The Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST), a program of the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, recently released a new publication to aid owners and facility managers of multi-family affordable and rental housing in selecting LED lighting products. The publication, The Lighting Field Guide: Upgrading to LEDs for Multi-family Housing, provides a clear, concise guide to selecting LED replacement lighting products for common interior and exterior lighting applications found in multi-family housing. The project was co-funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and ASSIST.

“Energy-efficient lighting can reduce electricity and maintenance costs significantly in multi-family housing, because it decreases energy consumption and lasts longer than traditional lighting,” said Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of NYSERDA. “As part of New York State’s aggressive energy-efficiency policies under Governor Cuomo, NYSERDA is proud to support this project as part of our continuing partnership with the world-renowned LRC.”
 
Energy efficiency has become an important goal for many multi-family, affordable housing sites. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development spends $5 billion per year on utility costs for public and other affordable housing. Nadarajah Narendran, Ph.D., LRC director of research and organizer of the ASSIST program, said that LED lighting offers the opportunity to control energy use and associated costs, which would provide significant benefit to this segment of the housing market. “However, clear, straightforward information written primarily for building owners and managers has been missing to date,” he said.
 
The publication discusses the most important issues relevant to selecting LED lighting for multi-family housing, including:

-important metrics and application issues
-product labeling
-best practices for replacing existing incandescent or fluorescent lighting with new LED lamps or fixtures
-savings and payback calculation methods
-potential rebates and incentives to buy down the initial cost, making LED lighting more affordable 

The Lighting Field Guide: Upgrading to LEDs for Multi-family Housing is available for free download from the ASSIST website at http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/solidstate/assist/multifamily.asp.
 
About ASSIST
The Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST) was established in 2002 by the Lighting Research Center as a collaboration between researchers, manufacturers, and government organizations. ASSIST’s mission is to conduct collaborative research to enable the broad adoption of solid-state lighting (light-emitting diodes, commonly referred to as LEDs). The Lighting Research Center conducts research, demonstration, and educational activities on behalf of ASSIST. ASSIST provides factual information based on applied research and develops application guides for LED’s unique performance characteristics and requirements. ASSIST is sponsored by 3M; Acuity Brands Lighting; Amerlux; Bridgelux; Cirrus Logic; Cooper Industries; Cree; Dow Corning; Federal Aviation Administration; GE Lighting Solutions; ITRI, Industrial Technology Research Institute; Intematix Corp.; LG Electronics; LG Innotek; Lite-On; New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); OSRAM SYLVANIA/OSRAM Opto Semiconductors; Philips Lighting; POSCO LED; Samsung; Seoul Semiconductor; Soraa; Toshiba; United States Environmental Protection; WattStopper.
 
About NYSERDA
NYSERDA, a public benefit corporation, offers objective information and analysis, innovative programs, technical expertise, and funding to help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, save money, use renewable energy, and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. NYSERDA professionals work to protect our environment and create clean-energy jobs. NYSERDA has been developing partnerships to advance innovative energy solutions in New York since 1975.