Frequently asked questions about the: 2016 Lighting Tool


Photo: Lighting Tool FAQ article

Here are answers to some of your most frequently asked questions about the 2016 Lighting Tool.

Q: I have an LED fixture that will dim down to 20 percent of the full wattage when the space is unoccupied. How do I enter that into the Lighting Tool?

A: On the “Controls” tab in the Lighting Tool, select the “Controls” drop down options as you normally would and override the auto-filled wattage in column “E” to accurately represent the actual wattage controlled, which would be 80 percent in this case.

Q: My “Controls” tab is showing really low kilowatt hours saved. The controls installed should save more than is shown on the “Controls” tab.

A: Always make sure that the “Percent Savings” in column “L” on the “Controls” tab accurately represents the percentage of time that the lighting is anticipated to be in the unoccupied mode. It is entered as a decimal, so if you are projecting that the controls should save 25 percent, enter it as 0.25.

Q: Sometimes I get a larger incentive by selecting “Custom” on the “Controls” or “103L” tabs. Can I use that to get a higher incentive when it works?

A: “Custom” can only be selected if the proposed equipment does not fit within the prescriptive guidelines on the 190L tab. “Custom” is not automatically checked against prescriptive measures in the tool, but it will be corrected during the Energy Trust review process if it is selected in error.

Q: When entering certain LED measures, I get a “Check LED wattage” note beside the proposed incentive amount in column “Y.” Is this okay?

A: Yes. It is a flag for our project processing team to verify the manually entered proposed LED wattage.

If you have other questions, contact one of our lighting specialists or Aaron Leatherwood, program manager, at 503.724.9375.