GSA provides guidance on procuring and using energy-efficient lighting in federal buildings

February 01, 2024

General Services Administration and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory publish LED and Controls Guidance for Federal Buildings

WASHINGTON — GSA’s Green Proving Ground (GPG) program, in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, recently released LED Lighting and Controls Guidance for Federal Buildings [PDF - 7 MB] as part of the agency’s commitment to sustainability and reducing costs to taxpayers. 

Lighting systems have a tremendous impact on building energy use. Depending on a building’s age and lighting system, lighting consumes between 10% and 25% of a building’s electricity. Conversions to LED lighting typically save 50% of electricity over a fluorescent baseline, and lighting controls can save an additional 80% of lighting energy.

In recognition of the energy used by lighting, in September 2022, Congress passed the Bulb Replacement Improving Government with High-Efficiency Technology Act, Pub. L. No. 117-202  (BRIGHT Act) requiring federal buildings to use the most life-cycle cost-effective and energy-efficient lighting products. In addition, the BRIGHT Act required GSA to issue this new guidance on the efficiency, effectiveness, and economy of those products. 

Additionally, this guidance supports President Biden’s Executive Order 14057 on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability and its associated Federal Sustainability Plan, which sets a goal of net-zero operational emissions for the federal government by 2050.

Topics discussed in the guide include:

• Financial inputs for lighting decisions.
• LED lighting and system features.
• Steps for designing a lighting control system.
• Energy-savings capabilities.
• Enhanced performance capabilities.

“The federal government is committed to transitioning its real-estate portfolio to net-zero by 2045, and GSA’s Green Proving Ground program is helping meet that charge,” said Elliot Doomes, Commissioner of GSA’s Public Buildings Service. “GPG’s evaluations of emerging technologies mitigates risk for first movers and provide invaluable guidance on the most effective deployment of these innovations.”

For more information, see LED and Controls Guidance for Federal Buildings, GSA’s Green Proving Ground, and attend a webinar on Feb. 8 at 12 p.m. ET.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement and shared services for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet, overseeing over $100 billion in products and services via federal contracts, and delivering technology services that serve millions of people across dozens of federal agencies. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people. For more information, visit GSA.gov and follow us at @USGSA.

About GSA’s Green Proving Ground (GPG) Program: The GPG program works with third-party evaluators to test innovative early commercial building technologies in federally owned buildings. The program enables GSA to make sound investment decisions in next-generation building technologies based on their real-world performance. To date, following favorable evaluation results, 32 GPG-evaluated technologies have been deployed in more than 700 facilities in GSA’s real-estate portfolio. For more information, visit www.gsa.gov/gpg.

About Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL): PNNL is one of the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories, managed by the DOE’s Office of Science. PNNL advances the frontiers of knowledge, taking on some of the world’s greatest science and technology challenges. The lab collaborates with academia in fundamental research and with industry to transition technologies to market. For more information, visit pnnl.gov.