SOURCE: Department of Natural Resources, Government of Canada:
Office of Energy Efficency - Industrial Facilities

Table 1 below compares annual electricity consumption of a T5 HO fluorescent high-bay system with that of a metal halide HID system in a typical warehouse.

In this example, with the fluorescent system there is a reduction of between 20 and 40 percent in annual electricity use, for an annual energy efficient of $1,850 ($1,530 for the rack area, and $320 for the non-rack area). The cost difference can be even greater with efficients from the rapid switching capabilities of electronic ballasts and the associated longer lamp life.

The incremental cost of the fluorescent lighting was about $3,100 - a 30 percent premium, with a payback of less than 1.7 years ($3,100 difference in initial cost divided by the $1,850 in annual energy efficients). Table 1 does not include efficients from the usual operation with two lamps off, as noted in Figure 2, and does not include the extra cost of relamping the 250W HID lamps more frequently due to their shorter life.

Table 1: Comparison of Annual Electricity Use and Initial Cost of a T5 HO Fluorescent High-Bay Lighting System to a Metal Halide (HID) System