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FAQs about MRc4 :

There are no mercury-containing lamps installed in the project building. Can we upload a signed statement from our property manager instead of completing the credit form and documentation?

A large multi-tenant project does not have a uniform lighting standard, therefore there are a number of different types of lamps are installed on the project. How should we go about documenting this credit?

Do we need to provide a purchasing plan if the lamp inventory of currently installed lamps shows that the average mercury content is already below 90 picograms per lumen-hour?

Do lamps for task lighting need to be included in the purchasing plan?

Do mercury-free lamps need to be included in Table MRc4-1 Lamp Purchasing Plan and Table MRc4-2 Performance Period Lamp Purchasing?

All of the outdoor fixtures in the project building are mercury-free. Can we exclude all outdoor fixtures from the purchasing plan?

The project building is a large multi-tenant building and tenants are responsible for their own lamp purchases. Can lamps in tenant spaces be excluded?

How do you know if a lamp meets the NEMA guidelines, and can therefore be excluded?

The project building includes a significant amount of process lighting (i.e. sports arena lighting or studio lighting). Do these lamps need to be included?

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Forum discussion

EBOM-2009 MRc4:Sustainable Purchasing—Reduced Mercury in Lamps

LED-lights always more efficient? Why not include them?

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Maria Porter
Sustainability specialist
Skanska Sweden
LEEDuser Basic Member
205 thumbs up

I am pursuing this credit for a CI project as an ID credit. I am wondering, in order to comply with the overall value of 90 pg Hg/(lm*h), I need to include all my LED lamps. They naturally have no Mercury. I need them to weigh down the result of the fluorescent lamps so that the overall value complies. The text says that I may exclude non-mercury lights. But I don’t want to. I may include them, right? I know they have to be at least as efficient, but LEDs are always more efficient aren’t they? So I don’t see why people don’t include them…

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Profile picture for user swanson.bill
Bill Swanson
Sr. Electrical Engineer
Integrated Design Solutions
LEEDuser Expert
516 thumbs up

Wed, 01/09/2013 - 13:42

You may include the LED lamps to weigh down the results like you want. But 90% (quantity) of purchased lamps must comply with the 90 pg Hg/(lm*h) limit. There's only so much you can skew the average. Some LED lamps are garbage. But most will be better than a cheap CFL so you can count them in your calculation. I wouldn't say LED's are always more efficient. It depends. The energy star website has an excel file list of thousands of CFL and LED replacement lamps that carry the Energy Star label. There are some really efficient CFL's (some over 80 lm/W). There are also many more LED lamps that never made it on this list that can be assumed to perform poorly (less than 40 lumens / Watt). http://downloads.energystar.gov/bi/qplist/Lamps_Qualified_Product_List.xls?bc6d-2b38
Profile picture for user maria.porter_1
Maria Porter
Sustainability specialist
Skanska Sweden
LEEDuser Basic Member
205 thumbs up

Fri, 01/11/2013 - 11:23

Bill, thank you for your superfast reply! I will include 100 % of all lights. It just seems as the right thing to do since I’m using this credit as an ID credit under CI. Even if my result would be a lot better by excluding 10 %. We have only made a quick calculation to see if the credit is worth pursuing and it looks ok, so we will now go into detail. I have to ask my lighting guy how many watts the chosen LEDs were, he only mentioned that they were more efficient than CFLs. My only experiences have been when I tried to buy LED lamps for my home. All lights I checked there were more efficient than CFLs. But I guess it could be different for commercial use. /Maria

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