor lighting power allowances are based upon a "layering" of specific application allowances on top of general hardscape allowances. The general hardscape allowance has three components: the initial wattage allowance (IWA) which is available once per site, the linear wattage allowance (LWA) which is available for the perimeter of the hardscape and the area wattage allowance (AWA) which is available for the field of the illuminated hardscape area. For an outdoor lighting alteration, the LWA shall be applied only to the perimeter of altered portions of the site hardscape. When the outdoor lighting is designed all at the same time, the outdoor lighting allowance is calculated as described in Section 6.4.5 of this chapter.

Method 2

One could have the permit cover all of the site lighting including the outdoor dining area. (This second compliance path would provide a greater power allowance, but would require more work in the application process.) This only yields a higher allowance if the current lighting system serving hardscape areas for the rest of the site has less wattage than the calculated total site hardscape wattage allowance. Additional allowances would be possible if one upgraded to the current hardscape system for other parts of the site and reduced its wattage.

Example 6-48 Power Allowance for Additional Outdoor Dining (Outside Illuminated Area)

Question

A strip mall in Lighting Zone 3 with a common parking lot has the parking lot lighting system designed and installed. A restaurant moves into one of the buildings and designates 400 ft² as outdoor dining. The outdoor dining area is outside of the illuminated area of the pre-existing parking lot lighting. How is the allowable lighting calculated?

Answer

'In 'addition to adding outdoor dining area, which is a specific application that is allowed more light, the illuminated general hardscape lighting area is also increasing in size by 400 ft². Adding illuminated hardscape area results in increased general hardscape area wattage allowances (AWA) and increased linear wattage allowances (LWA) but it does NOT add an additional initial wattage allowance (IWA) because only one initial wattage allowance is allowed per site. The allowable lighting power can be calculated in two ways:

Method 1

Calculate the general hardscape area wattage allowances (AWA) and the increase to the general hardscape linear wattage allowances (LWA) and the additional allowance layer for the outdoor dining area for specific applications (Outdoor Dining) as contained in Table 140.7-B of the Standards. As discussed above, it is not permissible to also claim the general hardscape initial wattage allowance (IWA) as this is calculated only once per site. The linear wattage allowance applies only to the new perimeter length, which is not adjacent to previously illuminated area that is part of the site.

As shown in the figure below, the perimeter length is 41 ft (25 ft + 16 ft). In LZ 3 the AWA is 0.040 W/ft² and the LWA is 0.35 W/ft. The additional allowance for the outdoor dining area for specific applications (Outdoor Dining) as contained in Table 140.7-B is 0.240 W/ft². Thus for a perimeter length of 41 ft and an area of 400 ft², the total lighting wattage allowance is:

Hardscape LWA of 0.35 W/ft x 41 ft = 14 W

Hardscape AWA of 0.040 W/ft² x 400 ft² = 16 W

Specific Allowance Outdoor Dining 0.240 W/ft². x 400 ft² = 96 W

Total allowance = 126 W

Type of Allowance	Allowance	Area/Perimeter Value	Power Allowance
Outdoor Dining	0.240 W/ft²	400 ft²	96 W
TOTAL POWER ALLOWANCE			96 W

Type of Allowance	Allowance	Area/Perimeter Value	Power Allowance
Outdoor Dining	^6.5.1.10.240 W/ft²	^6.5.1.2400 ft²	96 W
Area	0.040 W/ft²	400 ft²	16 W
Perimeter	0.35 W/LF	41 ft	14 W
TOTAL POWER ALLOWANCE			126 W