Research highlights potential for integrated lighting to save $27bn

However, sensors are well under $1/m² and help drive other savings, reducing cooling costs by up to 10%, extending the lifespan of lamps and reducing maintenance costs.

Lux Research analysts studied the economics of integrated lighting and how it drives adoption. Amongst their findings, Lux reported that the integrated lighting target market is huge. Lighting in commercial buildings is the second-highest energy end-use, accounting for 22% of annual consumption and cumulatively gobbling up 274TWh annually in the U.S. alone.

The company also found that coupling daylighting with sensors is a winning strategy, with an IRR of 24%, double that for light shelves. The Net Present Value (NPV) for sensors and controls ($7,315) in Lux's modelled case is similar to a 10-year NPV for solar control film combined with sensors ($7,291).

There are five times more companies in daylighting in Lux’s coverage than in sensors and controls. Larger players have largely neglected the daylighting technology, though Acuity has been forward-thinking with strategic acquisitions, most recently of Distech Controls.

“For some daylighting technologies the payback is on the threshold of tolerance, at about five years, but for many others it stretches above 10 years or even 20 years,” said Alex Herceg, Lux Research Analyst and the lead author of the report titled Investigating the Economics of Integrated Lighting Technologies. “Consequently, technology developers need to look at additional benefits such as improved light quality and worker productivity, besides considering alternative financing schemes such as daylighting-as-a-service to drive adoption.”

Investigating the Economics of Integrated Lighting Technologies is part of the Lux Research Intelligent Buildings Intelligence and the Sustainable Building Materials Intelligence services.