Client on a TOU schedule with a meaningful on-peak differential wants to run lights-on during the
off-peak window.
On paper this is attractive. Lighting is the largest single load and it is fully schedulable, unlike
almost anything else I audit. Shift 12 hours of lighting from on-peak to off-peak and the energy
saving is substantial.
Complications I have identified:
The tariff's on-peak demand charge is based on demand measured during on-peak hours. Shifting the
lights genuinely reduces that. But there is also a facilities or total demand charge measured at any
hour, and that does not improve at all.
Dehumidification and HVAC do not shift. They follow the lights partially but the moisture load
persists after lights-off, so the total load does not move as cleanly as the lighting schedule
suggests.
Labor. Lights-off in a cultivation facility is when nobody can be in the room. Moving lights-on to
overnight means the work happens on a night shift, at a wage premium the client has not priced.
My draft recommendation says the utility saving is real and the labor cost eats about 60 percent of
it. Sanity check welcome.
off-peak window.
On paper this is attractive. Lighting is the largest single load and it is fully schedulable, unlike
almost anything else I audit. Shift 12 hours of lighting from on-peak to off-peak and the energy
saving is substantial.
Complications I have identified:
The tariff's on-peak demand charge is based on demand measured during on-peak hours. Shifting the
lights genuinely reduces that. But there is also a facilities or total demand charge measured at any
hour, and that does not improve at all.
Dehumidification and HVAC do not shift. They follow the lights partially but the moisture load
persists after lights-off, so the total load does not move as cleanly as the lighting schedule
suggests.
Labor. Lights-off in a cultivation facility is when nobody can be in the room. Moving lights-on to
overnight means the work happens on a night shift, at a wage premium the client has not priced.
My draft recommendation says the utility saving is real and the labor cost eats about 60 percent of
it. Sanity check welcome.