The California Statewide Outdoor Lighting Baseline Assessment

Ramona Peet and Matt Brost, RLW Analytics
Cathy Higgins, New Buildings Institute

Keywords

Abstract

Outdoor - night lighting is a highly visible energy and environmental feature, yet little is known about the technologies, impacts and energy consumption of this practice. The California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Outdoor Lighting Baseline Assessment is the first major study of nighttime lighting in California. The objective of the study is to provide a baseline of outdoor lighting energy usage and key environmental factors that can be used to measure the impact of any code revisions.

This paper describes the development of metrics for an exterior lighting assessment. What lessons were learned in performing the phone and field surveys? What field data was collected by what means and tools? What are the most relevant parameters to measure? The analytical methodology for estimating the statewide impact of outdoor lighting will also be described. How are the field survey inputs for each site converted into an estimate of the associated energy use? How does the analysis model deal with the key environmental effects such as glare and light trespass? What statistical tools are used to extrapolate the findings to the state?

Although the energy impact analysis is still in process, the experience from the development of the field and analysis tools will be valuable information for other outdoor lighting studies and the potential to measure the impacts of future outdoor lighting regulations.