2015 Daylight Hour

The Daylight Hour.  A single hour when we ask you to TURN IT OFF.

Thank you to all our participants for their enthusiasm and dedication to raise awareness about energy use reduction and the availability of daylight. Take a look at what offices throughout the world did during this hour on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Most offices have their lights on even when they are not needed. Spaces near exterior walls often receive enough daylight to work by, without the aid of electric lighting, but most often we leave the lights on anyway. This is a critical issue because the times when daylight is most available (workday afternoons) coincides with peak demand- the time when our business districts are demanding the most energy from the grid. This peak energy is the most expensive energy, and typically the dirtiest and most harmful to our global climate because the oldest, least efficient plants are brought online to meet this need. Our recent study, Let There Be Daylight, found that owners and tenants in New York City alone could save $70 million every year by introducing daylight responsive lighting systems. At the same time, balanced day-lit spaces are often the most
pleasant to spend time in, and studies suggest these spaces promote our health and well-being, improve productivity and reduce absenteeism. A variety of lighting control systems are available that respond to the presence of daylight by reducing electric light levels- but these systems are not standard.

To demonstrate the availability of daylight and draw attention to this important issue Building Energy Exchange has organized the “Daylight Hour”- a single hour on June 19th when offices all over the world turn off the lights in day-lit spaces. Through participation you can educate your community about this important issue and demonstrate your commitment to cost effective measures that directly impact climate change.

BEEx will be promoting the involvement of all participants in the Daylight Hour through a variety of programs and publicizing the energy savings of our communal efforts. This activity will act as a springboard to deliver programs and other resources on the strategies and technologies that enable the daylighting of office spaces.

ABOUT:
Daylight Hour is a global social media campaign launched in 2014 by Building Energy Exchange, a New York City based non-profit that provides resources to improve energy efficiency in the built environment. In our inaugural year we had an impressive 150 participating offices representing 2.4M square feet and our community brought an astonishing level of enthusiasm to the project – with more than 1,000 advocates reaching 500,000 through social media.

REGISTRATION (link below):
You’ll be asked for some basic information like:

• Name of organization
• Whether you are a building owner or tenant
• Daylight Hour ambassador contact info
• Estimate of the area of the spaces that will participate
• Quick description of the space types and lighting systems

Participants will be asked to post photos on Twitter or Facebook from their day-lit spaces at the beginning and the end of the Daylight Hour to demonstrate their participation. Use #DaylightHour.

Note: All offices registered before June 10, 2015 will receive official Daylight Hour shirt and stickers. There are limited shirts available.

AWARDS:
Awards will be awarded to the most successful Daylight Hour participants for:
Big Kahuna: Most participating square footage
Social Butterfly: Social media posts with the greatest reach
Daylight Empire: Most comprehensive portfolio participation
Selfie Sultan: Best Instagram photograph
Precocious Poster: Most creative social media
Head Gear: Best monitoring/analysis
and more..

DATE & TIME:
June 19th, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, local time

The Daylight Hour is sponsored by MechoSystems, the global leader in commercial WindowManagement® Solutions. The company’s patented SolarTrac® System automatically adjusts window shades and louvers to optimize daylight, comfort, views. Its proven, energy-saving performance has earned it a place in many of the world’s most notable architectural projects.