GOING NATURAL

Your cheapest source for daytime lighting comes free from the sun. Just a few accommodations to bring natural sunlight into your barn or arena can make a huge difference.

“One thing that I recommend, especially for new construction, is to utilize natural light as much as possible,” says Carissa Wickens, PhD, an extension equine specialist at the University of Florida. “It might be too expensive to put a window in every box stall, but having some windows or skylights to increase the natural lighting can be a big help. The more natural light, the more energy-saving, and on sunny days it may be all you need to get your work done in the barn.”

Skylights can be expensive to retrofit into an existing barn. “Skylights can be helpful but they can leak, and they are more expensive to install,” says Wickens. “There are some pros and cons on these.” Another option for bringing light in through the ceiling is to install translucent panels. “Even in indoor arenas, some people utilize transparent paneling,” she adds. “There’s no airflow or draft, but it lets in a lot of light. I’ve seen more of this in new barn construction.”

In Southern climates, bright, airy barns are common. “I’ve had an opportunity to walk into many barns here in Florida, and in this climate most have a more open design— with higher ceilings or very little ceiling above the stalls,” says Wickens. “They rely heavily on natural lighting. Instead of windows they often have open spaces at the top of the stall wall. This provides good airflow as well as natural lighting.” The eight-lamp fluorescent high bay fixture consumes 294 watts and the comparable LED fixture consumes 200 watts. It’s not a huge difference for the smaller and larger fixtures, but it can be a considerable savings for the mediumsize fixtures. With the three- to fourfoot lamps that we usually put in aisles and wash racks, the fluorescent lights consume 84 watts and the equivalent LED consumes 40.”

But the prices of LED and comparable fluorescent fixtures can vary considerably. “You can expect to pay at least twice the amount for LED as you would for a comparable fluorescent light, in the small and medium fixtures. When you get into the large high bay fixtures, the cost may be two to three times higher,” says Tracy. “I could sell you a 200 watt fluorescent for $189.95 while the comparable LED would be over $400.”

How quickly the cost savings of operating LEDs will overtake the higher initial costs depends on how often and how long they are used. “For a building that keeps the lights on 24-7, like commercial enterprises, these costs can be recouped in energy savings fairly quickly [two to three years],” says Tracy. “Breeders and people who show horses and run lights 14 to 16 hours a day might get their money back in four to six years with LED, compared to fluorescent lights that would get their money back in one to two years because they are paying half to one-third the up-front cost.”

In contrast, he says, “For the recreational horseperson who is operating their indoor arena only maybe four to six hours per day, it would take much longer---maybe 12 years or more---to recoup that same investment [in LED]. The people with no arena and just a stall barn could probably justify LED lights because they might pay $96 for