Much of this expense is unnecessary.  Lamp and ballast manufacturers have, over the past decade, brought products to market that can help cut costs 30% to 60% while enhancing quality, maintaining appropriate light levels in the workplace, and reducing environmental impacts. 

Installing energy efficient is one of the best things a building owner can do for the environment, and for business. Energy efficient reduces not only energy consumption – it reduces emissions from power plants and it improves the business owner’s bottom line.   Reduced energy usage means reduced utility emissions, which means less air pollution and related human health effects.

Some of the most efficient fluorescent systems use T8 lamps and electronic ballasts. These T8 lamps, such as SYLVANIA’s OCTRON ECOLOGIC family, have excellent color rendering properties, come in a variety of color appearances to meet the owner’s needs, and save energy when compared with older T12 systems. When used with high-quality luminaires ( fixtures), these lamps and ballasts deliver light efficiently and beautifully to the work environment.   At OSRAM SYLVANIA we have long been the energy-efficient product innovators. We were first with high performance T8 fluorescent lamps in North America. In 1981 we introduced the SYLVANIA OCTRONâ family of fluorescent lamps, ushering in a new era of efficiency.  Quality does not have to mean expensive . Perhaps the most important thing to consider is that must be evaluated in the long-term. Ultimately the major cost of a system is its operation – the electric bill. When business owners consider the total cost of owning a system, it pays to invest in high-quality energy-efficient products that consistently maintain their performance.

Sixty three percent (63%) of the 7 billion lamps in the United States are incandescent, which only produce 10% of their energy as light.  The remaining 90% is given off as heat.  ECOLOGIC High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps offer more light output while using one-fifth the wattage and lasting ten times as long as incandescent lamps.