The Berkeley County Commission strives to be respectable stewards of the County funds, including when it comes to the operation and maintenance of their facilities. Over the past several years, they have made significant investments in upgrading the HVAC infrastructure in many of their buildings, which have yielded energy and operational savings.
With most of the antiquated and inefficient HVAC systems addressed, the County focused on other energy and operationally intense systems. In 2022, the County engaged Boland to conduct a campus-wide audit of lighting systems. The purpose of the study was to analyze the current lighting energy performance, identify opportunities for energy conservation, and propose streamlined lighting upgrades. The study revealed numerous types of inefficient fluorescent and metal halide lighting systems. Not only were the current lighting fixtures inefficient, but they were also negatively affecting the overall Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) of the building. By updating and standardizing lighting fixtures, the County could take advantage of energy savings, functionality, and higher aesthetic appeal.
To meet these challenges, Boland retrofitted and replaced all lighting fixtures using state-of-the-art LED lighting systems from Cooper Lighting Solutions. The system includes advanced lighting controls using the Cooper WaveLinx Control System and Trellix. The Trellix system was fully integrated to the Trane Tracer® Ensemble building automation system (BAS).
The advanced controls will allow the lighting system to maintain appropriate lighting levels throughout the day, adjusting intensity based on the available ambient light. The lighting temperature (also known as color) is gradually adjusted throughout the day to create a more comfortable and healthier environment for the building occupants. This will also allow the County to adjust lighting colors for special events.
The integrated lighting & BAS solution will allow the facilities staff to:
Change schedules to reflect current usage
Raise and lower light levels in individual areas, as needed
Improve their overall productivity since the standardization of fixtures will extend operating life and reduce the need for inventory of replacement bulbs, parts, and fixtures
Berkeley County continuously measures performance through their Applied Building Insights Service Agreement with Boland. By reviewing building performance on a regular cadence, the system can be continuously tuned to reduce energy and improve occupant comfort.
“We have leveraged the analytics to support service contract decisions, as well as configuration policies that have helped us reduce our overall energy costs.” – Gary Wine, Deputy County Administrator
Berkeley County is now seeing the following results:
Estimated reduction in CO2 = 253.46 metric tons/per year
Reduced operating costs up to 70%
Improved occupant comfort
Interested in a similar project? Contact our team today!