LED lighting fixtures from Cree are illuminating the offices of NASA.
The owners of the building, Piedmont Office Realty Trust, have outfitted the space program headquarters with Cree's CR Series LED troffers to use less fixtures while getting a longer lifetime. Rather than using T5 fluorescent lights that only have a lifespan of 20,000 hours, their new LED fixtures have a lifetime of 50,000 hours. Choosing indoor LED lighting for NASA's offices cuts down on the costs of replacing the fixtures and saves on time and maintenance.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration found that a building of this size, 600,000 square-feet, spends at least $11 million per year for electricity. Piedmont Office Realty Trust will reduce those costs with Cree's sustainable lighting solution so that more of those funds can be directed to other expenses.
LEDs offer 80 percent energy savings, and those savings are boosted in this building with the addition of a Lutron lighting control system. The dimming controls allow NASA's technicians to have the perfect lighting experience without needless energy expenditure while they monitor the nation's stellar assets and the galaxy.
