by Shane Henson — July 16, 2012—Acuity Brands, Inc., a provider of lighting solutions for both indoor and outdoor applications, has developed a financial tool that allows users to determine the true economic value of a lighting system, greatly exceeding the simple data output found on many industry “payback” calculators, claims the company.
The company’s Visual Economic Tool is a free, Web-based, user-friendly design tool that uses recommended industry practices to simultaneously estimate and compare the life-cycle costs of up to three lighting systems.
The tool is an integral part of the company’s lighting design tools and is available as a free resource; no log-in is required. Users can input data from any products within the Acuity Brands interior and exterior lighting product portfolio or even data from non-Acuity Brands lighting products. The tool also has the flexibility to compare lighting systems using various lighting controls methods and common light sources, including light-emitting diode (LED), metal halide and fluorescent.
The Visual Economic Tool calculations are based on the widely accepted IESNA RP-31-1996 “Recommended Practice for the Economic Analysis of Lighting” standards, the company notes. Data is presented using vivid, easy-to-follow charts. A built-in help feature reviews definitions, displays calculation formulas and links to additional resources. Comprehensive reports can be printed or saved as a PDF format, or easily shared with other users to review and edit data if desired. Luminaire data can be loaded in any of the other Visual design tools, saving user time while promoting data consistency.
