Consumer Preference Survey on Directional LED Replacement Lamps for Retail Applications

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) partnered with the California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC) at the University of California, Davis, to assess how education or incentive programs for lighting that uses light-emitting diode (LED) technology might best serve retail business owners within PG&E’s service territory. LED replacement lamps provide a solution for business and building owners looking to increase the energy efficiency of their lighting systems in order to meet, or exceed, 2013 Title 24 standards. These new efficiency standards will significantly reduce the maximum lighting power density (LPD) allowed for nonresidential buildings, including retail spaces. As PG&E considers the inclusion of LED lamps in rebate programs or encourages the adoption of the technology by other means, it is important that quality, objective information, derived from a sound test methodology, inform the decision-making process. The California Energy Commission also contributed resources to this project through funding from the Public Interest Energy Research program.

A retail lighting vignette, called Lux, was created at CLTC to allow retailers to compare LED replacement lamps with traditional halogen light sources. The retail lighting demonstration space, built to resemble a small apparel boutique, also allowed visitors to compare lighting from different brands of LED lamps currently available on the market. The project focused on LED replacement options for halogen parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) lamps and multifaceted reflector (MR) lamps, as these are commonly used for directional and accent lighting purposes in retail applications.