6-i 

CHAPTER 6. ENERGY USE CHARACTERIZATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

6.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 6-1

6.2 LAMP AND BALLAST SYSTEM OPERATING HOURS .............................................. 6-1

6.3 RESULTS OF THE ENERGY USE CHARACTERIZATION ......................................... 6-3

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 6-5

LIST OF TABLES

Table 6.2.1 Average Annual Lamp-and-Ballast System Operating Hours by Sector ................. 6-2

Table 6.2.2 Two- and Four-Lamp 4-Foot MBP PS Product Classes (F32T8 Baseline) – 

Adjusted Average Annual Operating Hours for Commercial Sector .................. 6-3

Table 6.3.1 Input Power Ratings and Average Annual Energy Use for Ballasts ........................ 6-4
6-1 

CHAPTER 6. ENERGY USE CHARACTERIZATION

6.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the methodology the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) followed to 

estimate the annual energy consumption of the fluorescent lamp-and-ballast system designs DOE 

considered in its analyses for the notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR). Because fluorescent 

lamp ballasts are designed to operate fluorescent lamps, DOE chose the most common 

fluorescent lamp used with each ballast to develop representative lamp-and-ballast systems. 

Fluorescent lamps will not be regulated under the proposed ballast rulemaking; however, the 

energy use analysis considered the input power of the entire lamp-and-ballast system. The results 

of this analysis, which represent typical energy consumption in the field, were critical inputs to 

the life-cycle cost (LCC) and payback period (PBP) analyses (NOPR technical support document 

[TSD] chapter 8) and the national impact analysis (NIA; NOPR TSD chapter 10). DOE required 

information on annual energy consumption to determine the potential energy and operating cost 

savings to consumers from the use of more efficient equipment.

DOE determined the annual energy consumption of the lamp-and-ballast systems using 

information on their rated input power (i.e., the rate of energy they consume) and the way 

consumers use them (i.e., operating hours per year). The engineering analysis (NOPR TSD 

chapter 5) discusses the power ratings of lamp-and-ballast systems. The following sections 

discuss the inputs and calculations DOE used to develop annual operating hours and annual 

energy consumption for the products considered in this analysis. 

6.2 LAMP AND BALLAST SYSTEM OPERATING HOURS

To characterize the country’s average use of lamp-and-ballast systems for a typical year, 

DOE developed annual operating hours by sector. For the LCC, DOE accounted for variability in 

operating hours by developing a distribution of operating hours for the LCC spreadsheet. This 

distribution captured variation across nine census divisions (New England, Middle Atlantic, East 

North Central, West North Central, South Atlantic, East South Central, West South Central, 

Mountain, and Pacific) and large states (California, Florida, New York, and Texas), building 

types, and lamp-and-ballast systems for three sectors (residential, commercial, and industrial). 

DOE’s analysis relied on a combination of data from the U.S. Lighting Market 

Characterization (LMC) Volume 11 and data from the Energy Information Administration’s

(EIA’s) 2003 Commercial Building Energy Survey (CBECS),2 2005 Residential Energy 

Consumption Survey (RECS),3

 and 2006 Manufacturer Energy Consumption Survey (MECS).4

The EIA studies provide information on the distribution of U.S. buildings by building type and 

census division. The LMC, which is based on thousands of building audits and surveys, provides 

national-level data on annual operating hours by building type and lamp type for all sectors. For 

the commercial and industrial sectors, these operating hours are divided by application 

(assembly, athletic, bathroom, boarding, class, dining, display, exit, exterior-architectural, 

exterior-parking, exit-sign, exterior, food preparation, hall, healthcare, office, ship/rec, shop, 

storage, task, unknown, and utility). For the residential sector, these operating hours are divided 
6-2 

by room type (bathroom, bedroom, closet, dining room, family room, garage, hall, kitchen, living 

room, office, outdoor, utility room, and other). 

DOE associated LMC operating hour data by building type with EIA data by building 

type and census division to derive annual operating hours by census division and large states. 

This allowed DOE to correlate the electricity price distribution (NOPR TSD chapter 8) and sales 

tax distribution (NOPR TSD chapter 7) with the operating hour distribution by census division 

and large states in the LCC spreadsheet. The following paragraphs describe data sources DOE 

used to develop annual operating hours by sector. 

For the residential sector, DOE used RECS building data and LMC residential sector 

operating hour data to develop a distribution of annual operating hours for fluorescent lamp-andballast systems. The 2005 RECS data indicates the probability that a certain building type resides 

within a census division. The LMC indicates the occurrence of certain room types within a given 

building type and the operating hour characteristics in these rooms. DOE used aggregated data 

from the LMC to associate average annual operating hours per building type. DOE chose to 

aggregate operating hour data to the building rather than at the room level because DOE believes 

it more closely represents the impact on an individual consumer. However, DOE used operating 

hour data at the room level to generate uncertainty results for the NOPR analyses. 

DOE used a similar approach to develop a distribution of annual operating hours in the 

commercial sector. However, instead of room type, DOE aggregated LMC annual operating hour 

data by application to develop average annual operating hours by building type. The 2003 

CBECS data indicates the probability that a certain building type exists within in a certain census 

division. Once the LCC model selects a building, DOE associates the aggregated LMC annual 

operating hour average with the building type selected. Like the residential sector, DOE chose to 

aggregate LMC operating hour data to the building level for the commercial and industrial 

sectors because it more closely represents the impact on consumers. 

To develop a distribution of annual operating hours in the industrial sector, DOE used an 

approach consistent with that used for the commercial sector. The 2006 MECS data indicates the 

probability that a certain building type exists. DOE aggregated LMC annual operating hour data 

by industrial application to develop average annual operating hours by building type. Once the 

model selected a building, DOE associated the aggregated LMC operating hour average with the 

building type selected. Because MECS does not provide the location of industrial sector 

buildings, DOE used 2009 U.S. Census Bureau population information to establish the 

probability that a certain industrial building exists in a certain census division or large state. 

Table 6.2.1 summarizes the weighted average annual operating hours per sector. 

Table 6.2.1 Average Annual Lamp-and-Ballast System Operating Hours by Sector

Sector Average Annual Operating Hours

hr/yr

Residential 789

Commercial 3,886

Industrial 4,747

In the case of programmed-start (PS) ballasts operating two-lamp and four-lamp 4-foot 

MBP F32T8 lamps, DOE assumed that these lamp-and-ballast systems are operated on 
6-3 

occupancy sensors in the commercial sector. Occupancy sensors detect the presence or absence 

of people within their coverage area and turn lights on and off accordingly, thereby reducing 

operating time and energy consumption. DOE examined a range of estimates for energy savings 

from occupancy sensors compiled in E Source5 and other sources6 and, based on these estimates, 

assumed energy savings of 30 percent for operating lamp and ballast systems on occupancy 

sensors in the commercial sector. To account for these energy savings, DOE reduced average 

operating hours for affected lamp-and-ballast systems by 30 percent. Table 6.2.2 presents the 

adjusted average annual operating hours for PS lamp-and-ballast systems operating on 

occupancy sensors in the commercial sector.

Table 6.2.2 Two- and Four-Lamp 4-Foot MBP PS Product Classes (F32T8 Baseline) – 

Adjusted Average Annual Operating Hours for Commercial Sector 

Sector Average Annual Operating Hours

hr/yr

Commercial 2,720

6.3 RESULTS OF THE ENERGY USE CHARACTERIZATION

This section presents the annual energy use estimates for fluorescent lamp-and-ballast 

system designs. DOE calculated the annual energy consumption using annual operating hours 

and input power rating estimates. DOE used the annual energy consumption results in the LCC 

and PBP analyses and the NIA to calculate the operating cost of systems and estimate the 

potential energy savings of considered efficiency levels. 

Using annual operating hours and system rated input power ratings, DOE calculated the 

annual energy consumption of the entire lamp-and-ballast system. The engineering analysis 

(NOPR TSD chapter 5) references both measured system input power and normalized system 

input power, with the latter used to normalize input power between baseline and standards-case 

systems to maintain the same approximate light output. 

Table 6.3.1 details (1) the measured and normalized input power ratings for all the lampand-ballast systems DOE assessed in the LCC and PBP analysis for each product class; and 

(2) average annual energy use per lamp-and-ballast system based on measured and normalized 

input power, using the U.S. weighted average of annual operating hours in each sector. The 

average annual operating hours for the U.S. residential, commercial, and industrial sectors are 

789, 3,886, and 4,747, respectively. 
6-4 

Table 6.3.1 Input Power Ratings and Average Annual Energy Use for Ballasts 

Efficiency Level

Input Power

W

Annual Energy 

Consumption

kWh

Product Class and Ballast Type Measured Normalized Measured Normalized

1 - IS and RS ballasts that operate:

Two 4-foot MBP lamps

(commercial) Baseline (T12) 60.7 60.7 236.0 236.0

Baseline (T8)/1 61.1 53.4 237.5 207.6

2 58.1 50.8 225.8 197.5

3 52.8 49.7 205.0 193.2

Two 4-foot MBP lamps

(residential) Baseline (T12) 62.6 62.6 49.4 49.4

Baseline (T8)/1 53.8 53.4 42.5 42.1

3 54.7 51.0 43.2 40.2

Four 4-foot MBP lamps Baseline/2 112.0 112.0 435.3 435.3

3 109.3 110.4 424.6 428.9

Two 8-foot slimline lamps Baseline (T12)/1 113.5 113.5 441.1 441.1

Baseline (T8)/2 109.1 111.2 424.1 432.0

3 105.4 109.3 409.4 424.8

2 - PS ballasts that operate:

Two 4-foot MBP lamps Baseline 63.1 63.1 171.7 171.7

2 58.6 58.5 159.3 159.2

3 57.7 57.8 157.0 157.2

Four 4-foot MBP lamps Baseline 118.2 118.2 321.5 321.5

1 116.8 107.2 317.8 291.6

3 113.6 104.5 309.0 284.2

Two 4-foot MiniBP SO 

lamps Baseline 67.3 67.3 261.5 261.5

1 63.2 63.2 245.4 245.4

2 60.1 62.5 233.7 242.9

3 64.9 60.7 252.1 236.0

Two 4-foot MiniBP HO 

lamps Baseline 122.3 122.3 580.7 580.7

1 113.0 113.0 536.6 536.6

2 111.2 112.0 527.7 531.7

3 110.1 110.8 522.8 526.1

3 - Ballasts that operate:

Two 8-foot HO lamps Baseline (T12) 201.7 201.7 957.5 957.5

1 176.0 183.9 835.4 872.9

Baseline (T8)/2 147.0 184.7 698.0 876.9

3 144.5 182.8 685.9 867.8

5 - Ballasts that operate:

Four 8-foot HO lamps in 

cold temperature outdoor 

signs

Baseline 390.3 390.3 1,516.6 1,516.6

1 276.5 323.5 1,074.6 1,257.0
6-5 

REFERENCES

1. U.S. Department of Energy–Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Energy 

Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Final Report: U.S. Lighting Market 

Characterization, Volume I: National Lighting Inventory and Energy Consumption Estimate. 

September 2002. 

<http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/lmc_vol1_final.pdf> 

2. U.S. Department of Energy–Energy Information Administration. Commercial Building 

Energy Consumption Survey: Micro-level Data, File 2 Building Activities, Special Measures 

of Size, and Multi-building Facilities. 2003. (Last accessed February 27, 20011.) 

<www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cbecs/public_use.html> 

3 U.S. Department of Energy–Energy Information Administration. Residential Energy 

Consumption Survey: File 1: Housing Unit Characteristic. 2006. (Last accessed February 27, 

2011.) <www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/recs/recspubuse05/pubuse05.html> 

4. U.S. Department of Energy–Energy Information Administration. Manufacturing Energy 

Consumption Survey, Table 1.4: Number of Establishments by First Use of Energy for All 

Purpose. 2006. (Last accessed February 27, 2011.) 

<www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mecs/mecs2006/2006tables.html> 

5. E Source. Purchasing Advisor Web Page – Lighting: Occupancy Sensors. 2009. (Last 

Accessed May 5, 2009.) <www.esource.com/BEA/demo/BEA_esource/PA_10.html>

6. Hakkarainen, P. Personal communication. Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., Coopersburg, PA. 

Email to Robert Lingard, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. April 27, 2010.