When Charlie Brucker, principal at ATELIER DREISEITL + PLACE, helped open the landscape architecture firm’s Northwest Portland office two years ago, he knew he wanted to have an energy evaluation.

“We needed to improve the quality of our lighting, and making it an energy-efficient system was the right thing to do,” he says.

A year ago, he signed up for a free efficiency consultation with the 2011 Save More Matter More™ campaign and won a $3,000 energy-efficiency upgrade from PGE and Energy Trust of Oregon.

ATELIER DREISEITL + PLACE, which is currently working on the Oregon Zoo elephant exhibit, among other projects, added 11 industrial strip lights containing high-performance T8 lamps, plus an occupancy sensor that turns lights off when people leave the area. With money the project freed up, Brucker also was able to install heat fans that push rising warm air back down.

“This was something we wanted to do, even though we’re leasing this space. Our utility costs were quite high, and we plan on being long-term tenants,” Brucker says.

The quality of light was important to the company, as was the look of the fixtures.

“Being in the design business, we wanted to strike the right balance between efficiency and aesthetics, and we really didn’t have to compromise,” he says. “Our new lighting matches the character of our industrial space. It was a very thoughtful process, and we’re all quite pleased with it.”

• Replaced 400-watt metal Halide fixtures with 11 eight-foot T8 lights
• Installed occupancy sensor
• Added a switch to create two lighting zones so all office lights don’t have to be on at the same time
• Installed four ceiling heating fans that push warm air near high ceilings back down to occupants

• 7,772 kwh or $584 per year

• Energy Trust of Oregon cash incentives: $1,100
• Lower electricity bill
• Improved ambience
• Lights mimic natural light
• More even temperatures
• Reduced glare
• Quieter (no humming sound)
• Immediate light (no warm-up)