Recent developments in compact fluorescent lamps, electronic ballasts and adjustable speed drives have expedited the process of taping energy saving potential of these technologies. The proliferation of these. loads, however, has raised new concerns about the power quality in commercial buildings. Higher cost of repair and the reduction in average life of equipment, both on the supply and load sides, could become obvious if these issues are overlooked or ignored. As lighting loads are the largest fraction of the load in most of commercial buildings, a small increase in harmonic distortion level in commercial buildings may jeopardize other loads in the building or the loads connected to the same utility bus.

As these devices were tested to quantify their energy saving potential, it was found that they can create undesirable harmonic problems. Such characteristics were quantified for different samples. It was observed that certain combinations of these lamps and ballasts are much more acceptable from power quality viewpoints than when tested individually. A generic algorithm was developed that can help to select certain energy efficient lighting technologies and will minimize the harmonic distortion level in the building. Results from the algorithm were validated on a building load model to test the accuracy of the algorithm results. The proposed algorithm helps to avoid the problems of selecting energy efficient technologies randomly during retrofitting of commercial buildings for energy savings.

Pollution mitigation features, and a summary of environmental and power quality status of energy efficient lighting devices were also discussed. A brief description of other nonlinear loads, present in commercial facilities, was also given to evaluate their role in reaping the benefit of energy savings in new lighting technologies. Energy savings and environmental benefits of new lighting devices were highlighted in the presence of other nonlinear loads. This study provides a complete illustration of the benefits and power quality issues related to these technologies.